You enter a garden that reminds you of a shallow patch reef. As you wander through it, you start to see familiar faces, all of whom you recognize as pioneers of the dive industry. They don’t greet you, though. They don’t speak at all, for every one of them is made of stone.
It’s not a dream; this sculpture garden actually exists at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Established during the introduction of Google Ocean, the “Ocean Pioneers” are the creative genius of sculptor Viktor.
Born in the seaport city of Odessa, Ukraine, this son of a ship’s engineer was taught to love the ocean from infancy. His artistic talents were recognized early, and he nurtured those talents at an Odessa art school. At age 17, while still in school, he learned to dive. In his early 30s, Viktor immigrated to the United States and has lived near Chicago ever since.
Despite his inland address, Viktor’s love of the sea inspired him to create several individual works of art with undersea subjects. Ultimately, it moved him to create a project intended to inspire younger generations to explore, love and conserve the world’s oceans.
In 2002 he began creating the series of granite sculptures that would ultimately become the “Ocean Pioneers.” Over the next seven years, a total of 11 sculptures came to life, honoring the underwater explorers and adventurers who blazed the trails in the underwater world. “Every artist is a historian,” he explains. “I give unconditional respect to those who spend their lives in and under the water.”
Google Ocean is the shorthand name for an entirely new layer in Google Earth 5.0; in a nutshell, it raised the game by expanding available information and the visual exploration of oceans to the level available for its well-known land counterpart. Google Ocean launched as part of the bigger online Google Earth project in early February 2009. During the development of the Ocean project, Google executives saw several of the “Ocean Pioneers” sculpture pieces at the offices of Sylvia Earle, who was consulting with Google on their project. They immediately realized the significance of the work and created the outdoor coral reef design at Google headquarters to display the entire collection. The “Ocean Pioneers” collection was unveiled at Google in late August 2009.
Where the sculptures’ permanent home ultimately will be remains unknown. As an ocean conservationist, Viktor has a vision for it and has formed a working conservation group known as Vuam, a word from Papua New Guinea, which Viktor interprets to mean “the path, leading into the ocean world through the gateway of art.” Vuam plans to create an ocean conservation area that features a land-based facility to showcase the sculptures; the facility will be adjacent to a diveable undersea environment displaying the beauty of ocean conservation. For now, it remains a plan while Viktor looks for an appropriate location to bring his vision to life. Until then, his “Ocean Pioneers” will remain the guests of Google
The “Ocean Pioneers” Include:
Carl Brashear, “U.S. Navy Diver”
Lloyd Bridges, “Bridge to the Oceans”
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, “Technician”
Jean-Michel Cousteau, “Navigator”
Philippe Cousteau, “Spirit of Thalassa”
Sylvia Earle, “Her Deepness”
Phil Nuytten, “Knight of the Ocean”
Zale Parry, “Always Gracious”
Ron and Valerie Taylor, “Shark Masters”
Stan Waterman, “Man with a Camera”
Hans and Lotte Hass, “The Pioneers”
© Alert Diver — Q3 Summer 2010