Sapporo has an Art Park. It takes a bit of time getting there but it is truly a unique experience and something we have not come across before. We took a cab directly there and had a blast talking to the driver. The park is in a heavily wooded area and the sculptures are spread out with trails connecting them. The trails were steep in places and, as it had rained in the morning, the travel was a bit tricky. After walking through half of the sculptures, we stopped for a picnic. Right away two big crows flew in to investigate. Before we knew it one swooped in low over our heads and landed close behind us. It quickly lunged and grabbed the plastic bag containing an apple and it attempted to fly away with it. This was a big Hokkaido apple so it was too much for the crow. I managed to get the bag and we wisely retreated to the nearby building where we finished our lunch in peace. A very handy guide was provided to us at the entrance that listed the names of the sculptures and also a quick artist statement. I will give the name of the piece and occasionally a bit from the artist.
A map of the sculptures
"Shape of Curve"
"Two Women"
We watched two groups of young kids carrying instruments and wearing the same uniform file past. We think that they must have just given a concert.
This is a seven part installation called the "Hidden Garden," these two hills are simulating our eyes
A mushroom growing on a sign
A seven meter high gate
"Sundial Place"
The Japanese maples are so delicate looking
The next pieces were all related but an ariel view puts them into perspective (thanks google)
Inside the cone I couldn't help but resonate
"Water Channel" with "Gate Two" in the distance
"Miroku" this is a woman with folded arms that is associated with the Maitreya Buddha envisioning a future utopia
"Wave Pile"
"The Day"
"I'm a Transport of Joy Going Back and Forth Between this World and the Other"
"Moonlight" it expresses a fantastic world in which mysterious creatures lie still in the moonlight
"Figure," this simple rendering emphasizes the importance of removing frills in the pursuit of the humans mind's essence
"Reflecting Pool"
"Castle of the Eye," note the beautiful woman in the bottom section
Very detailed interior
"Dynamo"
It produces an intense feeling of energy, as if sparks of fire are flying from it
This piece was named "Portlandia"
The sculpture and the building were donated by Sapporo's sister city Portland Oregon
"On the Way to the World"
"Relation 88"
The path is rough
"Saikato," the female figure is watching for folks lost in the woods, she has an owl on her shoulder
Not a good place to get lost, this was a steep and slippery section of the trail
"Shaft II"
"You're My Chair, I'm Yours"
"Remembering the Young Caucasian," an odd name as it references an older work "Young
Caucasian"
"A Woman of Yucatan"
"Sapporo '90" this stone piece is wavelike
A very smooth stone surface
I thought it was metal for sure
"Human No. 16-1" a combination of white and black, day and night, God and man and life and death. As well as the perennial search for an answer for the answer to the question of our existence
"Gen" the first piece of a duo
The gate is far up the hill
A nest!
"Natsuhiki" the name of a famous bull from the Kamakura period pruduced onsite
Five pieces by Gustav Vigeland the first is "Man Standing with Hands on his Waist"
"Man and Woman"
A charged relationship between a man and a woman in its realistic rendering of emotions
Triangle
A rendition of the cycle of life two women and a man
"Girl Gliding Through the Branches of a Tree"
"Mother and Child"
Hard to see the fine lines of this piece "Utsurohi, A Moment of Movement"
Moving on after a moment
"Woman Stretching Out Legs"
"Echo"
This is better piece to do a selfie with
"Provoking Forms"
"Poem of Kotankuru Kamui"
Bird forms in the center, resting on grave posts
Owls are the guardian deities of the hamlet (the Kotankuru Kamui in the Ainu language)
The owls watch over the grave posts
"Dancing with the Wind"
That must have been a very windy day
"Ode to Mother Earth"
"The Sky for Couple"
Make that a foursome
"Under the Cloud of Cherry Blossoms"
Snail #1
"A Guy at Bakkai," modeled after a good friend of the artist
A mystery wrapped in an enigma
"Flash from the Earth"
Very shiny and kinetic
Although it is not too windy so it is not moving
Lovely flowers
"The Town at Sunset no. 9"
"Phase"
The other side is so reflective that it looks completely different
"Mirage" produced at this park the head and legs were intentionally omitted to make him look more powerful. The center is a type of wood working joint only made out of granite
This little clearing had a high density of sculptures, "Oscillo-Alliance"
"Different Space"
"Way"
"A Guidepost- A Man with a Beast on His Shoulder"
Leslie noticed a woodpecker fly into these trees
There it is!
"Windy Pierrot", an old clown trying to balance on an unstable pedestal
There is the woodpecker
Lots of bugs in its beak
"Woman Holding a Fowl"
"Group Q'', is a set of polished stones located in the center of a square of trees. The stones are arranged in the shape of the big dipper
As we started eating lunch this crow is checking us out
He is mad at us as I wrestled the bag away from him
We retreated inside
Nice chairs and no crows
Nom nom nom
A self portrait of the inside sculptures
A good likeness
Some other busts
With a bow
A little boy
Bundled up
Flowers for you
A lamb in hand
Another bouquet
Whimsey
Pulling on the tree, Pops and Ma
Daughter and dog
Cat and mouse all help with the task
Lilys and water
"Woman, Summer"
"Falcon"
Love the maples
"Wafture", a thinly clad nymph floating in the air
"Infant Giraffe"
A real cutie
"Luette et Narines", look inside and see the uvula staring back
"Bee is Going", we got swooped by a bee while standing here
Leaf me alone
Me in the mirror
Two of me in the "Yuhara Kazou"
Oh no, more crows!
These three are named "Crow (Dohyo)"
Cawwwww
We three crows will swoop on your head...
"Invocation for Reclamation"
A gate to nowhere
"My Sky Hole #87"
Lots of forms, not 87 of them but several
"Organ #10"
"The Revelation of Circle and Square"
"Meadow of Clouds"
"WIG"
"Ascending"
