Thomas Dambo's magical troll art

turns out some trolls get a  bum wrap and Lee Cowan has proof unlike happy go-lucky leprechauns whom we  celebrate today their close cousins the trolls   are usually depicted in a less flattering light as  ugly and brainless with big noses and fat bellies   shall we they are mythical beings that have now  gone the way of the fire breathing dragon or have   they if seeing really is believing what are we to  make of this what about her what about him he is   a Happy Troll but he is also a really serious  troll because you need to take responsibility   and that's why he's pointing you is it your fault  or are you one of the good guys of one of the um   evil guys Oscar the bird king is a fairy tale  that was just coming to life when we visited   these Woods on Vashon Island near Seattle his  architect Danish artist Thomas Dambo wanted to   craft this 10,000 lb creature to be both imposing  and inviting he felt a little bit too human before   he needs to have the troll in him the big branches  and the fur and the big beard and because I don't   want him people to think it's like human right  right nope he looks like a troll now that's for   sure yeah Oscar isn't the first nor will he  be the last dambo has built more than a 100   trolls in 17 countries and no two are alike each  has its own story like Mr Jack Lumber in Denmark   Hector el protector in Puerto Rico Anna of  Green in Germany his way of the bird king   project is one of the latest in a series of troll  sculptures he's been commissioned to build here   in the US which includes Benny the beard Fisher  in Michigan Rita The Rock planter in Colorado Pia   the Peacekeeper in Washington state Giants they  are but gentle ones they aren't here to terrify   he says they're here to teach specifically about  the one mistake we humans can't seem to outgrow   are ever growing piles of trash everything that  I do is um showing people that trash can have a   value so that trash doesn't need to be a negative  thing that suffocating our world but it can be a   beautiful thing that we can build our coming world  with and a pile like this that's a dream come true   this like a regular toy store yep his trolls are  mostly made from recycled wood scraps that might   otherwise end up in a landfill or just be burned  discarded shipping pets are his favorite a typical   troll needs about five tons of them the world  is running out of resources and we're drowning   on our own trash and those two things they each  other's solution and that's what my art is about   dambo has been dumpster diving ever since he  was a kid in Denmark he says he's always had   a peculiar interest in what other people would  throw away and how he might repurpose it you can   build anything out of anything if you're just  creative so why trolls well dambo says trolls   have always been Protectors of our forests and to  create these giant Guardians in the woods out of   material that used to be Forest itself he hoped  would send a powerful but accessible message do   most people get it like most people get it and  people they want to be a part of something fun   and something beautiful and a positive change  pretty much everybody want to be a part of that   that's why everywhere he goes He enlists armies  of local volunteers to help like longtime Vashon   Island resident Greg Martin what have you gotten  out of this whole experience personally just an   expansion uh for all of us to look at a different  way of doing stuff a different way of looking at   stuff Martin will remain as one of Oscar's many  caretakers when dambo and his team move on and   leave Oscar behind I'm okay that they don't last  forever that's the beauty of wood it grows out of   the ground and it decomposes just straight into  the ground again but perhaps more than anything   what Thomas dambo hopes he'll take away from  his not so trashy trolls is the Journey to Find   Them some he flat out hides giving only a few  Clues to where his fans can find them but it's   in that he says that his trolls show their true  magic luring us humans out into the woods where   there's just the Wind and The Whispers of nature  that's when he says his trolls speak the loudest   I think it's good to remind people that there is  soil and sun and water and trees and that's a big   joy for me to give that to people all troll s  do have an element of Truth so the next time   you're out in the woods look up at what might be  looking down on you and find out just what you believe

Channel: CBS Sunday Morning

Views: 104,888

Keywords: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, news, Thomas Dambo

Id: 3nMueP3sQzA

Length: 5min 47sec (347 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 17 2024