Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism
Bud Bottoms’ Dolphin Family sculpture located at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, California. Photo courtesy George Rose.
Bud Bottoms at the Wildling Museum in 2015.
On view through December 31, 2020
Opening concurrently with 20/20: A Retrospective, is the Wildling Museum’s inaugural Tower Gallery exhibition featuring Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism. The exhibit features sea life sculpture works by the Santa Barbara artist locally-renowned for his iconic Dolphin Family sculpture installed at the base of Stearns Wharf in downtown Santa Barbara.
About Bud Bottoms
James “Bud” Bottoms (1928 - 2018) was an internationally-known sculptor, artist, and environmental activist. Bottoms began his art education at Jefferson Machamer School of Art in Santa Monica from 1947 - 1948 and furthered his studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) from 1948 - 1952. He worked for many years as an art director for General Electric’s think tank, TEMPO. However, in 1978 after a powerful dream featuring a woman embracing a dolphin, he was inspired to sculpt and began committing significant time and effort to marine mammal awareness and protection.
Prior to his inspiring dream, Bottoms became a committed environmental activist in 1969 after Santa Barbara experienced a significant oil blowout that polluted the ocean and devastated local beaches, killing sea birds and marine life. He helped establish the small, but influential group, Get Oil Out (GOO) that organized immediately following the tragic spill. In the 1980s, Bottoms created the iconic Dolphin Family sculpture atop the fountain at Santa Barbara’s Stearns Wharf and created many other works at locations across the globe, including installations in Ireland, Japan, and Mexico, as well as throughout the United States.
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature presented Bud Bottoms with their Wilderness Spirit Award in 2015 to honor his incredible legacy of art and environmental advocacy. He was a friend to the local indigenous Chumash tribes, as well as a voice for the marvelous creatures of the sea.
Special thanks to Carole Ann Bottoms and the Bottoms Family for their support of this exhibition.
Digital Gallery | Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism
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Select works are available for purchase. Please email info@wildlingmuseum.org to inquire.
For more information and historical accounts of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, visit the UCSB Library’s online resource page for Anguish, Anger, and Activism: Legacies of the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill.