ALPINE -- Dennis Smith thinks of the Mormon emigrants depicted in some of his most recent sculptures as his ancestors.
And, at the same time, they're everybody else's, as well."I was taking from my own personal experiences to create an image that has symbolism universally," says Smith, an Alpine artist who was commissioned by an organization known as "Descendants and Friends of Denmark" to create two statues for Denmark.
Denmark is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the entry of missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the country and the subsequent emigration of nearly 18,000 Danish converts.
"This is specific and universal," Smith said.
One of his works, called the "The Mormon Emigrant Family," depicts a father and mother with a baby and two older children looking toward the sea as they prepare to leave their homeland.
A grandmother presses against them from behind, looking back at everything she's known and everything she's leaving.
"The sculpture comes out of my own experience and knowledge," Smith said. "The little brother is the 4-month-old baby who died just days before the family reached New York, but it could be anybody's baby.
"Lots of babies died coming over. My great-grandmother remembered seeing this baby, her little brother, slide off the side of the ship into the water."
The 15-year-old girl, he says, could be his great-grandmother, named Kristina, who also is the inspiration for another statue, which is a re-creation of an earlier work.
Both are being shipped to Denmark this month for celebrations scheduled in July in Copenhagen and Rebild.
Smith created the sculpture called "Kristina" 30 years ago based on strong impressions he has about his great-grandmother.
"When I was in Denmark on my mission, I responded to the area," Smith said. "The sculpture of 'Kristina' is an outgrowth of those feelings."
The statue is a tall, sinewy replica of a girl standing on the seashore with the wind blowing her hair straight back.
The original stands in the sculpture garden at Brigham Young University and inspired the commission for Smith to do the work for the Denmark organization.
"They originally wanted Kristina, and then they wanted one in two places," Smith said. "That didn't feel quite right, so we came up with the emigrant family idea. I sat down and worked up a little wax study that will eventually be sold to countries all over the world because it can represent families from a number of countries."
The larger bronze statue weighs about 1,800 pounds and took Smith 18 months to complete. It's daubed with little bits of clay -- in Smith's impressionistic signature style -- and stands about 10 feet tall.
Both statues will be unveiled in Denmark by Elder Russell M. Nelson, a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Elder Nelson will present Smith's statue of the family to the Danish royal family July 4 during the annual celebration at Rebild National Park in Juland, where Danes have gathered since 1922 to celebrate America's Independence Day and the close ties between the countries.
Two days later, Elder Nelson will present the statue of the girl to the mayor of Copenhagen in the harbor area of Amerikakajen, where emigrants once boarded ships for the United States.
View 2 statues tonight in Alpine
ALPINE -- The public is invited to view Dennis Smith's sculptures that will be sent to Denmark on Thursday.
The statues, named "Kristina" and "The Mormon Emigrant Family," will be shown at an open house Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Alpine Arts Center, 405 S. Alpine Highway.
You can reach Sharon Haddock by e-mail at haddoc@desnews.com