Description:
The site-specific artwork at Vasquez Rocks, titled Orit Haj, is a tribute to the Tatavium culture of the Santa Clarita Valley. Orit Haj are words from theTataviam language, which mean “river” and “mountain” respectively. Like the fading Tataviam culture and language, Orit Haj will also transform and dissolve with time to reveal inspiring artifacts and legends that have been left behind.
To construct Orit Haj, the artist team Didier Hess and community members used an architectural building material called rammed earth, which is a mixture of soil and cement compacted into forms to create a solid earthen structure. Over the course of about 150 years, due to the artists’ creative modification in the rammed earth formula, personal artifacts embedded by the participants will reveal as the rammed earth material slowly erodes. Hidden within the rammed earth is a bronze sculpture, meant for a future generation to discover.
Evoking the dramatic formations of Vasquez Rocks, the sculpture invites the human hand to touch it and visitors to climb on it. As people return to Vasquez Rocks at various points in their lives, they will notice dramatic changes in physical appearance of the sculpture as well as the surrounding natural environment.
Project Type:
Public Art Commission
Project Responsibilities:
CAD Drafting and Quality Control (Schematic Design Set)
3D modeling
Rendering:
Didier Hess