12
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY JUNE 10,2009
Andrew Hoxev/KANSAN
Above: Rachel Kirkendoll, senior sculpture student, uses her body weight to bend a branch into position May 15. The team of volunteers used rope and large branches to build the main structure of the sculpture during the last three weeks in May. Left: Patrick Dougherty reviews his most recent installation in front of Spooner Hall May 27. Dougherty, who is based in North Carolina, was commissioned by the Spencer Museum of Art.
Andrew Hoxey/KANSAN
Sculpture gives new life
Visiting artist Patrick Dougherty designed the sculpture
BY ANNIE VANGSNES avangsnes@kansan.com
A dying tree on Spooner Hall lawn gave the University a chance to combine art and nature in a sculpture made of tree saplings.
The Spencer Museum of Art commissioned artist Patrick Dougherty to build a sapling sculpture called "The Bedazzler". It is one of more than 200 sculptures Dougherty has created worldwide. Dougherty said he chose the site because Spooner Hall was an interesting building and because there was a lot of traffic surrounding it.
"It gave me the idea of a colossal spinning object," Dougherty said. "It does in fact feel like some of the motion going on up there."
Dougherty and about 10 students,
graduates, faculty and community members worked every day for the last three weeks in May to complete the sculpture. The sculpture
used about 6,000 pounds of Silver Maple and Roughleaf Dogwood saplings.
Bryan Lloyd, 2009 graduate, worked on the sculpture on four
"It's experience you couldn't get in a class."
BRYAN LLOYD 2009 graduate
different occasions. Lloyd said that the experience was hands-on and that Dougherty gave the volunteers freedom in weaving the saplings and constructing the piece. One of Lloyd's favorite parts about working on the project was getting to talk to Dougherty.
"His opinions on art are very interesting about what's pleasing to the
eye," Lloyd said. "It's experience you couldn't get in a class."
Dougherty first visited the site in February 2008 and at that time chose
an ideal harvest site for the saplings near Clintor Lake.
Emily Ryan, museum project coordinator, said it was interesting to see how much was involved in the building process. She said there were several problems with the harvest sites for the saplings. The first harvest site flooded from heavy spring rain and project coordinators had to find an alternate location. Other sites were completely overrun with poison ivy.
Dougherty said all of the saplings were cut in a way that would allow them to grow back, and were cut from areas where they were
anc