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Photograph by Byron Kerman
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Photograph by Byron Kerman
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Photograph by Byron Kerman
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Photograph by Byron Kerman
Kids like to climb on The Awakening. They like to sit in its hand, step into its mouth, slide down its shin and hang on its big toe. Since it was installed five years ago, the monumental statue of a 70-foot giant emerging from a manicured park in Chesterfield has become one of the most photographed artworks in the area.
Adults like it, too. One wonders if this noble everyman will escape the quicksand of the soil and be born again, or if he’ll be sucked back into whatever we imagine as his former prison. The work’s simplicity is its strength.
And now, the metaphor comes home for the group that owns the giant, Chesterfield Arts. The non-profit finds itself in its own half-buried limbo: a shortage of funds has left the group in desperate financial straits. One recent deus ex machina maneuver that backfired was an attempt to sell a pair of sculptural horses already installed near Chesterfield’s city hall to the city for $250,000. In the wake of that miscue, there are questions about what Chesterfield Arts must do—if it’s not too late—to survive a defunded art organization’s worst nightmare.
Will they try to sell The Awakening, too?
Mary Brown is the President of the Board of Directors of Chesterfield Arts. We spoke with her about the future of the beloved sculpture.
What do you like about The Awakening?
I think it’s the drama of The Awakening and the fact that it means different things to different people… probably a lot of people see a giant coming out of the earth, but what does that really mean, what is that trying to tell us? It makes you think and wonder and puzzle over what it is, and I think that’s what art is about, the different interpretations you can have.
Who owns it?
It was given to Chesterfield Arts by Louis Sachs.
Does it require funds for upkeep?
We insure it, and we’re responsible for the maintenance, too. There was an issue a few years ago with maintenance, but it’s not a large annual expense.
Do you see it staying where it is?
It will stay put. It’s an icon for Chesterfield and the whole St. Louis area. It’s a tourist attraction. It belongs right where it is, coming out of the ground.
What about the attempt to sell the Adam’s Mark horse sculptures, though?
This is not the same as the horses situation. It’s really a different situation. The Awakening is a gift from the Sachs family. We would not sell it, and we would have no way to sell it. It has to stay right where it is. We didn’t necessarily want to sell the horses. I love the horses, and think they’re beautiful right in front of City Hall, but we’re facing some real financial challenges.
What is the future for Chesterfield Arts?
I think the future of Chesterfield Arts is going to be successful. I hope we are going to be able to bring back our education component, classes. We have had to narrow our focus dramatically. We won’t have a building with a gallery to feature local artists, and we won’t do some of the big splashy things we’ve done in the past like the mural on the levee wall, but I’m feeling optimistic that we’ll be able to continue our classes, which are for all ages and abilities, including our children with special needs. We’re optimistic we’ll be able to continue that, but we’re not there yet.
