Trumpeter
About the Sculptor - Willicey Tynes
“I am a public art artist, sculptor, and painter. My approach to my art-making lives in the realm of intuitiveness, imagination, and an occupancy of space and time. In my mind's eye, I like to see my projects completed from start to finish, which helps me to envision the end results. I have created several large-scale works across multidisciplinary platforms, exploring environmentally based projects in which nature collaborates with the artist in a symbiotic relationship. My growth as an artist is led by a strong desire to create a visceral connection that conjures up not only aesthetics but an emotional connection with nature, conservancy, and the human spirit.
My artistic foundation births from growing up in the Bahamas and my journey continued after immigrating from the Bahamas to Minnesota. This presented many challenges and when I arrived in Minnesota, I found myself navigating the few opportunities available for a black male immigrant in the Arts. As a person of color and an immigrant living in a fractured society, I have seen firsthand what it means to not be included. So, I sought to create opportunities. I started an artist guild, joined various arts boards, and became a teaching artist through the Central Minnesota Arts Board. I taught residencies, workshops, and mentored students in more than 15 different schools in the central Minnesota area and Twin Cities. This allowed me to work closely with various nonprofit arts organizations in the Twin Cities area completing more than 20 art residencies. I then ventured into the realm of public art creating works here in Minnesota and abroad. As an artist of color, I am seeking to continue to build meaningful relationships with my community through my art.“
Sculpture Statement
Willicey’s sculpture is entitled “Trumpeter” and is a tribute to the successful reintroduction of the majestic trumpeter swans to Minnesota.
Why the Trumpeter swan? I became very intrigued with this species and its story of survival along with its connection to Delano. I have had the opportunity over the course of the pandemic to contemplate my survival and relevance as an artist. If I were to survive the pandemic, an economic downturn, and the strong racial divide, what would my reemergence look like?
My intent is to create a visceral connection that conjures not only aesthetics but an emotional connection with nature and conservancy. I am seeking to build a freestanding 10-foot sculpture consisting of two wings that pays tribute to the trumpeter swan while celebrating Delano. This contemporary freestanding sculpture will capture the imagination of viewers while resonating with the values, ecological and conservational intent of the people in the area. The sculpture will be fabricated in galvanized steel, wire mesh, and concrete. The sculpture would be initially created in segments that are joined to form one piece. This approach would allow for a more comprehensive construction process, along with a systematic assembly and easy site transport. The materials selected would ensure that the sculpture is durable, low maintenance, and can handle the extreme environmental conditions of Minnesota. The materials and fabrication process used would be safe for adults and children when interacting with the sculpture.”
Trumpeter Swans
From the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website, we learn: “Trumpeter swans originally graced wetlands across a broad region of North America from Illinois northwest to Alaska. Throughout the 17- and 1800s, swans were hunted for their meat, skins, and feathers. At the same time trumpeter swan habitat diminished as settlers moved across North America. By the 1880s, trumpeter swans disappeared from Minnesota. By the 1930s, only 69 trumpeter swans remained in the lower 48 states, living in the remote Red Rock Lakes area in southwestern Montana.
In the 1960s, Hennepin County Park Reserve District, (now Three Rivers Park District) obtained 40 swans from Red Rock Lakes to establish a breeding flock. Swans begin nesting in Minnesota for the first time in nearly 80 years.”
Per the DNR, the current population estimate in Minnesota is over 30,000 trumpeters.
The Three Rivers Park District website lists locations where trumpeters can be seen. The Lake Rebecca Park Reserve is on the northeast edge of the City of Delano. Free-flying trumpeter swans may be seen at the Rebecca Refuge year-round, with several hundred gathered here during late fall. The Kasma Marsh in the Lake Rebecca Park Reserve is the longest continuous trumpeter swan nesting site in the park district. Both Roy Lake and Rattail Lake also have nesting pairs. In addition, trumpeters may be seen at Baker Park Reserve, which is a few miles east of Delano.
Trumpeter Fun Facts
In the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer (March-April 2017), Carrol Henderson’s article, “Visions of Swans,” notes that “The trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) weighs up to 35 pounds and stands up to 4 feet tall with a wingspread approaching 8 feet. Its resonant trumpeting calls can be heard over a half-mile away. The loud call is made possible by a loop of windpipe inside the breastbone. This extra-long trachea is, in effect, a nearly 3-foot-long trumpet, stretching from lungs to bill. These birds can live for more than 25 years.”
The University of Minnesota created a website for research regarding trumpeter swan movements. You can look at the maps and see the activity around Delano.
This Permanent Installation in the Delano Sculpture Park is possible through the efforts and grants from: