By Theodore Tollefson

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Over the past decade, Dale Lewis has lived by one motto when it comes to the art he creates” “It's Okay for Fine Art to be Fun!” On Wednesday, Sept. 22, two of Lewis’s most recent fun art projects were brought to downtown Hastings for residents and visitors to see on display.

The two metal sculptures are now on display underneath the Hastings Bridge and are called “I AM the Walrus” and “Leatherback Turtle.” The pieces are on loan from Lewis, which means there is no cost to the city to display them. It also means, they are there for a limited time.

Lewis spoke on the inspiration of these pieces and how he was able to create them with recyclable metals.

“I made the walrus, because if you look at his tusks, it's some Harley Davidson chrome trim,” Lewis said. “Those pieces to me, that was the inspiration, it just looked like tusks. So, I just built the right size walrus under the tusks to make it look like a walrus. And it turned out they were the right size for a life size walrus. And I'm really proud of the way that his expression turned out. He has this sufficiently dopey look that I think all walruses have.”

The name of the walrus of course comes from one of the heaviest psychedelic rock songs, “I am the Walrus,” off the Beatles 1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour. Coo coo Kachoo.

The inspiration story that led to the Leatherback Turtle’s creation came from a visit to one of his sisters, who lives on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Lewis shared, “I was down there a couple years ago and the sea turtle is the leatherback turtle that just started nesting. I was able to see a couple of nesting sites. It just impressed me that it looks like a bulldozer. This sculpture is the actual size. They get to be like 2,000 pounds and it just looks like a bulldozer climbed out of the ocean and made a nest. The nest is all sand, but you can see it because it's like a 20foot diameter spot. Because they're so big, that's how much area gets disturbed when they nest.”

Along with “I AM the Walrus” and “Leatherback Turtle,” Lewis has 21 additional metal sculptures on display near Hastings and throughout the Midwest. One of the more unique creations by Lewis is his “Saguaro in Bloom” sculpture that is on permanent display at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Kelly Murtaugh, assistant city administrator for Hastings, spoke on how Lewis’s pieces were placed underneath the Hastings Bridge.

“Mecca Page [Lewis’s Art Representative] submitted the proposal to the city on behalf of Dale and his artwork. They proposed some spots to place the sculptures and we came together and decided that these were the two best spots where they are now located. There are some other pieces that have been down here by the river from time to time that were also made by other artists,” said Murtaugh.

Now with the walrus and turtle sculptures complete and on display in downtown Hastings, Lewis will continue to work on his next project, a 1943 Jeep driven by a couple of rats as a tribute to the shortlived ABC television show, “The Rat Patrol” that aired from 19661968.

“So, I got a rat driving it with a rat in the passenger seat and a rat in the back. That could be the machine gunner. It's sitting in my driveway. It's all done, except I have to make wheels, which turns out to be almost as much work as making the rats because first of all, I have to make five wheels since you have to have it like a Jeep. They make it look exactly and they're pretty big and involved. They have heavy tread, so it ends up when I get all the materials together for the tires. It's going to be a lot of welding in the works, but it's getting pretty far along because like I said that it's taking shape because the rats are all done,” said Lewis.

In addition to the Rat Patrol sculpture, Lewis has an eagle sculpture that will be on display in Tennessee within the next few months.

“I AM the Walrus” and “Leatherback Turtle” will be on display underneath the Hastings bridge until spring of 2022.

Lewis concluded by sharing why he loves creating these sculptures for himself and for other people.

“I like my hometown and I like sharing in art,” Lewis said. “That's why I do it. Most of my pieces bring smiles to people's faces and are entertaining. That's really why I do it. Grinding in all the welding stuff that goes with the fun part. It's coming up with the ideas and in putting together the material that's going to work and then when it's done, you know, people actually enjoy it. That's the fun part.”

Sculptor Dale Lewis poses with his life-sized leatherback turtle sculpture along the riverfront walking path under the Highway 61 bridge. Photo by Bruce Karnick