Spring Stirring - La Jolla, CA
N 32° 52.109 W 117° 15.193
11S E 476310 N 3636735
A compact granite statue of a Native American, seated with knees raised and wrapped in a blanket, as if asleep, in an out of the way corner of Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Waymark Code: WMH6QC
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2013
Views: 5
Inscription (on sculpture's base):
Donal Hord's "Spring Stirring"
Gift of Cecil & Ida Green 1964.
Description (from Smithsonian inventory page):
A girl sits with both knees raised and her proper left arm wrapped around both legs. Her proper right arm crosses over her chest and her proper right hand rests on her proper left shoulder. The girl's head is turned to the proper left side and her eyes are closed. She has a blanket or garment wrapped around her. The figure sits on a square object.
In addition, the sculpture is mounted on a base that includes a pool for water, as if it had once been a working fountain. It has never operated as one since I first saw it. The inscription is on the base - see photo in the gallery.
I love visiting this sculpture whenever I'm near the Scripps Campus. However, from solidity of the figure and how muscular and powerful it seems, I was always under the impression it was male - however, that may be a product of my own biases. The detail on the sides of the base puts me in mind of sprouting seeds, which fits with the sculpture's title.
Bonus points if you can find the artist's signature!
TITLE: Spring Stirring
ARTIST(S): Donal Hord
DATE: 1947-1948
MEDIUM: black granite (diorite?)
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS CA000194
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Scripps Institute of Oceanography
8602 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California 92093
Southwest of the parking lot between the Martin Johnson House and the Judith and Walter Munk Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, in a shaded lawn outside the latter building, to the west of the walkway.
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
Two entries? Two with same title at the same address. Control Number of 2nd: IAS 75001343
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Visit Instructions:
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