Photo caption: Silver Tornado is the only stainless steel sculpture of a bucking bull in the world. It is located on City land on the north side of Whipple Street near the Yavapai Regional Medical Center. Before that land was occupied by medical facilities, it was a cattle yard for Salers breed cattle, after which the massive sculpture was modeled by sculptor Natalie Krol. (Photo by Ray Newton)
For 23 years, passersby on Whipple Street in front of the Yavapai Regional Medical Center have admired a statue unlike any other in the world — a huge bucking bull, front legs firmly on the ground and his rear aimed directly at the blue Arizona sky.
Named Silver Tornado by his creator Natalie Krol, the 4,000 pound stainless steel bull defies anyone to mount him.
“And that’s the way it is,” says Krol, who single-handedly created the desired image. With assistance from skilled professionals, she molded, cast, then welded together 60 large pieces of stainless steel to create the 10-foot-tall, 14-foot-long bull. “Silver Tornado is intended to symbolize the World’s Oldest Rodeo® here in Prescott, and no one is going to conquer him.”
City officials and Prescott Chamber of Commerce personnel agree. Realizing that the world-famous rodeo is attracting international attention, they intend to use the bull as a focal point for generating even more attention when they rededicate the statue June 24.
During formal ceremonies 9 to 10:30 a.m., the Prescott Chamber of Commerce will host an event to give the sculpture prominence as an Art in Public Places icon.
Toni Johnson, who works at the City Library, is the liaison for the Art in Public Places Committee. She is organizing a maj or event to rededicate Silver Tornado. Considerable brush and shrubbery has been trimmed or removed, and the location is more accessible to the public. It also will be lighted at night.
The public ceremony will bring City officials, Chamber of Commerce personnel and Prescott Rodeo officials together where they can introduce Krol, an extraordinary world-famous artist who works in multiple media, to the greater community. A plaque commemorating the event will be unveiled.
Krol has lived in Prescott since 1990. She said she initially thought of Silver Tornado when she first attended a Prescott rodeo and saw the awesome power of a bucking bull. It took her more than a year to create the sculpture — the only one of its kind in the world. She used an image of a Salers bull as inspiration for the sculpture. The large Salers breed originated in France but was brought to the Southwest because of its ability to handle extreme weather conditions.
Salers bulls were penned many years ago on the ranch property where the current hospital is located. The actual site where the sculpture now is located belongs to the City.
“I thought it only appropriate to remain honest to the image of the kind of bulls that were on that property,” Krol says. Valued at more than $250,000, the gleaming bull was her gift to the City.
Krol, a native of Los Angeles, studied art at New School of Art in L.A. Her artwork is exhibited in major galleries and museums internationally.
The City and the Chamber of Commerce will release more details as the event grows closer. In the meantime, visit the website nataliekrol.com to learn more about the international artist.
