Bronze Sculpture Installation

The US Grant features a $6.5 million collection of distinctive artwork, including stunning sculptures, ironwork, murals and paintings. Created by carefully selected, world-renowned artists from European, American and Native American backgrounds, the artwork heralds the storied past and modern renaissance of this cultural landmark.

Johnny Bear Contreras has the largest contribution to this project including the following five bronze sculptures:

The Four Directions

Four Female Figures depicting women’s ability to care for her family
Each represents something different: Strength, Unconditional Love (her heart is exposed, and strength has it in her grasp to survive), hope (endurance, clams), faith (dolphin). The baskets on their heads have designs that are specific to their family. The eldest woman wearing a bandana, hair thinning won’t hold up her basket anymore, she holds unconditional love to her right, hope on her left then faith.




Emergence

Single male depicting the creation story of the twin boys that surface up through the ocean to the land base, one boy comes by himself first (more narrow at the bottom). Dolphin beneath the lower left hand and the water that ties the two figures together, the boy is and always will be tied to his place of birth
Eagle feather skirt, symbolizing the bringing of ceremony to man.


Sweat Lodge

Three seated male figures depicting the purification process of a sweat lodge and telling stories to the next generation. The figure with a wing and wand in his right hand is sharing a story. The figure coming out of the earth is the manifestation of the story being shared / the power of the story being told
The abalone shell and sage, center of piece are used in this ceremony.
The circle pattern beneath the figures is all the energy from the earth and the story coming together through the fire in the center of the lodge.


Past to Present

Four standing male figures are bird singers, they sing California bird songs for many occasions. Their attire indicates different generations from the last 30 years (eagle skirt – oldest generation, bandana – turn of the century), cowboy hat (California natives were cowboys, tended to cows), SD Padres ball cap – more current) and symbolizes songs being passed from one generation to the next.


Shadow of the Sun

The figure is on both sides of the sun, moving from one world to the next.
His left hand holds the eagle feathers (in the chain of feathers, eagle is the top because they fly the highest), that are being brought into this world from the other side of the sun. His body can be seen on both sides of the sun, the bulk is spirit and the other that is still being formed is the flesh.
The base is made up of rays of the sun bouncing off the earth that also represent roots ting the figure to the earth.