The Fremont Troll (also known as The Troll, or the Troll Under the Bridge) is a public sculpture in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in the United States.
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Artists and inspiration
The Troll was sculpted by four local artists: Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. The idea of a troll living under a bridge is derived from the Scandinavian (Norwegian) fairytale Three Billy Goats Gruff.
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History
In 1990, the Fremont Arts Council launched an art competition whose partial goal was to rehabilitate the area under the bridge, which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. The piece, built later that same year, won the competition.
Description
The Troll is a mixed media colossal statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the George Washington Memorial Bridge (also known as the Aurora Bridge). It is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. The vehicle has a California license plate.
The Troll is 5.5 m (18 ft) high, weighs 6,000 kg (13,000 lb), and is made of steel rebar, wire, and concrete. He is interactive--visitors are encouraged to clamber on him or try to poke out his one good eye (a hubcap).
Legacy and cultural references
- In 2016, the Chicago rock band Majungas released "The Fremont Troll" off their Seattle Rock album.
- In 2005, the segment of Aurora Avenue North under the bridge, running downhill from the Troll to North 34th Street was renamed "Troll Avenue" in honor of the sculpture.
- In 2007, a caricatured replica of the Troll was entered in the Red Bull Soapbox Race (a soapbox derby) in Seattle.
- In 2011, the Seattle drugstore chain Bartell Drugs released a commemorative Fremont Troll Chia Pet, to celebrate the Troll's 21st birthday.
- The Seattle Times uses Gabriel Campanario's sketch of The Troll on some of its "Page Not Found" pages.
Copyright
The artists have chosen to exercise their copyright to control commercial use of Troll images. All commercial use of The Troll's image must first have permission in writing from the artists. Postcards, beer, and other products approved by the artists are commercially available, and use is free to non-profit organizations.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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