| Jim Young shows a miniature of his artwork. Young’s work will be displayed at the county event center when the facility opens later in the summer. A second piece created by Young is slated for display in the fall. |
The new event center at the county fairgrounds will soon be displaying the artwork of longtime local resident James Young.
A professor of art at the College of Eastern Utah for more than 30 years; Young has influnenced many young artists.
Because of Young’s artistic abilities, Carbon Commissioner Bill Krompel requested that the artist create two sculptures for the new center.
The sculptures are to represent and pay tribute to the men and women who work in the coal mines as well as the oil and gas fields throughout the Carbon-Emery County area.
One sculpture will be displayed inside the complex and one will be placed on outside of the building.
According to Young, the outside art piece is made from a sand cast and dipped into a wax cast.
The wax cast is pealed off and sent through the bronzing process.
The substantially sized sculpture depicts the drilling and gas wells and the coal mining industry.
A later request from Sam Quigley recommended a more pristine and substantial art piece for the inside sculpture
After revisiting the idea, Young decided to create a sculpture using a surrealist approach.
The sculpture, at first glance, appears to be a Castle Valley landscape.
But as people take in the entire visual, they start to recognize the faces of energy workers hidden within the sandstone cliffs.
The method is what is referred to as a relief sculpture, stated Young.
The inside sculpture is actually three separate pieces connect to form one solid structure.
Funding for the art pieces were approved by the county recreation special service district last October.
But because of the magnitude and the approximate 1,200 pound weight of the three-piece sculpture, the interior wall at the center could not support the art piece.
For the sculpture to be displayed, the wall had to be reinforced underneath the sheet rock with three steel beams to insure adequate support for the display.
The costs of reinforcing the wall raised the expense of the project and exceeded the original designated budget. Therefore, additional money will be needed to complete the project, according to Young.
To date, the funding for the projects came from mineral lease royalties provided by the Carbon County Recreation and Transportation Special Service District along with revenues from the Utah Permanent Community Impact fund.
A request for additional funding will be made by the county in the near future.
The outside sculpture is nearing completion and is scheduled to be put in place on June 4, explained the artist.
Young also hopes to hang a plaque on the inside of the building recognizing the local contributors for the project at the same time.