Artist takes ‘Truth’ on a 2,445-mile trip

“Truth” the sculpture, “a reminder of the importance of Truth,” said artist MacRae Wylde of Hood River, won “Best of the Gorge” at a recent show at Columbia Center for the Arts. Wylde and his wife, Ellen, traveled 2,445 miles with the 11-foot-long lacquered metal “portable” sculpture in tow, to Vincennes, Ind., where it was installed as part of that city’s first public sculpture exhibition. 

An earlier rendition was installed in 2019 on Shoreline Trail. On Oct. 9, the Wyldes greeted friends in a sendoff at the site. The work, just east of Waterfront Park, is part of the Art-of-Community “Big Art” gallery, and will be in place at least another year. Wylde’s works “River Trident,” at Second and Riverside, and “Inside Out #10” on Shoreline Trail, are also part of Big Art (art-of-community.com).

Taking “Truth” to Indiana was “quite an adventure,” MacRae said. There and back took 12 days and covered 5,028 miles. Describing it as “not the most direct route,” the Wyldes stopped in The Dalles; Pendleton; Boise; Bruneau Dunes Sate Park, Idaho; Park City, Utah; Lander, Wyo.; and Vincennes. They did two radio programs, met other artists and, in Lander, did an open show of the piece.

“The trip home was even longer, as we went south to avoid winter (snow) conditions. We stopped in Santa Fe to see some art and share our story,” MacRae said. “The best part was meeting people, seeing old friends and making new ones.”

The artist’s statement about “Truth” says, in part: “When truth is apparent, we can each go about our lives with confidence. Truth is a fragile trust. Once that trust is broken, it is very hard to regain. When that trust is broken, any statement is received with skepticism. If you cry wolf too many times, no one will listen, even when the threat is real. Truth the sculpture is a monument to the concept. It is a reminder that truth is an ideal we should aspire to promote. It is a concept that applies across all boundaries. It cares not where you come from or who your parents were, it does not care what party you belong to or what group you are part of. Like the concept, Truth the sculpture will last forever, yet with neglect it will start to rust.”