Seeing the Yoda bronze installed at the Presidio, which is the centerpiece of a fountain designed specifically for him by renowned site architect Lawrence Halprin, was especially meaningful to Noble. Years earlier in 1971, Noble had been stationed there as an Army illustrator. "I was attached to Headquarters Company, 6th Army Headquarters, stationed, until my tour of duty was up, at the Presidio," remembers Noble. "Actually, I was in the same barracks row that my grandfather, Clymer Marlay Noble, had been housed in. He was in the Army during World War I, breaking horses for the US Cavalry."
Ironically, it was during Lawrence Noble's '70s tour at the Presidio that he got his first exposure to the work of George Lucas, catching THX 1138 at the Post Theater. "I loved the film and felt this young director was really going places. As a 22 year old soldier, I was walking the Post, looking for and thinking about my future. Little did I know that my future would bring me right back to the Presidio."
Noble views his life as coming full circle both personally and artistically. The diminutive Jedi Master that had so enthralled him in 1980 and threw him into a career of sculpting also came to represent a return to his own past, to a place where his future had begun to unfold. It was for these reasons and more that Noble was elated to discover he had been personally chosen by Lucas to sculpt an additional pair of bronzes to be installed on the LDAC Presidio campus.
The larger-than-life statues of cinematic innovators Eadweard Muybridge and Willis O'Brien took two years to design, sculpt, and cast, but was an experience Noble found deeply rewarding. "To look at the statues in place, I'm filled with memories and emotions that I will always cherish," says Noble.
The three bronze statues currently on display to the employees and guests of the Presidio represent a direct connection for Noble to his earliest aspirations to contribute something permanent and lasting to the world George Lucas created. "I'm interested in continually being inspired by George's characters, and as an artist, relating to that inspiration," says Noble. "George is a 20th century master. His vision has influenced so many."
Most aspiring Star Wars artists hope to one day share the sense of fulfillment Noble has received from his contributions to the Star Wars experience, be it in the stunning poster artwork or the beautiful bronzes that reside at the creative center of the Star Wars universe. "I am where I had only dreamed of being 30 years ago."
