Dispersed throughout the Peace and Justice Garden stand various relics designed to represent and foster tranquility at Salt Lake Community College.
As water flows through a cement channel in the garden, located on the South City Campus, the SLCC community can discover a haven among five four-sided peace posts with a hopeful message, six statues of prominent women in history, a mural and a large volumetric metal work.
Statues of iconic trailblazers in US history
The statues, a recent addition to the Peace and Justice Garden, took a year to complete and were installed in June 2024. The statues were inspired and made by Stan Watts and Tami Brooks of Atlas Bronze Casting.
Brooks, who developed her talents in oil painting and drawing before switching to sculptures, talked about the impact of her research and the subjects featured for this project.
“I love reading biographies. There are so many women in our history,” Brooks said. “When you get an inspiration, you have to be passionate about it.”
Several of the heroines persevered against all odds to develop their capabilities and skills. While discussing the inspiration behind these women, Brooks explained how their stories possess a mythological feel.
“There are these women — in spite of everything going against them, with no privilege — everything was pushing them away from developing their gifts or talents. If I had to come up with a logo, it would be the phoenix,” Brooks said. “Everything was against them, burned down to the ground, and they come back and make themselves. It’s so inspirational.
“Today, we think, ‘Oh, we’re having such a hard day’ and it’s nothing compared to a hard day for a Black woman between the time period of the Civil War into civil rights. These women created and did amazing things. They had so much grit,” Brooks continued.
How accuracy drives the making of statues
Using textbooks to get accurate measurements and proportions for body parts, Watts and Brooks create drafts freehand and share ideas based on what each other sees in the photos they have printed.
“We print off a ton of pictures of every angle we can get. We zoom in. It’s drawing in 3D. We measure a lot. We have a book, ‘Human Proportions for Artists’ by Avard Fairbanks. He did all the measuring of human anatomy,” Brooks explained.
Brooks made an analogy of a photo to a painting when describing the difference between a photo and a statue.
“If [a subject] is computer generated or a mold, you put on a wax figure. There is something uncanny about it. It just feels weird. It feels more like a doll,” Brooks said. “I’ve seen sculptures in parks, and you can tell they just put a wax figure in an outfit and poured a mold over it. And the fabric looks kind of wet. It doesn’t have that feeling of art like an impressionist painting versus a photo. They are different medias.”
Watts, who has been making bronze monuments and statues for almost half a century, serves as the chronicler and is a perfectionist for ensuring they get the history correct.
“I’m a stickler for that. You’re not really doing just the statue, you’re also recording history in terms of a period of time and what they are wearing,” he said.
James Walton, the college’s gallery and art collection specialist, said SLCC hopes to have plaques describing the statues fabricated and installed sometime in the next 30 days or so.
The donor for the statues wished to remain anonymous.
Peace poles
According to the Peace Pole Project website, the posts display the message “May Peace Prevail On Earth” in various languages. Originating in Japan over fifty years ago, the organization plants poles worldwide to support of the universal message of peace and foster a grassroots movement for global peace and consciousness. SLCC installed peace poles at the garden in May of 2022.
“Respira y Inspira” mural
Roots Art Kollective, which is owned by SLCC alumni Miguel Galaz, Alan Ochoa, and Luis Novoa, painted the mural commissioned by SLCC in August 2022. A spray paint and acrylic on panel, the mural depicts a hand holding a flower and a monarch butterfly in view. Titled “Respira y Inspira” — “Breathe and Inspire” in English — the mural spans 138 inches tall by 288 inches wide.
Roots Art Kollective’s mission is to “expand public art to create vibrant environments that allow people to learn about the cultures that enrich our communities.” Follow the group on Instagram.
“Intent” sculpture
Acquired and installed in 2020, a large volumetric metal work titled “Intent” was created by Nathan Brimhall, a University of Utah Art graduate. The work stands at 101 3/4 inches tall.
According to his website, Enembe, Brimall loves the three dimensional experience in sculpting. He says, “Feelings can change as one’s perspective does. Each interaction may lead to new discoveries. The light, time of day, weather and seasons can bring new insights. I love the universality of it. I find my ‘favorite’ perspective often changes with time”. Follow Brimhall’s work on Instagram..
How the garden provides a tranquil nature retreat
Yamileth Rivera, a freshman videography student, visits the garden to study and said the area provides a pleasant retreat where she can unwind and relax.
“I just like being out here. It’s really peaceful,” Rivera said. “I like hearing the water and having all the trees around here. It’s a nature moment. Just to get away. I think it is really nice to be out here and take a breather.”
A plaque located in the garden summarizes the goal of the Peace and Justice Garden: “A peaceful space for art, justice, civil dialogue and community healing.”
