Mantis statues

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08-28-2019, 08:13 AM
GeneChing

Mantis statues

Our NPM forum is the most specific and secular. Accordingly, it's the hardest to feed. It's really an artifact of our forum's founder who practiced this style. I've thought about merging it to another forum, but I'm not sure where it would go. So I'm feeding it more random news for now, just to give it a little luv.

Quote:

What’s with that giant praying mantis at Happy Hollow Park?
Dave Bangert, Lafayette Journal & Courier Published 2:50 p.m. ET Aug. 23, 2019

Praying mantis sculpture at Happy Hollow Park, two years in the making, is the latest public piece at West Lafayette park entrances

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
"Harmony Afield," a 26-foot sculpture of a praying mantis and three fireflies, was installed this week at the entrance to West Lafayette's Happy Hollow Park. The piece, by Butler, Pennsylvania, artist Bill Secunda, is one of four recently installed at entrances to the West Lafayette park. (Photo: Dave Bangert/Journal & Courier)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Here’s one initial reaction to “Harmony Afield,” a sculpture of a praying mantis flanked by three fireflies, a few hours after it was erected Thursday at the entrance of Happy Hollow Park.

“It’s big, I’ll give you that,” said Kathleen Evans, a Lafayette resident who was finishing a hike on the trails in the 81-acre park along Happy Hollow Road.

“And,” Evans said, “I’m going to say, I give it a thumbs up.”

Artist Bill Secunda concedes the big part of that review.

The sculpture – the centerpiece in a collection of works stationed at four entrances to Happy Hollow Park – comes in at 26 feet of steel plate and tubing. It was big enough that he had to place the piece in a pit in his studio in Butler, Pennsylvania, to do the welding. (“And I have a pretty big building,” Secunda said.)

The second part, that thumbs up? That, he said, he’ll take.

“You do these things hoping people can relate to it,” Secunda said from his studio north of Pittburgh. “From what I understand, people are stopping to get their picture taken with it. But it just went up. I hope that means they like it.”

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West Lafayette paid Secunda $80,000 for the four-piece set, continuing the city’s work to put public art at park entrances. Indianapolis artist Jeff Larimore created sculptures of a heron at Celery Bog Nature Area on Lindberg Road and a rooster at Cumberland Park along Salisbury Street.

Eric Lucas, a member of the West Lafayette Public Arts Team, said that when the search started for an artist two years ago, the thought was to come up with something different than the more abstract works at Celery Bog and Cumberland Park.

“Happy Hollow is more of a natural park,” Lucas said. “We intentionally wanted the art to reflect that.”

Secunda was chosen for the project in 2017, after the West Lafayette Public Arts Team went through a stack of proposals.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
Bill Secundo works on "Harmony Afield" in his Butler, Pennsylvania, studio. The piece was erected this week outside West Lafayette's Happy Hollow Park. (Photo: Photo provided)

Three smaller pieces, all in the 8-foot range, went up earlier. A dragonfly is at the steps to the trailhead at Salisbury Street, near Grant Street. The Kingston Road entrance, just down from the former Happy Hollow Elementary, has a cricket. Secunda has a Luna moth at a Happy Hollow trail entrance along Indian Trail Drive.

A sculpture of a dragonfly, by Bill Secunda, greets hikers at the Salisbury Street entrance to Happy Hollow Park. The piece is one of four recently installed at entrances to the West Lafayette park.
A sculpture of a dragonfly, by Bill Secunda, greets hikers at the Salisbury Street entrance to Happy Hollow Park. The piece is one of four recently installed at entrances to the West Lafayette park. (Photo: Dave Bangert/Journal & Courier)

Secunda’s work, an array of metal pieces including buffalo made from nails, are on display in Aspen, Colorado, the St. Louis Zoo and in a number of private collections.

“They gave me a lot of room to work,” Secunda said about the Happy Hollow project. “But I tried to make it something a little out of the ordinary, I guess, but the people could really enjoy. Something kids might really like. … The town is so beautiful, and the park is so beautiful, I wanted this to add to that.”

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
A sculpture of a cricket, by Bill Secunda, greets hikers at the Kingston Road entrance to Happy Hollow Park. The piece is one of four recently installed at entrances to the West Lafayette park. (Photo: Dave Bangert/Journal & Courier)

West Lafayette crews installed the sculpture Thursday. But there’s still work to do. The three fireflies in the piece were designed to light up at night. Secunda said uplighting will be installed. A formal dedication of the sculpture will come this fall.

“When we get this piece lit at night, I think it will be pretty interesting,” Secunda said. “But it’s up. Now we find out what people think.”

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
A sculpture of a Luna moth, by Bill Secunda, greets hikers at the Indian Trail Drive entrance to Happy Hollow Park. The piece is one of four recently installed at entrances to the West Lafayette park. (Photo: Dave Bangert/Journal & Courier)
08-29-2019, 03:41 PM
Djuan

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 10742

borrowed picture from Russbo over a decade ago . :D

where is Russbo?
08-30-2019, 08:51 AM
GeneChing

Good one, Djuan. Why didn't I think of that?

My Shaolin Brother Xinghung (aka Russbo) was in Thailand, last I heard. A mutual Shaolin friend from Las Vegas showed up at Shi Decheng's seminar last year and told me so. That's the last I heard of Rich.
08-31-2019, 02:17 PM
Djuan

I apologize for rambling :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneChing

My Shaolin Brother Xinghung (aka Russbo) was in Thailand, last I heard. A mutual Shaolin friend from Las Vegas showed up at Shi Decheng's seminar last year and told me so. That's the last I heard of Rich.

so dope that you are brothers and entered discipleship under Shi Decheng! aside from KFQG magazine and WLE's vast catalogue, Russbo.com and his archive and collection of traditional Shaolin served as a compass for me to navigate my search for a school and sifu back in the day.
and it worked well.
I was a sophmore in HS, and my Sifu turned out to be a Vietnamese Buddhist kid who just graduated HS a couple years before. They trained traditional Shaolin (Songshan) GongFu at his Buddhist temple in Dallas, and at the time he was the top student. I didnt care about his age because I recognized what he practiced to be what I was looking for, and I had enough research done from you guys and the well kept records your shared. I approached him when I saw him training with all the asian kids at lunch, and it looked like Shaolin they were doing. he informed me they preparing for the annual Asian Festival, at my school they would do arts from all around asia, and of course there was a big dragon/lion dance and gong fu segment, not performance wushu, real stuff, eve some wing chun, hung gar, etc. He took a liking to me for some reason and initiated me in to the art. I trained for a year and a half with him (had to move because Mom got married) and learned wu bu quan and xiao hong quan, to a teeeeee. he was a stickler for mastering those. and he taught in a way, that incorporated xinyiba, before I had a clue what it was. I didnt recognize thats what it was until about 2013, watching Shi Dejian with his students on Chinese documentary. The movements I learned stuck with me to this day. very potent stuff. I had a friend who was into karate at the time, and we sparred a lot after my classes. he liked it so much he started training with us, then training personally with me for years later, turning fully to a Shaolin practitioner.
any how, it was worth it. The cool part is, it culminated with my Sifu allowing us to do a part in the Asian festival, the first time Black students at my school participated, which was major back then for some reason. Texas can be a bit more partial than the Bay Area :p , it was glorious, all of us together, and we brought a part of the school to the audience that never really showed up before, and they all enjoyed it. lol.....I ramble..... great memories though, and thats how martial arts should work in my eyes. sharing leads to more sharing and more unification.
what I would love to see, if the recording of that festival lol man.....2002 Townview Magnet School Asian Fest.

The irony of my journey, which makes me feel some type of way (a good way) :) around my heart chakra, is that you guys have always been there in spirit. its like we were all united at some point in another time or place or both, and the guidance follows me to this day. its beyond trippy to say the least, and I dont believe coincidence. and you know the Rastaman says "its real if it comes back around" .....to the degree this holds true, I dont think I can express in words.
the internet is a strange thing though, so to be able even to hold a dialogue with you here, is a blessing to me.
I revered and still do revere all the work you all put in, and the paths you chose.
not just as MAist, as Men, Fathers, Teachers, etc..... I digress for the forum sake. I look forward to meeting you in person and building a bond.

Amituofo
10-07-2019, 09:57 AM
GeneChing

Speaking of Vegas

Quote:

'The Mantis'
Las Vegas's very own 40-foot-tall fire-spewing praying mantis.

https://assets.atlasobscura.com/medi...Q/IMG_2051.jpg https://assets.atlasobscura.com/medi...Q/IMG_2053.jpg https://assets.atlasobscura.com/medi...Q/IMG_2052.jpg

Standing sentinel outside of Las Vegas, Nevada’s Downtown Container Park shopping center is a massive, metallic mantis. Like some kind of post-apocalyptic, Mad Max–monster, the mantis sculpture is capable of shooting fire from its antennae and blaring sound from a powerful internal speaker system. But strangely, this tribute to B-movie creatures began as an anniversary gift.

The Mantis was originally built by aerospace engineer Kirk Jellum as a first wedding anniversary gift to his wife Kristen. Debuting at the Burning Man Festival, the Mantis made a second appearance outside of Zion National Park before finding its permanent home in Las Vegas.

In addition to the fire and sound, the 40-foot-tall Mantis also claims to be able to “speak 20 different languages,” and can also be driven to new locations, should Jellum feel the need to move his giant artwork. But for now, the Mantis can be seen firing off nightly bombast in front of the Container Park, a giant metal monument to love and monsters.

Know Before You Go
The Mantis is awakened every night at sundown by a drum circle celebration called the “Call to the Mantis” and shortly after begins its flame shooting display.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djuan

and you know the Rastaman says "its real if it comes back around"

I&I feel ya, Djuan. When Decheng came through last weekend, we discussed what news we had about our old friends, and neither of us had been in touch with Rich in a while. Rich did a lot for our master. He paid for a lot of much needed dental work for Decheng out of his own pocket. Last year, another student from Vegas, Kevin (not a disciple but from Rich's circle) showed and caught us up a little bit, but he too had fallen out of touch.