2023年6月8日 ディープインパクトゲート公開記念セレモニーでの
彫刻家 安田侃氏のスピーチ全文

初めまして、彫刻家の安田侃です。
金子オーナーから会いたいという連絡をいただいたのは、今から何年か前です。
この何年間かは無我夢中で仕事をしていたので、当時の詳しい事は忘れてしまったんですけれども。

私はここから北に1時間半くらい車で走った、私が生まれた美唄というかつての炭鉱の町に、アルテピアッツァ美唄という野外彫刻美術館をもう30年運営しています。そこに金子ご夫妻がときどき馬の仕事の合間をぬって来ていただいて、私の作品を見てくださっていました。
そんな関係で、電話をいただいて「侃さん、ディープインパクトのモニュメントを作ってくれないか」と聞いたときはびっくりして、ものすごいうれしくて喜んで。
ふっと気づいて、さあどうしようと。ディープインパクトのモニュメントをどうやって作ろうかと。
普通だったらもう、そっくりなのを作るんですけど、オーナーに「私は馬をそっくり作れる彫刻家じゃないんです」と言ったら「侃さん、私はディープのお墓を作る気はないんですよ」とおっしゃって「ディープインパクトのメモリアルを作りたいんだ」と。「思い出をかたちにしてほしい」と言われました。
ディープインパクトへの想いというか、沢山たくさん、たくさんの人の心に感動が刻まれてます。
その感動を形に、彫刻にしなければいけないということに気が付きました。

作者情報
彫刻制作：安田 侃(やすだ かん)
1945年北海道美唄市生まれ。1970年イタリア政府招聘留学生として渡伊。ローマ・アカデミア美術学校でペリクレ・ファッツィーニ氏に師事。以降、大理石の産地として知られるトスカーナのピエトラサンタにアトリエを構え、大理石とブロンズによる彫刻の創作活動を続けている。故郷の美唄市に安田侃彫刻美術館アルテピアッツァ美唄がある。

The full text of the speech from sculptor Kan Yasuda at the opening ceremony of Deep Impact Gate on 8 June 2023

Nice to meet you, I am sculptor Kan Yasuda.
It was some years ago that Mr. Kaneko, the owner of Deep Impact, contacted me to meet with me.
I've been working so frantically for the past few years that I've forgotten the details of those days.
I have been running an open-air sculpture museum called Arte Piazza Bibai in the former coal-mining town of Bibai, where I was born, about an hour and a half's drive north of here,for 30 years now. Mr. and Mrs. Kaneko sometimes took time out from their horse business to visit me there and look at my work.

When he called me and asked me, "Kan-san, would you make a monument to Deep Impact?",I was surprised and extremely happy and pleased. But then I suddenly realised what I should do. I wondered how to make a monument to Deep Impact. Normally, a sculptor would probably make a statue that looks exactly like him, but I told the owner that I am not a sculptor who can make a horse that looks exactly like a horse. "I don't want to make a grave for that horse", he said, "I want to make a memorial to Deep Impact. I want you to give shape to my memories."

The feelings for Deep Impact, or rather the emotions of many, many, many people, are engraved in their hearts. I realised that I had to give form to those emotional impressions, to make them into sculptures. Emotions, like the heart, do not have a form, so it became a very difficult job to give form to something that has no form.

I haven't had an idea for a while on how to make it work. So I came to this farm several times and walked around, and this is the landscape you are looking at now, right behind you, there are the broodmares and their foals strolling around. When I saw this scenery, I thought, “Yes, This is it!”. There are children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are carrying on Deep Impact's bloodline in this meadow, and I decided to put the sculpture here, where I can look at these children from now on, for generations to come.

This big gate-shaped sculpture is my work called 'Tensei', and on this front side, the morning sun rises. Naturally, on the other side of the gate is the west, where the setting sun comes in. Both the rising sun and the setting sun will be inside this gate. I wanted to put a sculpture in one of these axes. I wanted the sculpture to express the heart that feels the Deep Impact, or something like that.

This is a space where you can remember him. Whenever you come here, even years, decades or centuries from now. This sculpture will stand here.
So, if you want to meet Deep Impact, come here, sit somewhere on this round oval pedestal, watch the horses or watch the sunset, he will always appear from behind this gate. He will call out to you.
By sitting in the sculpture to listen to that voice, you can be honest with yourself.
If you feel lonely, hard or sad, please come here. Without fail, Deep Impact will give you an amazing and powerful message of encouragement.

Please everyone, this Deep Impact Gate will be open tomorrow, so come and see, sit down and feel it.
Thank you very much.