Artists hope 2034 Olympics, like their 2002 Olympic sculpture, will be a symbol of unity

PARK CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A busy intersection in Park City looks a little different now that an Olympic symbol has been partially dismantled. The artists of “Olympic Flame” spoke with ABC4 to explain the sculpture’s background and what its future could hold.

If you’ve ever driven through Park City, you’ve likely seen “Olympic Flame.” It’s a large metal sculpture that a father-daughter duo created for the 2002 Olympic Games in Utah. The statue was only supposed to last a few months, but has lasted more than two decades.

Right now, it looks a little different. The top portion of the artwork is being worked on. The artists believe this is a great time for the maintenance to take place and hope that the sculpture will be around for the 2034 games.  

When fully intact, the statue stands 35 feet tall. Its current home is at the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. That’s where the artists met up with ABC4 to talk about the art piece.  

“The symbolism was unity, rebirth, coming together,” William Kranstover stated.  

In 2001, General Motors commissioned William Kranstover and his daughter Malia Denali to create a sculpture for the upcoming Olympics.   

“It was just a real gratuitous thing that General Motors picked up on the goofy stuff that we were doing and wanted us to do that,” said William.  

What exactly was the goofy stuff that inspired General Motors to commission them? 

“Dad had been experimenting with metal and sculpture for many, many years, being an accomplished artist,” Malia explained. “I was a young kid, and he had taught me a bit about welding. So, we put these pieces together, kind of learning the ways a bit, and we had quite a collection.”  

To get eyes on the collection, they got creative.

“I had a group of friends, and we would put them out at midnight,” William said. “We’d drink a little whiskey and put them out around town.”

Malia said that after doing this for a few years, the artwork gained almost a cult following. It was then that General Motors approached the family.  

Malia sketched a handful of ideas and GM narrowed it down to a top two. Maila combined those two sketches into one and the father-daughter duo got to work.  

Looking back at the experience, William told ABC4 that he shot himself in the foot and should have doubled the price he gave GM. Through a laugh, Malia said that it was worth it because it paid for her to go to art school.  

“Olympic Flame” was never meant to remain in Park City for as long as it has.

“The idea was that it was going to be a temporary piece, so I think it’s pretty incredible that it’s lasted two decades. It sort of, in itself, became its own legacy,” Malia explained.

William added, “It was a 90-day piece.”  

Park City owns the piece and is heading the effort to do the maintenance on the flames portion of the sculpture. As that is underway, Malia is thinking about what comes next.  

“I think it would be great to create a time capsule now,” she stated. “We can create some Park City history from our past Olympic memories as well as engage the youth to maybe write some letters for future Olympic dreams.”  

William hopes those future Olympics, like the sculpture, will inspire unity. 

“Something that we tried to portray then and something that we really don’t have today,” he said. “The new Olympics will hopefully get us a lot closer together.”  

The goal is to have the maintenance completed and the sculpture put back together by July.