The Guardian
Artwork copyright held by the artist
Artwork Information
Artist:
James Lee Hansen
Date:
1965
Media:
Cast Bronze Sculpture on cement slab
Size:
6 ft x 2 1/2 ft x 2 1/2 ft
Location:
Between Cannell Library (LIB), east side and Gaiser Hall (GHL), south side.
About the Artist:
Celebrated artist James Lee Hansen creates figurative and abstract sculptures. He has lived and worked in the Battle Ground area of Southwestern Washington since the 1950s.
Hansen was born in Tacoma, Western Washington in 1925. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1939-45) in the South Pacific. He used the GI Bill to study art at the Portland Art Museum School (now the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon) and graduated in 1950. Bronze sculptures quickly became his main focus, and he built his own foundry and developed a hands-on approach to bronze casting.
Hansen’s sculptures are included in many museum collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Portland Art Museum (Oregon). He also taught at Portland State University for 26 years, among other universities, and was an influential teacher and mentor.
Artwork description:
The Guardian is a cast bronze sculpture created by artist James Hansen. It is part of his series of abstract figurative "Guardians." He refers to this series of work as "the symbolic guardians of cultural systems, both political and religious. They are the primary images inherent in the constructs of civilization. Through all human history, their various forms are the substantive imperatives: a sublimation of spiritual forces, the quintessential cultural artifact of human passage."
This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Clark College.
Acquisition Information:
The Clark College community wished specifically to acquire a sculpture by artist James Hansen, who has lived most of his life in Vancouver, Washington. State-appropriated funds were not enough to purchase 'The Guardian.' Dedicated and enthusiastic Clark College students and faculty hosted a dinner, dance and art auction event to raise the remaining funds.
Art % (WSAC1976.049.000) along with a contribution from Student Government.
Geo Coordinates:
45.635763, -122.651168
Related Links:
https://www.arts.wa.gov/artwork/?request=record;id=3690;type=101