Dune / Shift
A public sculpture commission curated by Kelly Schroer for the Newburgh Sculpture Project 2019
SUNY Orange, Newburgh, New York
July 14— Oct 24, 2019
Native dune grasses and plants [non-invasive Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal,’ Panicum virgatum 'Cape Breeze,' and Arctostaphylos uva ursi 'Massachusetts’], sand, earth, charred cedar, blown glass, text
36” x 96” x 96”
Using native dune grasses, “Dune/Shift” is a triangular cutaway of a coastal Atlantic sand dune overlooking the Hudson River. It continues my ongoing work with erosion, time, and site. Using terrestrial matter as material for a public sculpture—a format traditionally populated with metal and synthetics—I question the cultural value of the earth in a moment of global climate crisis. The dune is positioned in front of the Hudson Highlands and above the Hudson River, giving the effect of two landscapes converging in one mystic space.
The work responds to the site, which is on a bluff in Newburgh overlooking the river. The wind tunnel of the location activates the dune grasses, creating movement and sound that evokes a visit to the ocean. Viewers experience a feeling of deep peace amidst an urban environment. Hudson Valley marsh birds are often heard from below, adding to the effect of converging landscapes.
I approach the work as a Dionysian collaboration with the live substances of earth and plants. Dionysus, the androgynous Greek god of fertility and ecstatic ritual, is emblematic of the wildness of nature. The wildness of dune grass is contained within the geometric wedge of cedar, burned to a silken black char — an Apollonian contrast to the chthonic green froth of grass.
Over the duration of the summer and into the fall, the grasses changed with the seasons, starting as bright emerald green, slowly flowering, and turning a more golden color in September. They were laid dormant at the end their verdant cycle in October. Visitors to the dune were invited to witness this change through time.
The work is informed by my studies in ancient pre-Christian nature rites, as well as my childhood landscape of coastal Cape Cod—where climate change has accelerated natural geological erosion. Research for this project encompassed the study of land artists Nancy Holt, Robert Smithson, and Ana Mendieta, as well as studying archives of 1970’s Cape Cod postcards, which serve as archival documents to a time before hurricane erosion on the Cape accelerated with climate change. Who has access to places like Cape Cod? What kind of cultural and financial resources does it require to experience nature in it’s unrefined state? The peace within landscape immersion is a luxury.
This project was supported in part by the Orange County Arts Council.
A reading event featuring artists and poets Savannah Knoop, Mary Reilly, Eva Deitch, and myself explored notions of body, land, site, and memory.
"Dune / Shift" was made possible thanks to the contributions of Rebecca Dragonetti, Sean McClelland, Patti Dale, Katie Burley, Rainger Pinney, Noah Sokoloff, James Holland, and Kelly Schroer.