New Pathway.
On, March 18, 2016, the non-profit Lord Stanley Memorial Monument Inc. launched a competition to design a new monument to mark the 125th anniversary of the most recognizable sports trophies globally, the Stanley Cup. In June 2016, out of 40 national entries, the organizers announced eight finalists that were invited to submit design proposals in Phase Two of the Lord Stanley’s Gift Public Art Competition. The competition will be judged by a jury of eminent Canadians highly respected in the fields of public art, culture, history and hockey. All eight designs can be found at http://lordstanleysgift.com/competition/finalists/
Comments on the finalists submissions can be sent to [email protected] by October 7. It is also possible to vote for a particular design at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/stanley-cup-monument-ottawa-contest-finalists-1.3774516.
Among the finalists, there is a design by Myroslaw Trutiak/David Pellettier/Yolanda vanderGaast, shown above. Myroslaw Trutiak is a Ukrainian Canadian sculptor and owner of a Toronto-based MST Bronze Limited which produces fine art, custom and monumental sculptural projects. David Pellettier and Yolanda vanderGaast are also renowned Canadian sculptors who have collaborated with each other and Myroslaw Trutiak on a number of projects like the statues of Firefighters in Toronto and Peterborough, the Norman Bethune statue at the University of Toronto, Jack Layton statue in downtown Toronto, the Stavro Family Monument in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, and others.
The New Pathway spoke to Myroslaw Trutiak who told us that the group's design celebrates the extraordinary impact of Lord Stanley’s gift of the Stanley Cup on Canada. The monument includes a larger than life size depiction of Lord Stanley shown presenting the historic silver cup. Mr. Trutiak said: “Lord Stanley is admiring the cup and his gesture depicts his offer of the cup to the nation. There are also two kids wearing hockey sweaters and holding hockey sticks ready to face-off in a game of scrimmage. We used children because the whole idea of the Cup is that it is for the future. There is also a stylized depiction of the modern day Stanley Cup, above Lord Stanley's head, in an architectural way that looks almost like a shrine. This element signifies hockey as a sport which is almost religious in Canada. At night, lighting within the ceiling of the structure illuminates the figure of Lord Stanley and the surrounding elements creating the atmosphere of a classic outdoor rink. At the four corners of the site, life-size granite hockey boards with benches support this narrative and allow the viewer an intimate engagement with the monument. This is a very interpretative design, one wouldn't be puzzled while looking at it, and we feel it speaks to a wide audience and corresponds with what the organizers want.” The design is the collaborative artistic effort by Myroslaw Trutiak, David Pellettier and Yolanda vanderGaast.
Myroslaw Trutiak also spoke about the origins of his desire to design public monuments: “When I was 10 years old, in 1964, my parents took me to Washington, DC to see the unveiling of Taras Shevchenko monument by Leo Mol. It was a life-changing situation for me. I knew nothing about sculpture at the time, but I saw thousands of people from many countries there to unveil a statue. And who was unveiling the statue? Dwight D. Eisenhower. And who was in charge of the promotion committee? Harry S. Truman. It was amazing. My parents also took me to the Smithsonian Museum, I saw the larger than life-size sculptures of Lincoln and Jefferson. They became my heroes. But I am a Canadian, and the reason for me to build this Lord Stanley memorial is for us in Canada to take ownership of our own heroes.”
The monument will be erected at the corner of Elgin and Sparks Streets in Ottawa, near the spot where Lord Stanley made the donation of the Cup, the historic Russell House Hotel. The winning Design Team will be announced on October 25 and the monument will be unveiled in December of 2017.
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