The Bears

With Calgary being so close to the mountains it is no surprise that we would encounter a symbol of the Canadian wilderness in the city, the mighty bear. At any time Calgarians can see several bears at the Calgary Zoo and Griffith Woods Park in southwest Calgary was closed last year due to the presence of a large grizzly bear. We also can discover many human-friendly bears around the city in the form of public art.

There are bronze playful cubs at Century Park in the Beltline and emerging from the greenery a 3-meter bronze bear is overlooking the University of Calgary's Taylor Quadrangle. In Baker Park on Scenic Bow Road in the Northwest, there are bronze sculptures of two bear cubs playing with their mother and another one of two young bears at play. At YYC’s new International Terminal one can discover, as one of a few of the animal sculptures there, a granite family of bears.   

Tucked inside the SW corner of the Calgary Municipal Building we can find a stylized bronze sculpture by the French-born sculptor Suzanne Sablé, The Bears. Standing with their backs to you the simplified shapes of a mother bear gesturing her cub unaware of the danger is turning to confront you. The broad masses without texture or detail have truncated rears revealing the arches of their round bodies.

The Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations Commissioned Sablé for the large sculpture to be installed at the new Calgary City Hall in 1982. Suzanne’s modernistic style with The Bears is also prevalent in several other bronze animal sculptures such as horses, polar bears, giraffes, and an elephant. While exploring The Family of Horses and the Centre Street Bridge Lion, pop into city hall and experience a safe encounter with nature.

Be sure to check out this little know piece of Calgary public art inside the Calgary Municipal Building. Keep reading WebStamp as we continue to explore Calgary’s collection of Public Art. There appear to be many bear sculptures to explore, not to mention horses, beavers, and many other animals. Public art is important to the well-being of a city and reflects towards visitors and local citizens the essence of its citizens.