Watch the video from SteGenTV: https://youtu.be/5iHxUXLCqQU
STE. GENEVIEVE — The Sainte Genevieve Art Guild is very proud to sponsor the first public sculpture in our community dedicated to art.
Leon Basler, sculpture creator, and Carolyn Bach, President of the Sainte Genevieve Art Guild.
For our first experience with public art, we chose to honor our first artists, the Native Americans, on a day of significance to their culture: the Summer Solstice.
Examples of Native American art have been found at the site of a large earthen mound on the Mississippi floodplain near Ste. Genevieve’s original settlement. This satellite village of the great Cahokia Mounds site was occupied between 1250 and 1350AD by as many as 2,000 people.
Chickasaw Nation Member, Donna Harding, tells us that their traditions hold that they are one of the descendants of the Mississippian peoples who built the mounds. The Summer Solstice was very important to the ancient civilizations everywhere to mark the seasons. From artifacts found in archaeological investigations, Donna chose a ceremonial bowl design she thought best represented the culture of these native peoples. The design symbolizes the Sun (giver of life), the three worlds (Sky, Land, Water), and the four directions and seasons.
That design was interpreted by professional artist and Honorary Guild Member, Leon Basler, who partnered with metalsmith Stan Winkler to create a steel sculpture, set against a large boulder. The results are an amazing art piece that changes with the movement of the sun, casting shadows and illuminating different pieces of the layered artwork in time. An aluminum plaque will be affixed that tells the story of the moundbuilders and their world view, as well as crediting those who brought the sculpture to reality.
Significant to the project were the labor donated by artists Leon Basler and Stan Winkler, efforts by Harry Gegg Construction in positioning the 7,000 pound boulder and base, and donations of art by Art Guild members for a silent auction in support of the materials needed. The project could not have been completed without the financial assistance provided by a grant from the Ste. Genevieve County Community Foundation. We thank the public who supported the silent auction, came to the opening and who continue to support the arts.
We hope this public sculpture provides a tangible connection for community members with Native American ancestry to their collective heritage.