The Awakening (sculpture)

The Awakening (1980) is a 72-foot (22 m) statue by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. that depicts a giant embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself. There are five editions of The Awakening according to Emma Vitello, an Associate Curator at the Seward Johnson Atelier.[1] The original one, which used to sit at Hains Point is now located at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. That giant now emerges from sand. It is located at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, just outside Washington, D.C.[2] The second edition, Il Risveglio (The Awakening), was done in fiberglass, is located in Viterbo, Italy.[3] The third edition sits along the Missouri River in Chesterfield, Missouri. The third and fourth editions can be found at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey and St. Michaels Farm Preserve, Hopewell, New Jersey, respectively.

Description

The original statue consists of five separate aluminum pieces buried in the ground, giving the impression of a distressed giant attempting to free himself from the ground. The left hand and right foot barely protrude, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air. The 17-foot (5.2 m) high right arm and hand reach farther out of the ground. The bearded face, with the mouth in mid-scream, struggles to emerge from the earth.[2]

History

The Original

The Awakening was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. in 1980 as part of Washington, DC's 11th annual Sculpture Conference, and the sculpture was originally installed at Hains Point in East Potomac Park, Washington, D.C.. Hains Point was designated by Congress as the site for a National Peace Garden in 1987. Although no work had started on the National Peace Garden for many years, the decision still prompted the eventual sale of the sculpture by its owner, The Sculpture Foundation.

Real estate developer Milton Peterson purchased the sculpture for over $700,000 in 2007 for installation at his new National Harbor development in Maryland. Crews removed The Awakening from Hains Point in February 2008 for its move to National Harbor. At the National Harbor development, the sculpture was installed on a specially built beach along the Potomac River.[4][5][6]

Second Edition, a.k.a. "Il Risveglio" (Translation: The Awakening)

A fiberglass copy of The Awakening, also made by Seward Johnson, has been exhibited in at least three places in Italy,[7] where it is called Il Risveglio. It was installed there first in April 2009 on Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) on the island of Ortygia, the historic, old part of Syracuse, Sicily at the time of some G8 meetings in Italy.[8] In December of that year, it was moved to the EUR district of Rome, in connection with a commemoration of twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was installed next to an obelisk in the Piazza Guglielmo Marconi. Finally, in May 2011, it was installed in Viterbo in the Valle di Faul Park.

Third Edition

Seward Johnson created an aluminum copy of The Awakening, which was unveiled in Chesterfield, Missouri on October 10, 2009. The sculpture is located adjacent to Chesterfield Central Park, near the intersection of Chesterfield Parkway and Park Circle Drive to the west of Chesterfield Mall. The installation of the sculpture in Chesterfield was commissioned by Chesterfield Arts, which is a non-profit arts organization supporting public art and the visual, performing and literary arts in Chesterfield and the West County. $1 million in funding was provided by Sachs Properties.[9][10]

Fourth Edition

Erected in 2014, the fourth edition of The Awakening is located at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.[11] The Awakening artist, Seward Johnson, also founded Grounds for Sculpture; a 42-acre, non-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum in Hamilton, New Jersey, in 1992 to make contemporary art accessible. Located on the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds, it features over 300+ large-scale, outdoor, contemporary, and, at times, whimsical, sculptures alongside indoor gallery spaces.[12]

Fifth Edition

A fifth edition of the iconic 72-foot sculpture The Awakening by Seward Johnson was installed at St. Michaels Farm Preserve in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, in April 2023, with an official opening ceremony held on May 21, 2023. Although Seward Johnson passed away March 10th, 2020 at the age of 89, the latest sculpture was made possible in collaboration with the Johnson Atelier, D&R Greenway Land Trust and the Hopewell Valley Arts Council by grant from the Atlantic Foundation, a Johnson Family foundation.[13]

Specifications

  • Dimensions
    • Head 169"x142"x56.9"H
    • Left Hand 42"x79.5"x59"H
    • Right Arm 108"x129.5"x254.5"H
    • Left Leg 148"x252.5"x132"H
    • Right Foot 47.5"x84"x67.5"H
Photos of The Awakening
  • Panoramic view of the sculpture
  • The statue's hand with the Capital Wheel on the background
  • The statue with a Christmas tree behind it
  • The statue under water at National Harbor

The statue was featured in the beginning of the 1995 Hollywood film The Net and in the 1997 political thriller Shadow Conspiracy with actors Charlie Sheen and Linda Hamilton walking through the statue.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ferrara, Sue (May 17, 2023). "Seward Johnson Sculpture Set for a New Awakening in Hopewell". Community News. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "The Awakening, (sculpture)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  3. ^ Ferrara, Sue (May 17, 2023). "Seward Johnson Sculpture Set for a New Awakening in Hopewell". Community News. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  4. ^ The Washington Post
  5. ^ "The Hains Point Hand: Stealing Away A Public Treasure – Raw Fisher". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  6. ^ Abruzzese, Sarah (December 29, 2007). "After 27 Years, a Popular Sculpture Moves From a National Park Into Private Hands". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  7. ^ Ferrarri, Benedetta (April 22, 2017). "Il "Risveglio" e la sua rinascita grazie a Viterbo Civica". Etruria News (in Italian). JPM INTERNATIONAL SRL. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  8. ^ In fact, the G8 summit in 2009 was held in L'Aquila, Abruzzo in July. Ahead of that, G8 environment ministers met in Syracuse in April, to prepare talking points. "Environment Ministers define G8 talking points". Italy Magazine. Edgardtown, MA. April 25, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  9. ^ Shapiro, Mary. "Chesterfield: Sculptures throughout city grab viewers' attention". STLtoday.com.
  10. ^ "Sachs donates $1M sculpture to Chesterfield". St. Louis Business Journal. St. Louis, MO. August 4, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "The Awakening - Grounds For Sculpture". Grounds For Sculpture -. October 4, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  12. ^ "About - Grounds For Sculpture". Grounds For Sculpture -. March 5, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  13. ^ Ferrara, Sue (May 17, 2023). "Seward Johnson Sculpture Set for a New Awakening in Hopewell". Community News. Retrieved February 16, 2026.

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