Beginning January 17, Texas A&M University-Commerce will host sculptor Patrick Dougherty on campus. Dougherty was commissioned last year to create a piece for the university which he will construct during his visit. He will also hold a lecture on January 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Performing Arts Center.
Dougherty is known for creating monumental designs from locally-harvested tree limbs, saplings and other construction materials gathered from the environment. His installations range from aesthetically pleasing visuals to stand-alone structures depending on their location. The temporary public artwork he will create for A&M-Commerce will require a three week installation process.
“We have looked widely around the campus here ultimately looking for places of activity for students,” said Dougherty. “We wanted to put it somewhere where people can really easily see it, and we found a great place in front of the library that has two kind of classic Texas trees.”
Dougherty plans to join together large structures with four to five different types of trees and materials gathered from the Commerce area. A unique twist to his work is that he invites members of the community to be involved. Dougherty will be working with A&M-Commerce students and volunteers gathering the sticks needed to complete the artwork during the first few days of his visit. He will then continue in the construction phase until January 30 when he will take a brief hiatus until February 1.
“We are honored to have Patrick Dougherty at Texas A&M University-Commerce to design a site-specific sculpture for our campus,” said Assistant Professor of Art History Dr. Emily Newman. “Our piece is going to be located in the heart of the campus – the large grassy area in front of the library. Additionally, I am teaching a graduate course, ‘Public Art,’ designed to facilitate our art MFA students’ awareness of these type of projects. These students will be volunteering for over 20 hours each and documenting their experience, which will potentially be incorporated into a catalogue that we hope to publish after completion of the project."
A world renowned artist, Dougherty began his career in stick work after earning his B.A. in English and M.A. in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of North Carolina and the University of Iowa, respectively. The Oklahoma native chose to combine a love of nature and carpentry skills into one with Maple Body Wrap, his first work, which was included in the 1982 North Carolina Biennial Artists’ Exhibition. From there, his work has grown from single sculptures on pedestals to large scale installations requiring truckloads of saplings. He has constructed more than 230 of these sculptures in the last 30 years.
Dougherty’s works can be found across the United States and worldwide from Denmark to Japan. He has received numerous awards for his art, including the 2011 Factor Prize for Southern Art, North Carolina Artist Fellowship Award, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Henry Moore Foundation Fellowship, Japan-US Creative Arts Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. In 2009, Dougherty and his work were also the subjects of a major book published by the Princeton Architectural Press.
“I would like to say thank you to the people that are hosting me here. I think we’ve had a great site visit. I think we’ve gotten ourselves organized. The art department is playing heavily into the support of the project. I think it’ll be a great project, and the students will really enjoy themselves and the people who are involved in the setting up and organizing of the project. We’re going to leave a significant work, and the work will be compelling, I’m sure. It will speak, and people will really enjoy it. I think that’s the nature of a good sculpture, one that makes people feel enlivened, and they want to go look at it.”
Audio transcript
Haslett: What do you think of when you think of public art? If you think of a concrete or metal sculpture in front of some government building, you’re probably not alone. And while there is something to be said for the more usual forms of public art, over the next few weeks in Commerce, people will be able to see a very different type of project. One thing that’s different is that the creative process will happen, not in a studio, but outdoors on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce. Joseph Daun heads the Art Department at the university. He says that sculptor Patrick Dougherty will create a work using tree limbs and branches – and that the development of the piece will be a public process.
Daun: He’s selected a location in front of the library where he’s going to build an installation-type sculpture. The sculptures are built out of brush and trees and limbs – but most interestingly, they’re held together just by friction. There’s no rope or wire or nails or fasteners used.
Haslett: The sculpture will be on the lawn on the south side of the library, which is just about in the middle of campus. Daun says that Daugherty has made a number of similar works before.
Daun: Patrick Daugherty is a really interesting sculptor who has made his living in recent years by going around the country and doing these sculptural installations using local materials. The thing that’s very exciting about his work is that he actually utilizes groups of people to help him gather the materials and to actually build the sculptures. So they’re not something that he’s done on his own, but it actually becomes a group activity.
Haslett: As far as what kinds of wood will comprise the piece, Daun says that our signature local tree should be part of the mix, but just part.
Daun: Obviously, we’ll have some bois d’arc in the piece. There probably won’t be a lot of bois d’arc simply because of the number of thorns and how hard it is to work with. Obviously, we have a lot of beautiful tree species in this area such as dogwood. And the artist was very excited about the diverse number of types of trees that are available here.
Haslett: Most of the wood will be harvested from live trees, but Daun says that Daugherty tries to use common sense and environmental sense when selecting which trees to use. The bulk of the wood is expected to come from university-owned properties outside of town.
Daun: Almost all of the wood is going to be from living trees. But the trees that he’s cutting down are the type of trees that are on lot lines, or that are slowly trying to take over a pasture, and are kind of unwanted trees. So it’s not like he’s going to go to someone’s front yard and cut down a mature, large tree.
Haslett: As for what the sculpture will look like, Daun says that isn’t determined yet. But, we should all be able to see the final product some time early next month.
Daun: The artist is actually arriving this Saturday and there are actually groups already signed up to help him gather materials on Saturday. And the entire project is going to take about three weeks. We’re still working on the reception date, but around the 6th or 8th of February, we’re going to have a reception for the piece to unveil it to the community.
Haslett: Anyone interested in helping with the wood-cutting part of the project still has time to get involved. Volunteers should contact graduate assistant Bethany Hargrove at bhargrove@leomail.tamuc.edu.
