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WATCH: Red Deer’s newest public art unveiled

Red Deer’s latest “ghost” sculpture is a love letter to the game of hockey.

Red Deer’s latest “ghost” sculpture is a love letter to the game of hockey.

The City of Red Deer unveiled its newest public art piece, which is the eleventh sculpture in the city’s Ghost Collection, at Servus Arena Wednesday morning.

Artist Nathan Scott’s sculpture, The Face-off, features three life-size figures; two peewee hockey players and a referee.

“It was quite labour intensive, but it turned out well. I’m really happy with it,” Scott said. “It looks like it has some good motion in there.”

The numbers on the players’ jerseys – 52 and 18 – represent the years the original Red Deer Arena and Servus Arena opened.

Scott said he spent more than two months sculpting and about four months casting to bring the art piece to life.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m not too much of a hockey buff, but I really wanted to capture the spirit of it. I knew this arena was not exclusively for hockey, but I really wanted to capture that.”

The artist from British Columbia said it was a lot of the fun to create the models for the players and referee. For the players, his wife asked Facebook friends with children to volunteer. A friend of Scott’s, who works at a metal shop he does business with, was selected for the referee.

“I went up to him one day and I said, ‘Hey I have to ask you a personal question … I want your body.’ He was thrilled and out of his mind. He hasn’t been asked that for 30 years,” he joked.

Scott said he was very excited his sculpture was selected.

“I’m sure the other ones were just as great,” he said. “I don’t know why they chose me, but I’m so honoured. This whole thing with Red Deer and its collection of art is incredible.”

Prior to The Face-off, the city’s most recent ghost was unveiled in 2012 in front of Sorenson Station. The first ghost was unveiled in 1994.

Craig Curtis, Red Deer city manager, said people the Ghost Collection.

“Initially, this idea of bronze sculptures, I wasn’t sure if it would take off. But it’s become an attraction in the city and part of an actual walking tour,” Curtis said.

This sculpture was funded through the public art portion of the Servus Arena’s budget. Other sculptures in the collection have been funded by various donors and the Downtown Business Association.

Curtis said the newest public art perfectly represents the city.

“Red Deer is very much a hockey town,” he said. “We really wanted to have something that reflected the game, that reflected this building.”



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Artist Nathan Scott stands in front of his sculpture The Face-off at Servus Arena in Red Deer Wednesday. The sculpture is the eleventh “Ghost” in the city’s bronze series, located throughout the downtown. (Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff)
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Artist Nathan Scott’s The Face-off, Red Deer’s newest public art piece, was unveiled at Servus Arena in Wednesday morning. (Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff)
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Craig Curtis, Red Deer city manager, speaks before the city’s newest public art piece was unveiled at Servus Arena in Wednesday morning. (Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff)


Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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