Dobson & Dault

Kongiganak School Art Canopy “Provider” and “Respect”

We did two sculptures for the Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik School in Kongiganak Alaska, which get its name in honor of the best walrus hunter of the village. The art canopy (Provider) consists of powder coated aluminum animal shapes that depict his story of how he provided for the village. The light under the canopy (Respect) represents the hand of the elder with a young person’s hand over top of it.

Award Category
1% for Public Art
Commission Year
2009
Client
Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik School

This sculpture was nominated for the Public Art Network (PAN) award by Andrea Noble of the Alaska State Council on the Arts.  The school district was looking for a unique artist designed Art Canopy to cover the entry of the school in Kongiganak.  The school is one mile from the village by boardwalk and is powered by 3 wind turbines on the hilltop behind it.  The new school for “Kong” was named in honor of the greatest walrus hunter in the village.   Although the school’s mascot is the Wolverines, they were interested in having this walrus hunter Ayagina’ar  honored with a walrus theme for the Art Canopy.  We designed a steel, powder coated aluminum structure to be installed piece by piece on site.  The components were pre-manufactured in a whirlwind 40 day time period.   The short window of time was due to the fact that the artwork had to be designed, pre-fabricated, crated and placed on a barge to Bethel Alaska before freeze-up.  Once in Bethel it was transported by air in small aircraft and delivered to the Kong airport.  Once it arrived, the eleven crates 14 feet long weighing over 9,200 lbs. were transported by four wheelers and trailers on the ATV boardwalks to the school where it awaited the construction schedule for installation.  The call came for the installation date in January.  Upon arrival in Kong, the temperature was -25 degrees and the wind gusting to 50 mph.  Utilizing two man lifts and 2 boom forklifts Jim coordinated and installed the Art Canopy in record time.  The construction installation date was set for two weeks and Jim accomplished it in 4 ½ days!  The design of the Art Canopy involved a free standing structure that covered the walkway with a roofline that matched the school.  The gable end facing the boardwalk and the village portrayed a group of walrus swimming in the bay.  The one walrus in the foreground represented the walrus which stayed behind to provide food for the village, thus the title “Provider”.  Beneath the Art Canopy roof there is a soffit which incorporates a light that backlights a child’s hand silhouetted in the palm of the elder’s hand.  This lighted sculpture is titled “Respect”.