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Romanian born . . . Controversial sculptor gains local recognition The Peninsula Times, Wednesday, July 19, 1972 |
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Contemplation
Romanian born Gerhard Juchum's first sculpture to arrive on the Sunshine Coast is attracting a lot of attention in the garden of West Sechelt resident Mr. George Sim. Model for the sculpture was Mr. Sim's son Bill. Mr. Juchum is the creator of "The Spear Fisherman" and "The Lovers" both donated to and rejected by Vancouver Parks Board. The first now stands guard over the harbour at Port Hardy and the other has been accepted at Port Alice on Vancouver Island. Romanian born . . . Controversial sculptor gains local recognition GARDEN statuary on the Sechelt Peninsula is not uncommon but usually takes the form of gnomes, little animals or fountains. West Sechelt came up with something a little different when Mr. Bill Sim commissioned a sculpture of himself for his parents Mr. and Mrs. George Sim of West Sechelt. The figure of a young man seated in quiet contemplation is fashioned from reinforced black concrete by the 34-year old Romanian born sculptor who made the daily press headlines when he donated two of his sculptures to the city of Vancouver. Recently featured in "Spotlight" Mr. Juchum who now has more work than he can handle said he does not sculpt for a living but rather for the art of it. He already has a full-time job and his sculptures are just a hobby. His work has been exhibited at Mediasch (Romania), Berlin, Frankfurt and Giessen as well as in his new home, Vancouver where ten of his pieces were displayed through the courtesy of the Playhouse Theatre Company. Claiming that the modern era is over and done, the sculptor believes that people expect sculpture to be real, honest and reflect the world as it can be seen and touched. Speaking about some people's reaction to nude figures, Mr. Juchum says! "It is unfortunate that a child's first experience with the nude is generally through pornography, not as art". Besides being an artist, Mr. Juchum who served apprenticeship under sculptress Trude Vandory, is a graduate of the University of Giessen, West Germany and majored in Biology, Chemistry, Zoology and Science at the Justus Liebig University. He came to Vancouver in October 1968 and since that time has created sixty-two major pieces. The two statues donated to the City I of Vancouver were not accepted but were accepted at Port Hardy and Port Alice on Vancouver Island. |
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