"The Secret Bench of Knowledge"- Ottawa, Ontario - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

"The Secret Bench of Knowledge" that is located at the entrance to the Wellington Street Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa was laid at about 9 o'clock in the evening, in early May 1989, when sculptress Lea Vivot placed her work, Secret Bench, Lost Paradise, in front of the building. When people arrived for work the next morning, they were delighted to see the new addition and assumed that it had been put there by another government department.

Not so. Lea Vivot had decided on her own to lend the sculpture to the National Library. Here is what she had to say in an interview published in the Ottawa Citizen: "The building needed something and I don't feel that artists have the time to go through the bureaucratic approach. In the same amount of time that it would take to go through all this (bureaucracy) I can cast another sculpture and enhance another space."

A year later the artist took it back with a promise to provide the National Library with another casting of her sculpture. After four years had passed the promise was fulfilled. At about 9 AM on the morning of May 1, 1994, in front of a crowd of about 3000 people, the new "Secret Bench" was unveiled. The new sculpture included many messages that the original did not have. Entries were solicited from school children and writers across Canada for the new casting. Engraved on the bench are approximately one hundred messages about the pleasure and importance of reading chosen from the entries received. Those who were selected were sent a wax mold on which to inscribe their message for the bench. The molds were then returned and used in the new casting . The unveiling of the new statue was done by Lea Vivot, and assisted by a young blind boy named Gabriel McBride, from Spruce View, Alberta, who inscribed his message in Braille.

Source: (visit link)

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: "The Secret Bench of Knowledge" Figure Type: Human Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Lea Vivot Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: 5/1/1994 Materials used: Bronze Location: On Wellington Street - In front of the National Archives of Canada Building

Visit Instructions:
Please upload at least one photo you have personally taken of the sculpture and tell us a little about your impressions of the piece. Additional photos are always appreciated.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/09/2019 The Burrow visited it 10/27/2018 lindeye visited it 05/15/2018 elyob visited it

View all visits/logs