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More Smithsonian Searches     Who else has...     Bigger, Michael D.,     Dave Steel Company,     Abstract -- Geometric     Fantasy -- Animal     Mythology -- Classical     Literature -- Homer     Homage -- Grzimek, Michael     Outdoor Sculpture -- Ohio -- Cincinnati     Sculpture

Helios Guardian, (sculpture). Artist:  Bigger, Michael D., 1937- , sculptor. Dave Steel Company, fabricator. Title:  Helios Guardian, (sculpture). Dates:  1964. Dedicated Oct. 12, 1969. Digital Reference:  Medium:  Sculpture: Cor-Ten steel. Dimensions:  Sculpture: approx. H. 24 ft. x Diam. 30 ft. (9 tons). Description:  Six curving silhouettes loosely resembling a herd of animals. The flat silhouettes cut out of sheets of metal are welded and bolted together to form a circle. The sculpture is installed on a grassy mound without any base. Subject:  Abstract -- Geometric Fantasy -- Animal Mythology -- Classical -- Helios Literature -- Homer Homage -- Grzimek, Michael Object Type:  Outdoor Sculpture -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Sculpture Owner:  Administered by Cincinnati Zoological Society, Business and Operations, 3400 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220 Located Cincinnati Zoo, Erkenbrecher & Dury Avenues, parking lot entrance, Cincinnati, Ohio Remarks:  The sculpture was commissioned for $20,000 and was selected from a competition held by the zoo in 1967. The name Helios was derived from the island of Helios which was guarded by animals in a poem by Homer and the Greek god Helios who was drawn across the sky by nine winged horses. In choosing the name Helios the artist was expressing the free spirit of all animals and had no specific creature in mind. The sculpture was dedicated to the late Michael Grzimek, a German naturalist and zoologist who died in a plane crash in Africa. Grzimek is buried in Gnorongoro Crater in Kenya, a place in Africa visited by many Cincinnati Zoo safaris. IAS files contain related articles from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Sept. 23, 1969, pg. 6-I and Oct. 12, 1969. For related information see also: Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 12, 1970 and Feb. 4, 1968; Cincinnati Post, Feb. 2, 1968; John Clubbe's "Cincinnati Observed: Architecture and History," Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1992, pg. 428-429; Cincinnati Magazine (September 1975): pg. 65, 79-83; and "M. D. Bigger Sculptor," Minneapolis: Mad Dog Press, 1991. References:  Campen, Richard N., "Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio," Chagrin Falls, Ohio: West Summit Press, 1980, pg. 160. Save Outdoor Sculpture, Ohio, Cincinnati survey, 1994. Illustration:  Image on file. Campen, Richard N., "Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio," Chagrin Falls, Ohio: West Summit Press, 1980, pg. 160. Note:  The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide. Repository:  Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Control Number:  IAS 87830137   Copy/Holding information Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum Control Number   Inventory of American Sculpture 87830137 Add Copy to MyList Format: HTMLPlain textDelimited Subject:   Email to:

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