So
much for leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photographs. MJR
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Precis of article in Financial
Times Weekend June6/7 98 "Arcadia"
Monumental ambition
of a mason
Fresh from South
Dakota, a Scotsman wants to go tell it on the mountain, says Andrew Morgan
Sandy Stoddart
has just returned from his spiritual home.He has come down from the mountain
in South Dakota determined that a Scottish massif will be the raw material
for another monumental sculpture which would dominate the highlands landscape......
......hacking
away at the Highlands is proving to be a sensitive issue.He has yet to
identify a final sight, though is keen on the Ben Cruachan massif near
Oban where the granite has similar density to that of Mount Rushmore..........
idea haa already
prompted death threat........
...700m long
by 200m high, set on the shoulder of the mountain without altering its
profile....
..now aiming
smaller 600ft....claims not an ego trip........
Scottish Natural
Heritage has deep reservations........Stoddart admits disruption for decades.......Some
members of Bute and Argyle council seem to like the idea and can imagine
it as source of jobs for locals.
Cameron Campbell,
local councillor " Its remarkable that there are still people with such
visionary dreams, its a project that should survive for the whole of the
next millenium and beyond the next ice age"
The project will
take more shape this summer when Stoddart begins a 50ft polymer model....Dianne
Stein, leading the fund raising and well known in Scotland for her ability
to raise money for the arts is confident "There will be hiccups along the
way because of the nature of the beast, but I am sure it will happen because
there is such a deep commitment"
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