The Big Elk
| The Big Elk | |
|---|---|
 The Big Elk sculpture in Stor-Elvdal, Norway | |
  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.
Background
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 Stor-Elvdal has Norway's third-highest moose population.[1]
The building and installation of the sculpture took around six months.[3] It was produced in Beijing, China as a Chinese bidder had the best offer both in economic terms and with regard to quality.[4]. It is made of polished stainless steel. The height is 10.3 metres (34 ft), about 50 centimetres (20 in) taller than Mac the Moose in Canada. It is 11.5 metres (38 ft) long. {The sculpture cost a little more than €200,000 (about US$236,000), 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)[5][6].
In January 2019, Canadian comedians Justin Reves and Greg Moore highligheted the fact that The Big Elk was the world's tallest moose statue[7], and called on Canadians to add to the height of Mac the Moose which previously held the title. This created widespread attention in Canadian media, and later international media.[7][8][9]
References
- ^ a b Vivian Stensrud (15 October 2015) Storelgen er på plass NRK. Retrieved 30 January 2019
- ^ "Her er de første bildene av verdens største elg".
- ^ Heidi Atter (20 January 2019) "'Fun to beat Canada': artist behind World's Largest Moose weighs in on Canada-Norway moose debate". Retrieved 31 January 2019
- ^ "The World's Biggest Elk Statue – In Norway". Daily Scandinavian. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2019
- ^ ""Storelgen" – The world's biggest moose".
- ^ "Storelgen (The Big Elk)".
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Sandra E. Garcia (20 January 2019) Norway and Canada Go Head to Head Over the World’s Tallest Moose Statues New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2019