In the span of one month, 100,000 pounds of marble that was unloaded at Red Deer College on Friday will be transformed into ìmonumentalî works of art by seven world-renowned sculptors.The fourth edition of the Bergen Rocks International Sculpture Symposium gets underway next week at Red Deer College's main campus as the event moves from founder Morton Burke's property near Bergen, where it was held for its first three years.Rechristened as Bergen Rocks ñ RDC for 2011, work on the sculptures officially begins on July 28, with the opening ceremony scheduled for July 31. The final works of art will be revealed on Aug. 28 during the closing ceremony. The event is open to the public six days a week ñ it is closed on Tuesdays.The seven artists ñ Italy's Alessio Ranaldi, Mongolia's Amgalan Tsevegmid, Korea's Kyoung Min Uk and Kim Bong Soo, China's Jiang Chu and Chao Li, and Turkey's Ebru Akinci ñ are expected to arrive in Red Deer from July 25-27. French sculptor Jean Paul Chablais was also scheduled to attend but pulled out after receiving a commission that he will have to complete in August.By moving the symposium to Red Deer, Burke said he is satisfying one of the main objectives he set out when he first started the event back in 2008.ìWhen I started this symposium program, I believed these should be held in towns, cities and institutions, but over a five-year period I wasn't able to stimulate enough interest to convince a municipality or institution to host one,î he explained, saying he started hosting the symposiums himself in the hope a group would eventually catch on. ìRDC and the City of Red Deer were the first to do that so it ends up being here.îWhile Burke plans to bring the symposium back to Bergen next year, he is hopeful there will be enough interest generated this year for the college to create its own event.ìI think that would be an awesome development if RDC decides to have their own,î he said.Interest among sculptors has also increased since the first symposium, Burke explained.ìThis year is the only year that I don't know everybody. When I started this out I just contacted friends of mine in different countries,î he said. ìNow the word is going through the international sculpture community. For the eight positions this year we had 178 proposals.îWhen the symposium wraps up the majority of the sculptures will head south to the Bergen Sculpture Park, while two or three will be installed at Elements at River's Edge, a development on Gaetz Drive in Red Deer. The development's owner is a co-sponsor of this year's event, Burke explained.Burke said organizers are still looking for volunteers to play an integral role in assisting the sculptors during the symposium's 27 working days. Accommodation and meals will be supplied for out-of-town volunteers.ìIt's not possible for an individual to realize a sculpture of this scale in only one month. They do require assistants ñ people who can use a hammer and a chisel or operate a drill, or even shovel up the rubble and take it over to the rubble pile,î he said. ìThat's quite exciting because people have an opportunity to help create a sculpture which will be here for at least 2,000 years, and to take pieces home of it and show their grandchildren someday.îAnyone interested in volunteering can contact Burke via e-mail at [email protected].
