In "The Ascent," a bronze sculpture by Utahn Gary Price, two Indians scale treacherous cliffs. One has managed to climb higher than the other. He pauses to offer a helping hand to his companion.
The sculpture's message is captured beautifully in a poem written by American Indian Howard Rainer. It reads:Grab hold, and take this hand that reaches out to you.
Look up into my eyes; my spirit cries out to you: Friendship is my thought.
Let us climb the jagged cliffs of life and fight the ascent of opposition together.
If I can lift you today, you will look back and grab the hands of a thousand more.
That is the way the Great Spirit would have it.
Whether he's probing, exploring, experimenting or creating sculpture, Price never loses sight of his goal - to lift the human spirit through sculpture.
"My sculpture has to do with relationships," Price says, "Man to man, man to woman, man to children, man to nature."
This theme is woven through a variety of his subject matter - birds, animals, children, cowboys, Indians, religious themes. It's the common thread that binds them together.
Price's ability to capture that ideal, coupled with his talent and hard work, have won him the honor of being the featured artist in this year's Days of '47 Western Heritage Art Show at Utah State Fairpark.
This is the fourth year in which a prominent Utah Western artist has been honored; others include Arnold Friberg, Grant Speed and Anton Rasmussen.
Over 60 of Price's sculptures fill the Home Arts Building at the Fairpark. Ranging in size from miniatures to monumental sculptures, they reveal Price's quest for individuality and diversity.
This retrospective show spotlights the variety of subject matter Price has created during the his 14 years as a full-time sculptor. While his focus moves from one subject to another, he doesn't divorce himself completely from the earlier imagery. "I still jump around," he said while pointing to a bust of a mustachioed old cowboy he modeled and cast in 1992 - a number of years after he sculpted the typically Western sculptures surrounding it.
"I want to remain open-minded," Price said. "I don't want to get pigeonholed and locked into one subject matter."
As he walked through the show, the sculptor talked about his focus on certain imagery. However, he prefaced it by telling briefly how and when he became enamored with sculpture.
In 1979, while majoring in painting and drawing at the University of Utah, he took time out after his junior year to work in Stan Johnson's sculpture studio in Mapleton. For nine months he lived there 24 hours a day. After working during the day, he unrolled his sleeping bag and slept there at night.
During those nine months, Price developed a passion for sculpture. He sculpted two of his own pieces, and Johnson critiqued them.
In 1980, Price returned to the University of Utah to complete his senior year. He received his bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and drawing in 1981.
Johnson's influence prompted Price to concentrate sculpturally on typically Western subject matter - cowboys, Indians, horses, buffalo, etc. In fact, about 25 percent of his work to date falls into that category.
After 31/2 years of work in Western art, he was invited by the owner of an out-of-state gallery to sculpt two ducks.
"This project caught my fancy," Price said. "And for three or four years, I focused on bird sculpture."
To make his birds believable, he carefully studied their anatomy and plummage. He also learned the basics of flight.
Imagery that followed included combining birds with the human sculpture and his garden fountains showing children at play - "Shell Boys" and "Shell Kids."
Children are also key imagery in later, larger works. One shows three boys flying kites; a second captures son Zachariah running with outstretched arms. In one hand, he hold a model airplane. Both sculptures are excellent examples of Price's talent to make heavy bronze appear weightless. He does this through careful planning, informal balance and reinforcing the hollow bronze with a stainless-steel armature.
Commanding center stage in his current exhibit is Price's monumental bronze sculpture "Winged Messenger." He sculpted it last year for the Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind.
His latest works, so new that they haven't been cast in bronze as yet, are titled "Synergy" and "Unity." Forming a circle are several hands clasping wrists of others, emphasizing again the concept of strength in relationships.
And there is additional subject matter - children reading books, a bronze sculpture of Mother Goose painted in brightly colored acrylics and a number of small pieces he has done "purely for fun."
All along there have been a few religious pieces, the most recent being "Alpha and Omega," a vertical piece showing Christ as he triumphs over death.
One of his most moving religious pieces is a bust of Christ. As I studied the piece, I noted the rough texture, rugged features and wind-blown hair. And it suddenly dawned on me that Jesus of Nazareth was subjected to nature's elements.
Price affirmed my feelings by saying he had traveled to Israel in 1976 and remained for six months. In 1984, he returned for three months. During that time, he learned firsthand about the character of that country. As a result, his interpretation is incredibly believable.
Gary Lee Price was born on May 2, 1955, in Twin Falls, Idaho. Five years later, his mother and stepfather were killed in Germany. Gary went to live with his paternal father and stepmother in Montpelier.
He graduated from Montpelier High in 1973, then studied life drawing at Ricks College. From 1974-76, his education was interrupted by an LDS mission to Southern Germany.
Upon returning, he attended the University of Utah for three years before working in Johnson's studio.
In 1981, Price married Lanea Richards, graduated from the University of Utah, moved to Springville and worked in a foundry for three months. He then made that big leap; he left the foundry to become a full-time sculptor.
In 1982, Meyer Gallery of Park City took on his sculptures - and they began to sell.
Now residing in Springville, Price has recently built a spacious new studio and sculpture garden. The Prices have four sons: Zachariah , Isaiah Tyrone and Raphael
One look at the quantity of sculptures Price has created over such a short time might give the impression that his one great passion is his sculpture. But that's not true.
His second passion is his family, and, through careful planning, the two have merged.
After all, the key to his art is relationships, and that definitely includes his family. "Everything (art and family) is so mixed and intertwined," he said. The family travels together, the boys pose for his sculptures and Lanea conducts home school for the boys.
Proof of Price's ability to pursue two passions at once was evident when three of his children honored their dad at a banquet in the Grand Building on July 22.
Eight-year-old Isaiah read, "As you are honored here tonight, we, your children, honor you for teaching us to lift as we go."
Ten-year-old Zack followed with these words, "My father is not only a wonderful sculptor; he has sculpted us, his children, to go through life with a chisel in hand carving out heavenly visions not only for us but for those who may not have climbed without our help. And so, we too, the children of Gary Price, have learned to lift as we go, knowing that when we pull others up, we too, rise."
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"Creating Sculpture that Lifts the Human Spirit," will continue through Monday, July 25, in the Home Arts Building, Utah State Fairpark. There is no admission charge. Hours are noon to 9 p.m. daily. Price will be available during afternoons to meet the public.