Photography by Matt Marcinkowski
At the corner of Union and Cabanne, north of Delmar, a sign reads: Beauty and Truth Will Save the World. Past the sign lies a plot of land dotted with the beginnings of enormous sculptures, a few mostly finished. Sculptor Bill Christman and his dog, Lucky, walk the lot. Welcome to the Land of the Giants, a sculpture park and Christman’s newest project.
Christman’s work is displayed in Beatnik Bob’s Museum of Mirth, Mystery, and Mayhem at City Museum. He’s the artistic force behind the retro Blueberry Hill sign and towering Cherokee statue at Cherokee and Jefferson. He’s also fascinated with robots and has been building them since he was 5 years old. But with the Land of the Giants, it was time for something new. To illustrate what he’s shooting for, he mentions the sculpture garden behind his club, Joe’s Cafe, where a giant robot clutching the bones of a church steeple is frozen mid-step inside some steampunk gates.
When the Land of the Giants opens, children will be able to climb and play all over the park, in true City Museum fashion. “To some extent, my City Museum connection with Bob [Cassilly] inspired me,” Christman says. “He said if you make things kids like, then their parents will like it, or their grandparents will like it.” The sculpture park is a chance to awaken his own inner child and build something he loves. “This is my second childhood,” he says. “I’ve done my work, and I want to have fun.”
Inside the park, Christman has built earthen shapes similar to Cahokia Mounds. A recycled church steeple sits atop a Popsicle stick bridge, and a disassembled robot dog—the only bot in the park—lies nearby. A steel roof will eventually shelter a stage where Christman plans to host bands and musicals. A red missile weather vane, crafted from a Navy jet’s fuel tank, is his favorite sculpture so far because it has a certain peace to it. Friends helped him balance it atop another steeple so it rotates with the wind. He stands and watches for a moment as it moves.
“My work is usually not subtle, so I like it because it’s a new thing for me,” he says.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Community participation will be a big part of the new park. Christman hopes to have neighbors submit ideas for sculptures that he’ll then build. He’s already started with the Popsicle stick bridge, a giant version of a design created by children involved with the nonprofit Better Family Life. He hopes that inclusion will help unite people but acknowledges the balancing act involved in bringing more attention to the area—whose residents are mostly Black—without gentrifying it.
“This is the only place I would do this,” says Christman, who grew up on Cabanne. “I believe in creating something from junk that nobody wants anymore, and that’s kind of redeeming it. We can redeem this piece of city, which is falling into ruin. Something’s got to happen here. It’s a beautiful neighborhood, and I feel emotionally connected to it.”
Art in Progress
Christman’s Land of the Giants is still in the works. Here’s some of what’s to come.
Waterfall
A stack of concrete slabs, removed from a sidewalk near Christman’s house, will eventually become an urban waterfall, adding the element of water to a part of the park that already has wind—that red missile weather vane—and earth, the mound of dirt the sculptures sit on.
Catapult
And then there’s fire: A giant cage and catapult stand at the ready for pyrotechnic displays. Christman has already tested them out and hopes to hold big showcases down the line.
Live Performances
Pyrotechnics aren’t the only dramatics Christman wants to bring to the park; he also wants to host music and shows. He admits that the stage is a heap of junk right now, but he sees its potential. It may even come to host talent shows put on by neighborhood children.
