Visit Porter Sculpture Park, South Dakota

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Porter Sculpture Park is located just off Interstate 90 in Montrose, South Dakota about 25 miles west of Sioux Falls. It is on the South Dakota Drift Prairie. Many of the sculptures, in the style of industrial art, were made with scrap metal, old farm equipment, or railroad tie plates. The park's signature piece and the largest sculpture in the park is a 60-foot-tall (18 m) bull head. This sculpture took three years to build, weighs 25 tons, and is equal in size to the heads of Mt. Rushmore. Wayne Porter is a metal sculptor who was born in 1959 in South Dakota. He grew up in St. Lawrence, a small town in central South Dakota, and learned to weld in his father's blacksmith shop. He made his first piece of art at the age of 12, a bronze metal horse. He attended South Dakota State University and majored in history and political science. He subsequently raised sheep for a few years and worked on his art in his free time. His metal art is large in size and much of it is comprised of junk metal. His largest sculpture is 60 feet tall and weighs more than 25 tons. In the fall of 2000, he opened the Porter Sculpture Park off of I-90 exit 374 by Montrose, SD. He is there every summer between Memorial day and Labor Day, giving guided tours of more than 50 pieces of sculpture. He works on his art in St. Lawrence in the same blacksmith shop where he learned to weld during the rest of the year. His pieces are majestic, whimsical and thought provoking and readily display the influence of the South Dakota prairies that he grew up on reflect his quick wit, humor, and diverse interests. He lives with his Australian shepherd dog, Bambino.

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