Bird of Spring

 

Location: Ryerson Community Park, near Gerrard and Victoria

Date photo taken: 31 October 2015

 

This bronze bird stretching its wings in Ryerson's quad measures 7 feet tall, has a wingspan of over 8 feet, and weighs more than a 1000 pounds. It started out life much smaller however. Back in the 1970s, the Devonian Group had an idea. They wanted to create Inuit sculpture parks across Canada to help bring this uniquely Canadian style of art to a broader audience. A number of soapstone sculptures were chosen from their collection and using a complicated technique and a machine invented in Canada, they created the mould for this large bronze from the original six-inch green soapstone sculpture. The original artist, Etungat, was flown in from Cape Dorset, Baffin Island, to provide approval before the final bronze was cast. Unfortunately, the idea of the cross-Canada sculpture gardens never happened and the Bird of Spring was the only mould created through this process. The bronze was donated to Ryerson in 1978 and sat as the centre-piece of a fountain at Dundas and Victoria until the redevelopment of Yonge-Dundas Square required its removal. It was then relocated to its current resting spot. Another copy of the sculpture can be found on the steps of Vancouver's Art Gallery.

 

Thanks to Lynn Mackenzie and the Ryerson University Archives & Special Collections for providing some great source material.