Metal Sculptures around McMurdo
With another extra day to spare, since our flight to WAIS Divide had been cancelled again, Rachel invited me to join her on a walk around McMurdo to take pictures of metal sculptures that were scattered around the base.
One of the things I like most about McMurdo is that, the longer you are here, the more you notice quirky little things about the place that you didn't see before. It is like the people who are here leave a little hint of themselves, their creativity, and sense of humor behind for others to discover and have fun with later.
Rachel had always wanted to take a welding class, she told me, to be able to make things with metal, but hadn't gotten the chance yet.
On a previous walk, we had come across one sculpture. We decided to start there, and see where that led.
This giant whale (or prehistoric fish, as Rachel calls it) is on a corner overlooking the ice pier.
Try as she might, Rachel could not avoid being eaten by the great beast.
Rachel struggles valiantly against being eaten, and manages to escape its jaws of death with only a few scrapes.
We had heard rumors of a gargoyle on top of a fuel storage tank. Although we didn't know which fuel tank, since there are several, Rachel thought she knew the general area, so we set off in that direction, all the way on the other side of base.
A view of McMurdo Base from the top of Observation Hill. The round white structures to the right are humongous fuel storage tanks.
After snooping around some tanks and finding nothing, we decided to ask some of the employees ("Fuelies," as they are known), who were nearby. They told us that we were going in the wrong direction, and offered to walk us to where the actual statue was.
Go figure, it was very close to the whale.
Friendly "Fuelies" heading back to work after pointing us in the direction of the Gargoyle.
The gargoyle guarded an unused fuel tank, kind of tucked away from view.
M1 is a small fuel tank tucked away in a corner of the Base. If there isn't fuel in it, I wonder what the gargoyle is guarding it for...
Up close, he looks menacing, yet picturesque, framed against a bright, blue Antarctic sky.
Before dropping us off, the Fuelies also told us about the statue of a skier on top of a hill up above the Gargoyle.
After a short climb, we were able to meet him as well. Rachel was instantly enamored by his long limbs and Reeses Peanut Butter Cup knee caps.
Love on the ice!
His bony knees.
This sculpture was placed with a view of the mountains out over the ice shelf.
The final sculpture which we went to visit was just behind our dorm, under a bridge that led to Crary, the Science building.
Troll under the bridge between 155 and Crary. Photo credit: Rachel Obbard
I had seen this guy before, but only after Rachel had pointed him out to me. I wonder how many people cross over this bridge each day and don't notice it.
Besides being fun and quirky, I think having public art around McMurdo (or anywhere, for that matter) is really important to helping create a sense of place, beauty, and belonging for people, wherever they are. I can imagine that this sense is especially important here in Antarctica during the long, dark winters away from home.
For us, it was a morale booster, and a fun thing to do on a day when our flights disappointed us yet again.