cultural district

Running Man

Marion-Lea Jamieson, Artist

Marion-Lea Jamieson is an artist and sculptor from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

With both a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts, Jamieson has created works across a wide range of mediums. With time spent in both visual fine arts and performance arts (dance, choreography) her works reflect the full range of both her fields of study as well as the human experience.

characteristics

16’6’’ h x 12’ in diameter
painted steel, cast resin, found baubles

Commissioned by City of Kelowna
Origiaally installed at Queensway Transit Centre
Moved to the Queensway & Water St Traffic Circle

Running Man Sculpture | Photo copyright (c) 2021 Miles Overn Photography

The work was actually created during the Okanagan Thompson International Sculpture Symposium, which ran from May of 2002 through to September of the same year. The symposium was spread across municipalities from Kamloops in the north down to Osoyoos in the south. Each participating community continues to enjoy the benefit of the produced works remaining in place after the symposium drew to a close.

Running Man was originally installed at the Queensway Transit Centre on the south end of the cultural district, but was moved into storage while development of the new traffic circle at Queensway Ave and Water St was undertaken. Once that construction project was completed, Running Man was installed in the center of the circle, where it can be seen by vehicles approaching from all directions.

Her work online - A selection of Jamieson's paintings can be found online at Saatchi Art

Her own site - For both her past and current work, including her sculpture, please visit marionleajamieson.ca

Running Man Sculpture in Kelowna | Photo copyright (c) 2021 Miles Overn Photography

The Meaning of the Piece

This piece, as well as others from the series, is said to represent the futility of the human experience for those consumed with rampant consumerism and the rat-race writ large. The figures, a trio of men rushing somewhere, carrying their briefcases full of objects of questionable worth, are interlocked, perhaps suggesting a shared delusion of hyper individualism as well as a panicked need to outperform all others.

The decade from 2000 to 2010 saw Jamieson complete a series of steel sculptures for public spaces, many of which reflect the "running man" or "running woman" theme. There is a much smaller piece from this series installed at Peace Arch Park on the Canada / US border. Additional public art pieces are found up and down the west coast of the US as well as in France.

Other Cultural District Pieces

Rhapsody: Robert Dow Reid, 1993
I Had a Dream: Zhao Lei, 2002
On the Beach: Geert Maas, 2002
Bear: Brower Hatcher, 2010
Running Man: Marion-Lea Jamieson, 2002
Flexible Curves: Tommie Gallie, 1986
Spirit of Kelowna: Geert Maas, 2008
Sentinel: Dawn MacNutt, 2002
Okanagan Sunflowers: Jo Scott-B, 2002
Circle of Friendship: Geert Maas, 1997
W.A.C Bennett Memorial Courtyard & Clock Tower: Hartley & Turik Architects, 1981
Military Museum Murals: Larry Hunter, Michelle Loughery, 2002-2013
Natural Language: Jennifer Macklem, Kip Jones, 2000
The Valley: Ron Hart, Michael Fugeta, 2017
Fruit Stand: Glen Andersen, T.S. Thomas, 2002
Concept to Creation: Diane Gorvin, Philip Bews, Jonathan Yeltatzie, 2002
Skagway: Robert Murray, 1976-1977
Elemental: Crystal Przybille, 2000
The Conductor: Ken Curley, 2012

Running Man Sculpture
Queensway and Water St
49.887295 -119.496548