Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Following The Spirit Of The Horse

"Wild horses could not drag me away from you" ~Gino Vannelli

"And so I grew from colt to stallion, as wild and reckless as thunder over the land. Racing with the eagle. Soaring with the wind. Flying? There were times I believed I could." ~ Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron

At the front of the National Gallery, there is an outdoor sculpture set by the Canadian artist Joe Fafard, done in 2007 and made of laser cut steel. It sits on the island of grasses between the driveway and the ramp into the parking garage. Reflecting the artist's Prairie upbringing, the collected sculptures are coated in shades of a western sunset. It is titled, appropriately, Running Horses.


When you walk around the drive and look at it, the group of horses, seemingly caught in mid stride, stand out well against the backdrop of buildings, such as the Kuwaiti embassy behind it or the Elizabeth Bruyere Hospital beyond that, or the LaSalle Academy to the right and in the background of the following pic. That contrast stands out well even against Notre Dame Basilica.

31 comments:

  1. Galloping horses are a familiar artistic theme. My favorites are those at Tlaquepaque, just outside Guadalajara, Mexico.

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  2. Wonder how we'd feel as a drivers seeing these great creatures from my peripheral vision. Love them.

    Janis
    GDP

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  3. @Catalyst: I will have to look those up.

    @Linda: as do I.

    @Marleen: they are!

    @Marianne: I agree.

    @Janis: I imagine they'd be a surprise.

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  4. so pretty. i enjoy how folks create horses ... very peaceful. calming even. love what i am guessing is a church with those duel spires ... awesome view! ( :

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  5. I love those horse sculptures! Sculpures themselves are so beautiful but also the location - that looks perfect setting for those horses :-)

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  6. really neat! would love to see that on a ranch around here. :)

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  7. Many artists are inspired by horses, lovely sculptures here, William !

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  8. They are beautiful and striking!!!!

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  9. The horses racing with the wind is my favourite photo and the angle displays them well.

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  10. He's certainly captured freedom and motion in this sculpture. I can brag a bit. He's a good old Saskatchewan boy!

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  11. It's a wonderful sculpture William.. funnily enough on the trip to the country we did last weekend, I saw a laser steel cut sculpture of a horse in a field, from far I actually thought it was a real horse 😊 you have so much beautiful architecture in Ottawa.

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  12. Beautiful racing horses sculptures. Great find!

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  13. Wonderful from every angle. I love horses too!

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  14. those horse sculptures are wonderful and they placed them in such a way people can enjoy seeing them.

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  15. I really like Fafard's work. These are great!

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  16. Great art and wonderful quotes

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  17. @Beth: yes, that's Notre Dame.

    @Tamago: it's a wonderful spot for them.

    @Tex: there, it would make you think they're real!

    @Karl: thank you!

    @Jennifer: that they are.

    @Kate: it does require seeing these from multiple perspectives. They've had problems with people wanting to cross the roadway closer to them, but actually the best views are at a distance.

    @Norma: me too.

    @Red: that he is.

    @Grace: it's a fascinating tool for art!

    @Nancy: thank you.

    @Tanya: I figured people would.

    @Lauren: thanks!

    @Bill: they did, yes.

    @RedPat: he's got a good style.

    @Pamela: that it is.

    @Mo: thanks! They seemed appropriate.

    @Cloudia: he really did capture the sense of motion.

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  18. Love the sense of energy and freedom in these horse sculptures. Beautiful.

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  19. Beautiful---Love the horses.
    Out here we have a sculpture on a ridge overlooking the Columbia called 'Grandfather Lets Loose the Ponies'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_Cuts_Loose_the_Ponies
    MB

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  20. These are beautiful sculptures. They have a lot of movement.

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  21. There's quite a herd of them! What a great sculpture, and I like how they're on a patch of rough grass.

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  22. It truly is a beautiful sculpture.

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  23. @Gemma: I do too. It's not always out- some years it stays indoors.

    @Linda: I like them a lot.

    @MB: thanks!

    @Kay: they do.

    @Wendy: they're well placed.

    @Denise: it is!

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