Internationally-renowned sculptor Lea Vivot is hoping the prospect of having world-class culture come to Weyburn, with an estimated worth of over a half-million dollars, will spark enough interest in the local arts and business community to help cover the cost of shipping around 18 sculptures here for Sept. 21.
Vivot is the sculptor who gifted the bronze statue of Tommy Douglas, which stands near the city's boardwalk, and which was unveiled one year ago in a gala ceremony that included Tommy Douglas' grandson, actor Kiefer Sutherland, and Jack Layton, the late federal leader of the NDP.
Most recently, the life-size Douglas statue was vandalized as the glasses were ripped off the face. Vivot said she may be able to do the repairs on the statue without removing it and taking it back to her foundry, but it may require two different visits to get it completed. Meantime, she is also hoping to have the plaques installed for the base of the Douglas statue, as she had been promised by the city a year ago.
For the proposed exhibition here, it will have to take place after two shows that she has to attend, in Toronto on Sept. 17 for the Sculptors Society of Canada, followed by one in New York, before she would be able to come to Weyburn for a show, if there is an expressed interest by having her shipping costs of around $5,000 covered for her. The City of Weyburn has already indicated they will pay for insurance coverage for her works while they are on display in the city.
Vivot is planning to bring three life-sized works, to be placed near the Douglas statue and the boardwalk, plus 15 smaller pieces, to go on display at the T.C. Douglas Centre, and possibly also at City Hall and one or two other locations. The works would be on display from between one month to six weeks.
The life-sized sculptures include Lacing Up, which is one of a boy lacing up skates at a bench, with comments inscribed by many well-known hockey players, including Gordie Howe; "The Joy of Rain", which is of two figures with an umbrella enjoying a rainfall; and Mother and Child, which is on display at the Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto, featuring a mother holding a baby sitting on a bench, again with many comments inscribed by people who were inspired by the work.
The sculptor suggested "Mother and Child" would be a beautiful addition to the new hospital for which Weyburn is currently fundraising for. If a corporation or business agreed to buy it and donate it, or lease it for $1,000 a month to go in front of a corporate office, or in front of a community arena. She also indicated for any works sold, she would donate a portion of the proceeds to the Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation, and to the programs at the T.C. Douglas Centre.
Vivot noted the statue Lacing Up is much in demand in European centres, but so far there are no copies of it in Canada. The Joy of Rain is also a popular piece, including one location in a New York City park.
Commenting from her Toronto studio, Vivot said, "I know that the cultured citizens of Weyburn and Saskatchewan will welcome this exhibition. Their embrace of sporting events like hockey and football, together with the desire to express a unique prairie spirit, is that makes me want to come back to visit and share my art work. For art paints the inner landscape of the human soul and through our creation, we express the true meaning of humanity."
She added that civilizations are ultimately remembered because of their culture, pointing to the timeless sculptures of Michaelangelo, adding, "I don't want to push my art on anybody", particularly if there is no interest here to see her other works. She noted that today we may not ever have heard of Michaelangelo's were it not for the sponsorship of the Medici family.
"They have a taste of it (my work) with the sculpture of Tommy Douglas. With Tommy Douglas it's very special; he was a Saskatchewan giant, he's done something great. The other sculptures could be any one of us; it represents our everyday lives and deep emotions. Everyone, even children, can relate to it," said Vivot of her other life-sized works. "It's important to promote culture and be a part of it."
Of the Douglas statue, she said she has studied the photos of the damage closely, and thinks for now she can clean up the parts where the glasses were broken off, and has meantime put in an order to her foundry to make a new pair of glasses, and with the proper tools on hand, she will come back in the spring and reattach the new pair of glasses.
As for protecting the Douglas statue from future damages, Vivot laughed that "it's like being a mother who looks around a room to make sure it is child-proofed, except I have to make it vandal-proof."
She suggested a camera could be set up in surveillance of the location, so if the vandal comes back again, they can be caught and punished accordingly.
The local organizer for Vivot's work, John Nolan, commented, "It is not often that an artist of Ms. Vivot's international stature offer such an exhibit to a smaller community, and never has before in Western Canada, as her exhibitions are sought after all over the world. So this is quite an opportunity, and this will happen on Wednesday, September 21, only if there is interest from the business community here."
