The Awakening (sculpture)
Coordinates: 38°47′6″N 77°1′1″W / 38.785°N 77.01694°W
The Awakening (1980) is a 70-foot (21 m) statue of a giant embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself, located at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA, just outside the District of Columbia. It was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and originally installed at Hains Point, Washington, D.C..[1]
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[edit] Description
The statue consists of five separate aluminum pieces buried in the ground, giving the impression of a distressed giant attempting to free himself from the ground. The left hand and right foot barely protrude, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air. The 17-foot (5.2 m) high right arm and hand reach farther out of the ground. The bearded face, with the mouth in mid-scream, struggles to emerge from the earth.[1]
[edit] History
The Awakening was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and originally installed at Hains Point (East Potomac Park), Washington, D.C. in 1980 for the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition. Although its National Park Service "temporary permit" had long expired, the statue remained for 27 years at the southern end of Hains Point, across the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.[citation needed] The statue was positioned in a large, flat, open field.
In 2007, the National Park Service announced that the sculpture would be moved to the National Harbor, after the artist sold the statue for $750,000. The sculpture was excavated and removed from Hains Point on February 20, 2008, and then was installed at National Harbor in a configuration to correct scale issues that existed in the original sculpture.[2][3]
On October 10, 2009, a second casting of The Awakening was unveiled in Chesterfield, Missouri. The second sculpture is also 70 feet (21 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) tall at its highest point.[4]
[edit] See also
- The Bassin d'Encelade (1675–77), a remarkably similar sculpture at Versailles, France
- Monumento al Ahogado (1982), a sculptural hand emerging from the ground
- Mano del Desierto (1992), a giant hand emerging from the ground in the Atacama Desert, Chile
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The Awakening, (sculpture)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!325680~!0#focus. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
- ^ "Grand Vision for National Harbor Takes Form". The Washington Post. April 22, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/21/AR2007042101477.html. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ "D.C. Giant to Be Unearthed Next Week for New Digs". The Washington Post. February 13, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021303340.html. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- ^ Seward Johnson (2009-10-10). "The Awakening". Chesterfield Arts. http://www.chesterfieldarts.org/awakening.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
