Transcript Artist Power Point

STICKWORKS
By artist:
PATRICK
DOUGHERTY
ENVIRONMENTAL INSTALLATION
ARTWORKS
Patrick Dougherty is a sculptor from Chapel Hill, North
Carolina. Although born in Oklahoma in 1945, he was
raised in North Carolina. This is where Patrick lives
with his wife and where he raised his son and
daughter. He purchased the original one room log
cabin and 10 acres of land when he was 28. This
house became his first sculpture. He added unique
touches as well as additions to the home. He used old
barn timber, fallen trees and rocks he dug from the
ground.
Patrick earned a B.A. in
English from the University
of North Carolina in 1967
and then received a
Masters in Hospital and
Health Administration from
the University of Iowa in
1969. After a term of
service in the US Air Force,
at the age of 36, he
returned to graduate school
at the University of North
Carolina earning a degree in
Art History and Sculpture.
At as child he spent a lot of
time in the woods outside
his childhood home, playing
with his 2 brothers and 2
sisters. He became quite at
ease with the natural
surroundings of the forest.
The shapes of his structures
are very organic and natural.
He often describes his work
as “each stick being like a
pencil mark in a drawing.”
Each stick offers itself as
texture to his structures as
well as providing a sense of
movement.
Patrick’s first “stick” sculptures were
small ones that set on top of
pedestals. Since startling his
professors with these primitive
building construction techniques,
his works have grown in size, scale
and number. Instead of small sticks
he now used tree saplings as
construction materials, along with
tree branches, sticks and sometime
vines. Often times the leaves of the
branches are also included. Because
of the nature of his materials, his
constructions, eventually
deteriorate, returning to the earth
from which they came, and making
way for something new.
Sometimes his works are
free standing, anchored by
saplings dug into the ground.
Others are supported by a
natural structure such as a
tree or a man-made
structure such as a building.
Many of Patrick’s works
have a playful side. The
image at the top is like an
awesome playhouse and
the one to the right
reminds you of a tube
slide at a water park.
The sculptures here
resemble containers
for fluids –bottles,
pitchers and jars. All
were erected by
water.
The work on the right was
erected in Hawaii. It used the
support of the large trunk and
tree limbs of the natural
growing tree. The one below is
somewhat reminiscent of
primitive cliff dwelling
structures.
Humans as a species,
used sticks as their first
building materials. Our
genetic code may well
include a familiarity with
these natural materials as
well as an inborn sense of
how to work with them.
These large face like works
show a whimsical and playful
approach. Don’t we all have a
sense of childlike wonder
looking at these imaginative
works. The one below is
dedicated to Dr. Seuss.
In order to accomplish his monumental
tasks, he follows a process that has worked
out well. It includes a thumbnail sketch of
his plan and how he envisions it as a
completed work. He then gathers his
materials, a part that usually requires some
helpers- often filling up a tractor trailer with
saplings and bundles of branches. Next
comes the basic structure of the work- the
support- which must hold and distribute the
weight. This is followed by layers of sticks,
all intertwined to provide the idea of
movement. Last, he fixes up any areas that
do not appear to his liking. Because his
works are an installation, he lets others help
with the process. There is an energy that is
created not only from the site itself, but
from the materials and the people who
come to work or just to observe. The
artwork becomes a living example of a
sense of community- our relatedness as
humans.
Now at age 68 he has
created well over 230
sculptures for sites all
over the world. Each of
his artworks has its own
story, as each one takes
at least 3 weeks to
complete. It is a problem
solving event and
problems arise everyday.
Patrick says he must be
flexible, like the saplings
he works with.
THE 5 ‘‘W”’s OF ART
WHO:
PATRICK DOUGHERTY
WHAT: STICKWORKS INSTALLATIONS
WHEN: 1945- PRESENT
WHERE: WORLD WIDE
WHY: