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SALT LAKE CITY — The newly completed "Light of the World" sculpture garden at Thanksgiving Point opens Saturday. After years of planning and millions in donations, now visitors will see 35 larger-than-life images of Jesus Christ in 15 different settings.
What began as a dream 14 years ago now covers 2.5 acres. The sculptures make a powerful statement.
"From the time I was a very little girl, I have always been deeply, emotionally connected to the life of Jesus Christ," said Angela Johnson, the artist who created the sculptures.
Just two days ago, Johnson and her team at Thanksgiving Point surveyed the nearly completed garden. She was a professional singer who ended that career in 1997 and was inspired, she says, to become an artist. She began creating this project in 2003.
"Being able to really show the way Jesus Christ interacts with people is also to be the mirror image of how he interacts with us," she said.
This week, workers used power hoses to clean the statues. Others drove heavy equipment to finish the landscaping.
Each step has been painstaking, beginning with molding the images in clay. And then each statue went through a multi-phase process. The artisans at Adonis Bronze in Alpine first made molds, then waxed every piece. The bronzing process includes intense heat followed by a coating, or patina. Normally that could take months, but with a deadline of 2016, this project went into overdrive.
Denzil Jeaks is the production manager and knew this was an immense project. But with Christ at its center, he really wanted to help complete it.
"We've just been hitting it hard and had two or three to finish a month, and that's what we've tried to accomplish. We're pretty much hitting that goal," he said.
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More sculptures to be added to ‘Light of the World’ garden
A sculpture garden with images of Jesus Christ will expand to include 35 statutes over the next year at Thanksgiving Point.The statues are impressive, monumental in size and needed equally striking scenes. The landscape architect walked KSL through the dynamic "raising of Lazarus" site. His job — create the atmosphere around the sculptures. That, too, required inspiration.
"And, I can tell you, with assurety, that I took that seriously. And when I approached it, I did have a prayer in my heart of how best to do this, because it will impact everyone who comes through here," said Cory Shupe, president of Blue Line Designs.
“Look where the Savior is and the humility that he has and the love and interaction between the two individuals,” Mark Nelson, CEO of “I Am the Light of the World Foundation," said of one of the scenes.
Karen and Alan Ashton created Thanksgiving Point and have supported the project from the beginning. “Light of the World” sculptures are in Ashton Gardens.
And Nelson says private donors have given between $4 million and $5 million to the project.
"The right people at the right time have stepped up and helped make this project happen through some very amazing, generous donations," Karen Ashton said.
Thanksgiving Point managers say all visitors are welcome. They realize the garden may be more of a cultural experience to some.
Mike Washburn, president and CEO of Thanksgiving Point said, "When my wife and I travel, we go to Buddhist temples and mosques, we go to cathedrals. … Certainly Christians everywhere will recognize their Savior and other people will recognize it as a beautiful, artistic rendition of what a certain group of people believe."
Over the years as the smaller sculptures have been replaced by the larger, thousands of visitors have literally touched the images and expressed their gratitude to the artist.
Melissa Stone's baby daughter died when she was hit by a cement truck. Melissa first came to the garden when she was healing from her injuries.
"Knowing that that's where my daughter is and that she is surrounded by him and his love is so comforting, to know that one day I will be able to be there, too," she said.
Johnson says she hears from many people who are touched by her art. "Whatever I have given to this, it is coming back to me a hundredfold."
As visitors to the sculpture garden make their way around the life of Christ and see the resurrected Savior, they then come down a path and see the final sculptures tucked away in a grove of trees.
This final scene, of a young Joseph Smith kneeling before God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, Johnson says, also came through inspiration. She understands that not all people believe as she does, but she believes the opening of the garden is timely. "We all need Christ. We all have pain and trials and struggles and questions.”
The message of these larger-than-life sculptures goes beyond the simple power of the images.
Shupe said, "Whether you believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior or not, you can feel something different as you come here. I hope, that's my deepest hope, that people will come and really feel that impact."
The artist and her creative team believe that each person who sees the sculptures will not forget the experience.
The official opening ceremony takes place Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Sculpture Garden. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be the keynote speaker.
