After decades of debate, discussion, outrage and controversy, a triumphant Robert Murray smiled Friday night at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau.<\/p>\n
The artist\u2019s large, abstract statue Nimbus stood outside the building where around 40 people had gathered to hear from Murray. The statue had been taken down from its original location at the courthouse in 1984 and was installed in 1990 in front of the state museum. It has found a permanent home there: It was re-installed when the new SLAM building was built last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we won,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI think the fact that Nimbus is where it is now, looking as good as it is and as fresh as the day it was made, that to me is terribly satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work of art appears to be there to stay, and the furor that accompanied it in the 1980s has abated to apathy or a simple lack of understanding the point of the sculpture. Many of those at Friday\u2019s night\u2019s talk \u2014 which involved a presentation from author Jonathan Lippincott and from Murray about the history of large abstract sculptures \u2014 were there to ask Murray more about the sculpture, from its color to its name and everywhere in between.<\/p>\n
Many of those in attendance agreed with Ren\u00e9e Guerin, part of the Friends of the Alaska State Library, Archives & Museum, who said she doesn\u2019t even consider the sculpture controversial anymore. She said the art connoisseurs in the region enjoy it, and that \u201cthere\u2019s nothing you can do\u201d about those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Murray, whose works have faced resistance but never the outrage that Nimbus caused in the 1980s, is just happy that the sculpture is still standing in Juneau.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very satisfying,\u201d Murray said, \u201cwhen things come to a nice conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the topics discussed Friday was the way Murray draws on Native themes and artwork, but not in an overt way where casual art observers notice. For example, the color of Nimbus, which Murray describes as \u201cartificial green,\u201d is taken from one of the primary colors of Tsimshian artwork. The blue-green is used frequently both in jewelry and as a backdrop in Tsimshian art, but it\u2019s also reminiscent of the color of glacial water, Murray said Friday.<\/p>\n
An Anishinaabe elder who served as a mentor to Murray when he grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, taught him about Native cultures and artwork. Murray has named numerous pieces of his art \u2014 that carry titles such as \u201cHaida,\u201d \u201cAthabasca\u201d and \u201cTlingit\u201d \u2014 after the Alaska Native people, and also from Native words and names.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn no Native languages that I know is there a word that translates to \u2018art,\u2019\u201d Murray said. \u201cIt was just a part of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nimbus has become that way for those in Juneau, just part of the city and part of daily existence. As one woman put it during Murray\u2019s question-and-answer segment, Juneau has been \u201cliving with Nimbus\u201d for decades now.<\/p>\n
At the outskirts of the event, Goldbelt Security guard Jonathan Loney sat quietly. His desk is located by the front doors of the museum near Nimbus, but Loney doesn\u2019t spend much time looking at the sculpture.<\/p>\n
As he walks through the museum, doing his usual rounds, Loney is attracted much more to Alaska Native art in particular. Part of that, he said, is due to the fact that he\u2019s one-quarter Tlingit. Another part of it is that much of the Native artwork he sees is very straightforward to him and representative of a real-life person or animal. He doesn\u2019t want to take a side in the debate about Nimbus, preferring to view art that has a recognizable form.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just gonna leave the argument to everyone else,\u201d Loney said, \u201cand save myself headaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or 523-2271<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
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