The Big Elk
| The Big Elk | |
|---|---|
| The Big Elk sculpture in Stor-Elvdal, Norway The world's tallest moose, The Big Elk, standing proudly by the road in Stor-Elvdal in Norway. Photo: Øistein Norum Monsen | |
  The Big Elk Location in Norway  The Big Elk The Big Elk (Norway)  The Big Elk The Big Elk (Europe) | |
| Artist | Linda Bakke |
| Completion date | 2015 |
| Medium | Polished stainless steel sculpture |
| Subject | Moose |
| Dimensions | 10.3 m × 11.5 m (34 ft × 38 ft) |
| Weight | 15,250 kg |
| Location | Atna, Stor-Elvdal, Norway |
| 61°40′04″N 10°53′04″E / 61.667779°N 10.884358°E | |
The Big Elk, also known as The Big Elg and Storelgen, is the world's largest (tallest and heaviest) sculpture of a moose (Alces alces), located near the village of Atna in Stor-Elvdal, Hedmark, Norway.
Moose are often called elk in Europe and elg is the Norwegian word for moose. Storelgen means “big elk” in Norwegian. Paid for by a donation from Sparebank1 Hedmark art foundation[1], the statue was created by the Norwegian artist Linda Bakke in conjunction with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). It was officially unveiled on 15 October 2015[2]. It is located close to a major road called National Road 3 and is an attempt to reduce traffic accidents by encouraging drivers to take a break and be aware of wildlife on the roads[3]. Stor-Elvdal has Norway's third-highest moose population.[4]
The building and installation of the sculpture took around six months.[5] It was produced in Beijing, China for cost reasons. The sculpture cost a little more than €200,000 (about 236,000 USD), and the Bjøråa picnic area and rest stop in the area, created by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, is worth €2.7 million (about 3 million USD)[6][7].
In January 2019, Canadian comedians Justin Reves and Greg Moore highligheted the fact that The Big Elk was the world's biggest moose statue, and called on Canadians to add to the height of Mack the Moose which previously held the title. This created widespread attention in Canadian media, and later international media.[8][9]
Structure and dimensions
- It is made of polished stainless steel
- It is 10.3 metres (34 ft) tall[10], about 50 centimetres (20 in) taller than Mac the Moose in Canada
- It is 11.5 metres (38 ft) long[11]
- It weighs 15,250 kilograms (33,620 pounds; 15.25 metric tons)
References
- ^ Vivian Stensrud (15 October 2015) Storelgen er på plass NRK. Retrieved 30 January 2019
- ^ "Her er de første bildene av verdens største elg".
- ^ "The World's Biggest Elk Statue – In Norway".
- ^ "'Fun to beat Canada': artist behind World's Largest Moose weighs in on Canada-Norway moose debate".
- ^ "'Fun to beat Canada': artist behind World's Largest Moose weighs in on Canada-Norway moose debate".
- ^ ""Storelgen" – The world's biggest moose".
- ^ "Storelgen (The Big Elk)".
- ^ Leyland Cecco (18 January 2019) An egregious offence’: Canada battles Norway for tallest moose statue The Guardian
- ^ Rebecca Hill (29 January 2019) Canadians moot methods to embiggen moose monument and make Mac great again The Register
- ^ "LINDA BAKKE PRODUCTIONS".
- ^ "LINDA BAKKE PRODUCTIONS".