 |
| Spectacular
blasts like this are blocking out the 22-story-high horse's head on the Crazy
Horse mountain carving in S.D.'s Black Hills. The nine-story-high face of Crazy
Horse was completed in 1998, the nonprofit Memorial's 50th anniversary. (Photo:
Robb DeWall) |
Progress
on the world’s largest mountain carving is contributing to record visitation
at Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The
nine-story-high face of Crazy Horse alone is the largest sculpture in the world.
The face was completed in 1998 after which blocking out began on the 22-story-high
horse's head. The sculptural engineering involves some of the heaviest drilling
and blasting of recent years, with the progress seen by more than one million
visitors annually.
"There’s
no question the work on the horse's head is capturing the public imagination in
a new way," said Ruth Ziolkowski. She assumed leadership of the nonprofit
memorial following the 1982 death of her husband, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.
"No
sculpture on this scale has ever been attempted, and our visitors seem intrigued
with the engineering logistics we've developed to shape the massive horse's head,"
she added. "People also say the work is doubly interesting because they can
see one portion of the carving finished and can contrast that with the progress
under-way on other parts."
When
completed, Crazy Horse will tower 563' high, extend 641' in length and be carved
three dimensionally in-the-round. Several million tons of granite have been blasted
off since work began in 1948.
Financed
primarily from an admission charge, Crazy Horse is not a federal or state project.
The Memorial is a nonprofit educational and cultural undertaking; its major goals
include the mountain carving, the Indian Museum of North America and the planned
Indian University of North America and Medical Training Center.
20th
Anniversary
The
Memorial is observing 2002 as a Year of Rededication in commemoration of the 20th
anniversary of the sculptor's death on October 20, 1982. The official observance
will be October 14th during the annual S.D. Native American Day activities at
the Memorial.
Korczak
undertook the project in 1947 at the request of Lakota elders. Chief Henry Standing
Bear's invitation said, "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man
to know the red man has great heroes, too." The first blast was June 3, 1948,
and it took off just 10 tons.
The
sculptor's wife and seven of their five sons and five daughters have continued
the project since his death. They work in a dynamic team effort with the board
of directors of the nonprofit Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.
"We
honor Korczak’s life and work this year because without him there would be
no Crazy Horse Memorial," said Mrs. Ziolkowski. "Our family is proud
that the two decades since his passing have been marked by continuity and continuation
of his detailed plans and financial philosophy for the nonprofit educational and
cultural Memorial. Really, it's 20 years plus 35 years. All those years are a
chain.
"We
have not come this far alone. We are grateful for an army of grass roots supporters
who have helped in so many ways over the years. That includes increasing industry
support in terms of contributions of materials and equipment for the mountain
as well as to further the important educational and cultural aspects of the project,"
she said. |
