‘Warrior Within’ stays put, for now

WASILLA — The Warrior Within will remain where it was installed at Wasilla High School, at least until spring, Principal Amy Spargo told students Friday at a series of three presentations about the school’s new art.

“Our next step is we’re going to live with our art for awhile,” she said, responding to a student’s question. “We’re going to think about it, we’re going to rest with it, we’re going to be patient.”

Spargo said later in the school year surveys would be distributed to students, parents and community members asking for public feedback. From there, she said, a committee will review the feedback and determine what, if any, action should be taken.

The questions were part of a presentation from the artists — Meadow Lakes residents Jim Dault and Shala Dobson — that was required as part of their Percent for Art contract and is included as a way to provide education about art and symbolism in the process of placing public art, Spargo said.

It also gave students a chance to ask questions about “Warrior Within.”

Dault and Dobson explained the symbolism behind the 3,000-pound “Warrior Within,” a 12.5-foot-tall monolith that features a pair of Zulu-style shields. Overlapping the shields’ edges forms the oblong shape, Dault said. One shield represents “pure thought,” he said, and the other “pure deeds.” Where the concepts overlap symbolizes the warrior within all of us.

“That is the balance that creates the Warrior Within,” Dault said. “There’s spiritual and physical, inspiration and action. That’s what’s represented in the hand motif up front on the bronze (shield) and the flame motif on the aluminum shield in the back.”

Dault and Dobson created “Warrior Within” through a $100,000 contract with the Percent for Art Program, a state law passed in 1975 that requires the expenditure of 1 percent of capital construction costs of public buildings for permanent installation of artwork.

A few days after the sculpture was installed at the school Jan. 29, Spargo had the artwork covered after receiving complaints from some students and parents that the shape of the shields resemble female genitalia.

While some may have complained, other students, parents and community members say they don’t see anything objectionable in the artwork.

“Well, I wish it had a different design, and I like the (artists’) other idea to use some Olympians,” said Trevor Bell, a WHS freshman. “Personally, I like the shields, but you could say they are poorly shaped.”

Others, like freshman Steven Hansen, said he didn’t make that connection until someone else pointed it out to him.

“I didn’t really think it resembled that at first,” he said. “Then, everybody started talking about it. I don’t think it really matters, really.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.