The dry stone sculpture rising out of the lawn outside Kerava Art Museum is beginning to attract local attention. People on their way to work are slowing down as they pass. Some stop and ask what’s happening. I learned through a student interpreter that one fellow said he liked seeing natural stone being used, that every one has a unique and beautiful shape.
The people of Finland are surrounded by rock. Even in central Helsinki, bedrock outcrops are everywhere. Stone is only surpassed by forest and water in defining the nature of the landscape, and the psyche of the Finns.
On Thursday and Friday two groups of art students joined me in the construction. Two shapes are complete and three more are half way out of the ground.
The people of Finland are surrounded by rock. Even in central Helsinki, bedrock outcrops are everywhere. Stone is only surpassed by forest and water in defining the nature of the landscape, and the psyche of the Finns.
On Thursday and Friday two groups of art students joined me in the construction. Two shapes are complete and three more are half way out of the ground.
With dry stone being a usually permanent structure, or as permanent as one can get, do you ever struggle with the creating things that are impermanent. In some ways it seems at odds with what is usually the selling point of dry stone masonry. It always seems such a shame that these great structures will be removed. Terriffic concept there!
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing up this subject, Dean. It deserves investigation.
ReplyDeleteI draw a distinction between art making and dry stone masonry. It so happens that stone is my material of choice for this exhibition and
I am using some dry stone techniques to realize the forms, but the point is not to build the best dry stone structure that I am capable of.
That is my mission when I am working as a dry stone waller. At Kerava Art Museum I have been commissioned as an artist and I am thrilled to be
exploring new territory for myself in this arena.