Piz La Ila & Gran Risa Track _ La Villa in Alta Badia (BZ) _ December 2015
30th Anniversary of the Giant Slalom Race & 1st edition of Giant Parallel Slalom by night
DANIELE BASSO CREATES GIGANT
Honouring 30 years of the Ski World Cup Alta Badia – Dolomites
"On the 30th Anniversary of the competition, GIGANT is a thank you to all.
A tangible testament that the greatest success belongs to those who put passion above interest and believe in the power of their dreams until they come true!
GIGANT stands for challenges, emotions, victories. It is the celebration of sport through the values of skiing and Man who, year after year, overcomes his limits and contributes to the growth of all Humanity.
GIGANT is a mirror sculpture in which one can see their reflection, lose themselves and then return to be surrounded by affections in Alta Badia. The folds that distinguish it make it an expression of life and change; a metaphor of reality that appears unique yet multi-faceted, as does truth.
GIGANT is the symbol of the competition, becoming the icon of the land that identifies itself with the competition and through the competition expresses all its magical potential. It is the picture postcard of Alta Badia, among the peaks of this UNESCO World Heritage site that are the Dolomites, in the white of the snow, the green of the trees and the pink of the rock. It is where new and authentic experiences and intense emotions await us.
I hope GIGANT becomes the expression of pride for all the inhabitants of the Val Badia, for what they have done and what they will do in the future!"
Daniele Basso
creator of GIGANT
GIGANT: MEANINGS
Commissioned for the 30-year celebration of the Alpine Ski World Cup Alta Badia - Dolomites to the young and up-and-coming international artist, Daniele Basso, by the competition’s Organising Committee headed by Marcello Varallo, GIGANT encompasses the meaning of skiing combined with the authentic beauty that is Alta Badia, and interprets the race logo consecrating it as the symbol, made of eternal steel, of a land known the world over. It is the testament of a dream that has become reality.
With Sasso della Croce and Conturines as a backdrop, Sassongher and the Sella group to the left, and the majestic Marmolada to the south, the monument stands where the Piz La Ila gondola arrives - at 2100 metres a.s.l. - at the start of the Gran Risa, one of the most technical slopes of the Ski World Cup circuit, bearing witness to the magic of the place where any ski enthusiast can feel like the champions that battle it out down the slope. It is here that in 1985 the dream began.
GIGANT, with its folds forming the physical expression of Change as one of Life’s constants, looks like a crystal of ice, a diamond of pure beauty, whose countless triangular polished surfaces reflect the many sides of reality, that is together unique yet multi-faceted . Sides in which all those who contribute to the success of this splendid land can recognise themselves.
Alive thanks to light but camouflaged in the magic of the Dolomites of Badia - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - it expresses the authenticity of the Ladin spirit and brings together all the factors that make the five communities of Alta Badia (Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, Pedreaces and San Cassiano e La Valle) an emotion that will stay with you all year round, a refuge of beauty, welcome and passion.
GIGANT has been developed using state-of-the-art digital technologies, but has been created entirely by hand, confirming the supremacy of man over machine, of thought over technique. Guardian of the Ladin Country, it is the celebration - through skiing - of Humanity and the values that sport represents; of the courage, the determination and the talent, which together with passions give meaning to life. It forever reminds us that at the centre of every success there is always an individual. There is “us”, with our dreams and our emotions! It is an invitation to pursue our ideals for the future we would like for our children and generations to come.
GIGANT: LA DEDICA
On the 30th anniversary of the Skiing World Cup of the Alta Badia, the Organising Committee wishes to express its gratitude and appreciation to all the volunteers, people, bodies and institutions which have contributed to the success of the Gigante of the Gran Risa with professionalism, enthusiasm and passion. A concrete gesture towards a future we will build, together.
GIGANT IN NUMBERS
Tear: 2015 – 30th Anniversary of the Ski World Cup Alta Badia - Dolomites
Technique: Sculpture made entirely of hand-polished steel - 100% eco-sustainable
Dimensions: 5.7x5.7 m - h 6.5 m – approx. 3,000 kg