Bronze sculpture unveiled in Vancouver

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On Nov. 28, a 14-foot-tall bronze sculpture created by master Haida carver Jim Hart was unveiled in a traditional Haida dance ceremony at an apartment complex in Kerrisdale's Quilchena Park area.

The monster work now standing in a waterscape setting took Hart two years to create and is one of the largest Haida sculptures ever commissioned. Hart, who has received the Order of British Columbia for his cultural work, supervised casting at the Tallix Art Foundry in Beacon, New York.

He named his imposing creation The Three Watchmen after the watchmen figures on cedar totem poles found all over Haida Gwaii, which guard the people from danger in this life and in unseen worlds.

"As an artist, it's my job to carve these supernaturals to show people what they look like," said Hart. "This project with the three watchmen is a spiritual thing for me because they actually do look out for people all the time."

Hart describes this, his largest work, as a career milestone. "When you do a raising, in a sense it shows that we're still around as a people. It shows our beliefs and gives some depth to them."

The process for creating the modern bronze megalith was complex.

"It was quite a learning curve for me to work this piece of bronze," said Hart. "I had to learn how to work the model, blow it up to full size, rework that."

Then Hart said he worked on the final detailing. "I had to think a little deeper, then I put this stuff, this material they call plaster lean on the surface. You build it up and then you shape that into what you want, then get your texture on there, and once you look at it and make sure everything is right on, the mold makers will come in. They'll bust it apart and cut it here and there ... and cut it in sections and they'll apply their mold maker materials, make the mold, and then from there, they'll do a wax."

Hart then checks and re-works the wax as necessary.

"That's my last chance to get any of the major work done to the piece."

After that, workers cast it in bronze pieces, weld it together, clean it up, put the texture back. Hart checks the work again and does touch ups to the metal. "Of course its metal, it takes a lot longer, but they have tools for it.

"And then you've got to select color, work with your color people." Hart said a lot of different experts work within the foundry. "I work with them all ... so I get to learn a lot from each person."

Polygon Homes Ltd., a condominium housing developer in the Lower Mainland, commissioned the sculpture.