Last week I drove to the north central part of the state to see my Mom and to attend a family reunion. Since it was a solo trip, I got to pick the agenda and places I wanted to visit. One of my stops was at a John Lopez sculpture.
John is a South Dakota native, raised on a ranch in Western SD. He started his art career (1993) in bronze sculpting, but transitioned to scrap metal sculpture (2006) when he created an archangel for his aunt's tombstone.
Walleye Up
is a 15' sculpture of a cowboy riding a walleye. Why? The community of Mobridge is known for the Sitting Bull Stampede Rodeo held each 4th of July and known for its great fishing along the Missouri River. This sculpture was installed the summer of 2018.
walleyes
I really enjoy looking at his metal sculptures and identifying the metal (often from old farm equipment) he used in his creation. These are blades from a mower sickle used to create fish scales. I remember my dad sharpening the blades each summer before mowing the hay.
lots of washers used on the walleye head
love the determined look on the face of this older cowboy
an example of his bronze work
the fish hook, the cable rope, the cowboy boots and stirrups
and gears in the walleye tail
His studio is in Lemmon SD. My first John Lopez sculpture was in Hill City, across the street from the Alpine Inn,
Iron Star (taken in 2012)
Made to match the dimensions of Lopez’s uncle’s horse “Frenchman’s Mr. Tough,” this sculpture is made of a combination of sheet metal, truck shocks, shovels, chains and more. There are even some hand tools in there, leading friends to joke that they have to keep their good wrenches away from the artist. (He swears his sculptures never include tools that can still be used.)
Bonus: The detail of this piece is so strong that cowboys driving by with horse trailers swear their horses whinny when they pass Iron Star.
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