36 Below: Table of the Sun, 2010 | Photo Credit: J. Rochlin
The only difference between this and other Pacific Northwest pods is that instead of residing in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, this family of Orcas swim the lush green lawns of Seattle’s Warren G. Magnuson Park.
John T. Young is a sculptor and professor of art at the University of Washington in Seattle. His creation, The Fin Project: From Swords into Plowshares, recycles parts from decommissioned nuclear attack submarines to create a work of public art that is at once visceral and intellectual.
I’m standing with John near one of his “Orcas,” we’re talking about how Swords into Plowshares came about. John is cheery this morning, he laughs easily, “A friend of mine heard that the Navy was trying to get rid of some nuclear attack submarine diving planes,” he says, “you
see, they’re filled with a material that makes them pretty much impossible to melt down for scrap, so salvage dealers didn’t want them. I saw a photo and I knew right away what to do with them.”
“It happened that quick?” I ask.
John runs his hand along the rough surface of one of the Orcas. “It was so obvious to me. I saw it in my mind’s eye. Take these diving planes — which, when they’re on the subs are horizontal — turn them vertically and you have a pod of killer whales.”
I look up and down the line of fins protruding from the grass at a height of 4 to 12 feet. From this vantage point and the way the fins are placed and angled, I don’t have to use much imagination to get the feeling that I’m actually
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