Ephemeral Arts
Who decides this classification? What is ephemeral? Where can it exist? And why bother making something with an intentionally short life?
In an effort to avoid the confines of galleries and museums, I created non-durable, self-destructive, interactive installations for my front yard. These works are neither intended to be object d’art nor monumental creations; rather, I used materials leftover from construction, or the byproducts of consumption. They are sometimes provocative, sometime offensive, and sometimes simply there to enjoy until the weather degrades the work beyond recognition.
But they are all temporary, whether they face the end of their times through weather, or the wrath of their creator in the backyard, burning in its own Las Fallas-style pyre.
X Marks the Spot
I recognize that art can be ephemeral, but imagine my surprise to realize an X can be used to designate an ephemeral existence.
The earliest references I found for “X marks the spot” go back to 1813, used by the English military to mark the hearth of those scheduled for execution by firing squads. The first published use can be traced to Robert Louis Steveneson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island, claiming X to mark the spot of buried treasure. And between those dates, in 1874, the colony road from Rosseau to Nippissing, Ontario reached Magnetawan.
What better way to designate the treasure that is Magnetawan than a three-dimensional X, eight feet tall and eight feet wide, individualized by artistic features cut into the plywood. Visitors and residents can enjoy an ephemeral moment to take a picture to document their time in the village and share it on social media.
Out of Water
Out of Water brings works traditionally seen in galleries and museums outside, easily accessible to the general public. The works below are three of 35 exhibited inn the Florida National Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition for one year. Ever since, these pieces have traveled around the country, ending up in private collections either inside or outside, where they were allowed to weather away, as was the intent.
Life expectancy of these ephemeral fish is five to eight years outdoors, in North American climates; indoors, they continue to engage patrons.
¾” thick marine plywood
1” diameter galvanized metal post painted black
Mounting guides with rotational capabilities
Each “fish” is identically painted on both sides
Posts are painted to blend into the image
Posts are driven into the ground where allowable or on hard/paved surfaces use an alternative metal/block anchorage to secure the posts
All anchorages are designed to withstand design wind load for the site location
Structural design calculations available on request.
