Chad took me to see one of my favorite sculptures in DC today; only to find out that it is no longer in DC. "The Awakening" had been located in Hains Point, DC since it's inception in 1980. After doing a little research online, I found out that the statue was in Hains Point on a temporary basis as part of sculpture exhibit in 1980. The sculptor is Mr. Johnson Jr, his grandfather was the co-founder of Johnson and Johnson.
A few years after they placed it there, Congress passed a law "...requiring all public art on National Park Service land in Washington to be installed for a short period unless it was commemorative..."
That is interesting, but this was in DC for 27 years. Maybe the price was never right.
The Awakening has now found it's permanent home in National Harbor off the Potomac in Maryland. They bought the sculpture for $740, 000 (according to the New York Times).
It really is a great piece of work and I am not sure why I enjoy it so much. I know it's called "The Awakening" suggesting that this giant is actually emerging from the ground, but it's always seemed as though he was drowning.
Something else I found out in my internet research: There is another exact replica of The Awakening in Chesterfield, Missouri. Apparently they liked it so much, they commissioned for it to be in the center of their town to attract tourists.
This is the first glimpse you get of the statue when you are walking down the stairs at National Harbor.
I am a sucker for a good mosaic. These were lining the stairs down to the water...
Even Chad was in awe.
I will leave you with this very detailed sculpture outside of the Italian restaurant there. Poor turtle.
You can find the full article where I found a lot of the tidbits here.
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