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The Monument of the Industrial City, Ube
| Owner | Ube City |
|---|---|
| Search Type | Outdoor Sculpture |
| Japanese Title | 宇部産業祈念像 |
| Artist | 山内 壮夫 YAMAUCHI Takeo |
| Material | Bronze |
| Year | 1956 |
| Size | 240cm×97cm×67cm |
| Concept | 山内壮夫は北海道出身の彫刻家。本郷新、柳原義達、佐藤忠良、舟越保武らとともに戦前の1939年、新制作派協会（現新制作協会）彫刻部を創立した。これは戦後の復興記念ともいうべきモニュメントで商工会議所が基金を集めて建立した。いかにもモダニスティックなデザインの記念像だが男女がスコップを持っているところやスコップの柄が植物となって若葉を出しているところなど、産業都市・宇部市らしい。しかし、同時にこの頃の宇部市は日本でも名高い煤塵の降る町で、彫刻展のきっかけとなった緑化運動や花いっぱいの市民運動が芽生えるきっかけとなった。 Takeo Yamauchi was a sculptor from Hokkaido. Together with Shin Hongo, Yoshitatsu Yanagihara, Churyo Sato, and Yasutake Funakoshi, he founded the sculpture division of Shinseisaku-ha (today’s Shinseisaku) Society in 1939. The work, meant to serve as a monument celebrating the postwar restoration, was commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce, which raised fund for the sculpture. While the memorial is a manifestation of blatant modernism, the shovel held by the man and woman and the young leaves stemming from the shovel capture the industrial nature of Ube City very well. When the statue was erected, however, Ube was a city notorious for soot dust pollution, which triggered grassroot movements like greenery campaigns and “Full of Flowers” campaigns, which eventually developed into the sculpture competition. |
| Document ID | 21436 |