Dragon Statues, Part 7

A blogging buddy of mine brought this to my attention. GoGoDragons is an interactive sculpture walk, community event, and charity auction in Norwich, England. The kickoff was June 21, 2015 and it will run through the summer.

There are several layers to GoGoDragons, and the public can participate as they like. Eighty-four artists were commissioned to paint or otherwise decorate large dragon sculptures. Local businesses and organizations sponsored these dragons. In addition, 120 schools received medium-sized dragons to decorate.

In all, 204 dragons were installed around Norwich. There are two separate art walks, one for the school dragons and one for the artist dragons. Shuttle buses are available for visitors to reach some of the outlying dragons. At the end of the viewing period, the school dragons will return home and the larger dragons will be auctioned for charity.

This sounds like a totally fun public art activity. If only I could get there to see it! But if you’d like to view some photos, check out my blogging buddy, Princess of Dragons, for her take on the GoGoDragons event.

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Dragon Statues, Part 6

Here’s a link to another atypical dragon statue. “Dragon Family” is located in Varna, Bulgaria. I’ve been unable to find out much about the statue, except for various photos posted by tourists. (The one linked above is from Pinterest.)

So I can’t regale you with how tall it is, or the exact location in Varna. It appears from the photos that it’s near a public pool; the taps on the statue’s base are said to run with hot mineral water, so perhaps it’s at a hot spring. I do know the name is the sculptor is Eugene Ivanov and the work was installed in October, 2010.

The statue depicts two bipedal dragons, presumably a male and female, gazing at each other with loving eyes as they hold a golden egg between them. Some notes say that the male is leaving on a journey and entrusting his mate with their unborn offspring. To me, it appears that the female has presented this egg to her mate and he is overcome with solemn joy.

Apparently there was some public debate when people saw this sentimental depiction of what are usually fierce dragons. A church group protested that the artwork undermined their Christian values. Okay, yes, dragons appear in the Bible as one of Satan’s disguises. Still, it’s hard to understand their objections to such a lovely and — dare I say it — wholesome work of art.

Another for my “someday I would like to go there” list.

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Dragon Statues, Part 5

It’s been a while since I revisited this topic, but I couldn’t resist. Here’s a link to photos of a bizarre new dragon statue in London. Click the link — you won’t believe your eyes.

“She Guardian” is an 11-meter tall bronze (that’s 35 U.S. feet) by Russian sculptor Dashi Namdakov. It was installed in late May 2015 in the plaza at Marble Arch.

According to the sculptor, this actually depicts a female cat who is all fierce to protect her young. Before I read the artist note, I really thought this was a dragon. The snarling face, the leathery wings… But most dragons don’t have rows of teats down their bellies!

It is certainly a striking artwork. Pleasant to look at? Not so sure.

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Ice Dragons

One of the ultimate winter sports is actually an art: ice carving. Teams of competitors use power tools to sculpt blocks of ice into majestic works of art. Generally there is a time limit, and much of the work is carried out at night to help keep the ice frozen. When completed, the sculptures resemble fantastic glasswork. They are displayed with colored lights for a magical glow.

From the early 20th Century, Alaskan spring fairs featured thrones carved from ice for beauty queens and such. This gradually morphed into more elaborate ice carving as a special local event. Now, almost 80 years later, ice carving attracts teams from all over the world.

The annual world championship is held each March by Ice Alaska at the Ice Park in Fairbanks. Ice is brought from O’Grady Pond, where the water is believed to be especially pure, so the ice is especially clear. The 2015 championship was held March 17-20th. The weather was unusually warm this year, leading to rain and fear of premature melting.

Still, the show went on. This year’s winner was “Fighter,” by Junichi Nakamura and a US/Japanese team. It features a magnificent dragon squaring off against a Medieval Warrior. Another entry, “Peace in Spite of Evil,” depicts a fairly demonic female naga preparing to attack a meditating Buddha. This was created by Manu Songsri and a team from Thailand.

The images are proprietary, so I can’t post them, but here’s a link to a photo essay by CBS News.

This art form is ultimately perishable. Over several weeks, the sculptures melt or are eroded away by wind. We keep their images only in our minds — but wasn’t this always true of dragons?

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Dragon Encounters 11

This is some student art I saw hanging in Garry Middle School. The medium is scratchboard. There were several dragons, but this one had the nicest presence and flair.

Student artwork, Garry Middle School; photo by Deby Fredericks, Dec. 2014

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