Gallery Report

8/6/2019 Gallery Report

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Ian Hill

3D DesignOct 7, 2010

GALLERY REPORT

For my sculpture viewing I decided to head down town and just walk around the coast to

view all the public art displays. I started near gas lamp where the USS Midway air craft carrier

is located. The first piece I viewed was Unconditional Surrender, by Seward Johnson. First off

this sculpture is HUGE!! This sailor dipping a young nurse for a kiss stands 25 feet tall. It

represents a famous black and white photo graph in Times Square New York back in August

14th, 1945. This sculpture is also fully painted which the famous picture was not and seems like

it was made out of stucco or something, its rough to the touch like those track homes in

suburban neighborhoods. This is a meaningful piece because I feel it conveys that the war is

over and the military returned home to celebrate their victory in the pacific and the downfall of

Nazi Germany.

Down the street is another piece called Walking Figures, by Magdalena Abakanowicz.

At first glance I thought, what the hell? Just with that thought alone it grabbed my interest to

take a closer look. These sculptures are just so bizarre to look at. There is a definite sense of

motion, almost an urgent pace with the long strides each piece has. It almost looks like a group

of armless, headless mummies marching forward. Every piece is brown in what appears to

patches clothing wrapped around somewhat like a mummy. But at the same time the dark brown

color from afar had me thinking it resembled Indians for some reason. After a while I convinced

myself that it represented the people of San Diego. Just walking around, because this piece is


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Ian Hill


across from the convention center, a trolley station, the Padre's stadium, etc. Very high foot

traffic area and each piece are somewhat generic looking, not singling out any specific race or

ethnicity due to the lack of arms and a head.

While I was sitting their sketching the Unconditional Surrender a woman came up to

me and complemented me on my sketch and asked me why I was sketching the sculpture. I told

her I was a student browsing the public art exhibits for a class project in my 3D design class.

This woman suggested I check out some interesting art down by the pier of Imperial Beach.

Sure why not, so I drove down and found all these benches made out of surfboards. Each one

had a bronze plate depicting southern California heritage. These benches were named

Surfhenge by Malcolm Jones. Each board represents a period in time of surfboard styles and

colors of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Also each board has a brief history of Imperial Beach surfing.

One reports that back in the 1940s people would travel from all around to Imperial Beach

because it was known at the time to have the biggest waves on the west coast. I enjoy this type

of art, because it has history and a connection to the local community. It is also very functional,

because you can sit on it and read a historical fact at the same time. The color design adds a

good foreground to the beach looking at it from across the street.

Another piece I observed was right next to Surfhenge, called illuminations by Mary

Lynn Dominguez. It was about knee high and wrapped around like a snake in motion, or a

squiggly line. The texture on top was cement and a colorful, intricate tile design on the sides.

Some areas of the tile show a sunset and other areas were just abstract displays of color. Again

this piece coincides with the beach environment as does Surfhenge. The two seem to go

together. You have the surfboard benches next to the colorful wave like Illuminations piece.


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Ian Hill


I felt that these were all very interesting forms of art out here on the coast line with different

things to offer the eye of the beholder.

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