Tumamoc and The River of Life, (sculpture).

Tumamoc and The River of Life, (sculpture).

Haworth, Linda, sculptor.

Lovegrove, John, sculptor.

Wallach, Les, architect.

Miller, Jim, landscape architect.

Tumamoc and The River of Life, (sculpture).

Aug. 1992 - Dec. 1993. Copyrighted 1993. Dedicated Oct. 16, 1993.

Ceramic, concrete, and stone.

3 parts. Overall: approx. 16 x 50 x 20 ft; "Mountain:" approx. 3 x 1 x 16 ft.; "River of Life:" approx. 14 in. x 10 ft. x 40 ft.; "Humanity:" approx. 18 in. x 4 ft. x 10 ft.

(On "River of Life" retaining wall: inscribed tiles by community members) unsigned

An earthscape sculpture composed of three separately-titled pieces. "Mountain" is a stone-covered monolith consisting of an opening or window through the upper part, and a horned toad lizard made out of bright yellow mosaic tile climbing on each side of the monolith next to the opening. "River of Life" is a retaining wall covered with handmade, cobalt blue glazed stoneware tiles and tiles made by community members containing inscriptions and symbols, including a baby's footprints, names of barrios, memorial messages and folk designs; artist-made Hohokam tiles; and "shards" of contemporary life in Tucson. "Humanity" is composed of a bench slab, two-thirds of which is covered with stone and one-third of which is covered with commercial yellow tile; and a hole with a blue line of tile where River of Life emerges.

Animal -- Reptile -- Lizard

Landscape -- Mountain

Allegory -- Life -- Humanity

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arizona -- Tucson

Administered by Pima County, Parks and Recreation, 1204 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, Arizona 85713

Located Northeast of intersection of 22nd Street & Mission Road, Tucson, Arizona

"Tumamoc" is the O'odham word for "hill of the horned lizard" and guardian of the spring where the river of life originates. The sculpture project was a result of the combined efforts of the City of Tucson, David Johnson of the Tucson Pima Arts Council, Pima County Flood Control, residents of the barrios (neighborhoods) in the Tucson area, and the artists, who worked with architect Les Wallach and landscape architect Jim Miller. Community members were solicited by artist Linda Haworth to participate in tile-making workshops where they created their own tiles containing personal inscriptions and markings, including name tiles, memorial tiles, and message tiles to leave for future Tucsonians. Artist John Lovegrove, acting as construction foreman, built the horned toads which represent nearby Tumamoc Hill. A nearby plaque reads: BY PLACING PRIMACY ON THE EARTH AND BY BEING PROTECTIVE OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT, THE HOHOKAM FORGED A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM THAT ENJOYED 1,500 YEARS OF ASCENDENCY EMIL W. HAURY. For related reading see the Tucson Citizen, Oct. 16, 1993, Sec. A, pg. 1 and 8. IAS files contain related article from Tucson Guide Magazine (Spring 1994): pg. 102-108.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arizona, Tucson survey, 1994.

Tucson Guide Quarterly (Spring 1994): pg. 108.

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.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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