Beautifully detailed U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument and the "Not Forgotten Fountain" were dedicated at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The huge bronze Monument is one of more than a dozen important public art monuments created by Slater in her Hidden Valley Lake sculpture studio.
PRLog - Nov. 25, 2013 - HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. -- Internationally renowned bronze sculptor Paula B. Slater sculpted a 9-1/2 foot high Dog Handler soldier and four 5 foot tall military dog breeds in amazing detail for the U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument. The National Monument pays tribute to the Dog Handlers and their military dog partners since WWII. The project was years in the making and cost more than two million dollars (privately funded).
When asked about her inspiration for sculpting this project, Ms. Slater said, “This was a project that checked all the boxes of what inspires me most--it is filled with history and bravery and heroism. This National Monument was a story that needed to be told in bronze and granite so this story will live in our consciousness for centuries to come. It is a story of man and animal working together for the good, dedicated to saving lives. These are the kinds of projects that I relish most and that keep me up all hours of the night in my sculpting studio, working seven days a week for years at a time.”
John Burnam, president of the John Burnam Monument Foundation, interviewed several well-known sculptors and chose Ms. Slater because of the fine finishing of her bronze sculptures, her attention to detail and her professionalism.
Slater adds, “John showed me his elegant design and shared the concept behind the National Monument, but what really touched me was the story he shared of the thousands of military working dogs which were crated and ready to be air lifted to safety at the end of the Vietnam War, only to be downgraded to non-essential equipment and left on the tarmac. Hearing this story touched me deeply and I knew this was a project I was meant to sculpt.”
So did Ms. Slater feel the pressure of sculpting this huge commission? “I do feel the weight of these kinds of large historic projects, literally there are thousands of pounds of bronze sitting out there, but figuratively, all of us who were involved with this National Monument have felt the weight of it. We wanted to get it right, to bring our greatest talents to bear. We all knew what it meant, what it stood for--this is a National Monument, it is for everyone in this nation, it is for the public, and the world.
“However, if I have done my job well, these bronze sculptures will be a timeless reminder that evokes the same silent and innate human understanding a hundred years from now as they do today--the understanding of the immensely important role, the dog handler and his working dog partner have played in peace-time-rescues and in war time heroism.”
For this to be designated a National Monument, it needed the passing of Congressional legislation, and signing into law by President George W. Bush and was then amended by President Barack Obama.
Another element of this public art commission sculpted by Slater, is a 1.25 times life size bronze fountain called the “Not Forgotten Fountain--which is dedicated to all the heroic war dogs who served, died and were left behind after the Vietnam War.” It is located to the side of the main monument in its own contemplative courtyard. This working fountain consists of a Vietnam War Dog handler offering water to his German Shepherd partner cuddled up next to him. Where the main monument is more formal in nature, this bronze sculpture conveys the bond between the handler and his dog partner.
Slater says, “It really is the loving story of a boy and his dog, and exemplifies all of the Vietnam War dog handlers I have met while researching this project. They were so young when they were deployed to fight in that war. Yet to this day, forty years later, in their wallets, they still carry a small worn photograph of their dog partner from that war. And, they still well up with tears talking about how their furry best friend saved their life time and again, but was left behind on foreign soil to die alone.”
Slater says she considers herself one of the most fortunate people on Earth because she has had so many opportunities to create public art that is powerful and majestic and that touches people who see her sculptural work. Photographs of the National Monument and images of her many previous commissions can be seen on her website at http://www.PaulaSlater.com
She goes on to say, “I believe that good art, has the ability to tell stories that inspire our souls and open our minds to something larger than ourselves. Great art, has the ability to heal the wounded the heart.
“My greatest hope is that this U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument and the Not Forgotten Fountain become a thoughtful place of honoring the departed and inspiring the living, and for those who are still in need of a deeper healing, that they begin to find that deep healing when they visit the monument.”
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National Monument by Renowned Sculptor, Paula B. Slater, Unveiled to Cheers and Tears
November 25, 2013 at 14:48 PM EST
