Skybow, 2013 was created by
Roy Staab over a period of ten days beginning
on August 20th. Based in
Wisconsin, Staab has traveled the globe for 30
years to make his elegant
works in natural settings, which are first and
foremost created in response
to the specific sites. He had the difficult task
of choosing his location
just weeks ahead for Saunders Farm without the
usual time he needs to
survey the landscape. He chose the pond, as he
prefers to work in the water
for its movement and reflective surface as a
backdrop. The pond at
Saunders is also a favored spot for a herd of Black
Angus cows that roam freely,
the edge was trampled and the vegetation
was far from pristine. The
water had an unpleasant odor, was brownish-
green and not at all
transparent but Staab was determined to use this
location; he thrives on a
challenge and wanted to traverse the entire span
of the pond with a suspended
work.
Staab decided to make a 300
ft. long arc to cross the horizontal length
of the pond creating a
perfect line drawing in space. The position of this
catenary line was determined
by tall trees at either end. Suspended
between the trees, the line
moves gracefully as wind blows in the treetops,
while the surroundings stay
stationary.
Staab’s works always make
use of accessible organic materials found on
site. In this area it was
wild weeds - mugwort, goldenrod and reeds, which
he tied together with jute
using an armature of sessile bailing twine. He
then painstakingly lays out
the material to create the line, working quickly
with precision and taking
good weather and sunlight to his advantage.
Being inventive, Staab
borrowed a bow and arrow and shot the twine
across the pond in order to
suspend it between the trees. This attempt
failed. He then tried the
more difficult task of throwing a string with a
weighted rock, which took
many tries but succeeded. On the opposite side
of the pond he climbed a 40
ft. tall tree to attach the line but the weight
of the length was the next
engineering problem to tackle. The suspended weeds dry
out and shrink and the knots
he makes in the jute made it tighter
but the line stretched out
which caused it to sag. Eventually he achieved his
desired length and height of
the line to create a visual tension centered in
the middle of the pond -
away from the appetite of the cows.
A few days after the work
was completed the curved line was hovering at
its lowest point, nearly
touching the water after the rain. It swayed and
danced in the wind just
above the surface. This is the effect Staab most
desires when Nature
contributes to the beauty of his art. His works are
in and of their environment,
as opposed to being about site or space.
They are not placed into a
new context from which they are made, but
created in the setting,
inseparable from it and only subtly distinctive. When
accomplished Staab studied
Skybow from all angles and the changing light
during different times of
the day. He then set up his camera and tried to
capture all of this in a
perfect shot.
Staab intends for his
ephemeral artworks to decompose slowly as in all of
nature. The continual
changes of weather, wind and the toll of time will
eventually cause their
demise. The fresh green materials begin to wilt and
turn dry and brown; showing
the process of life and death and the cycle of
all living things.
Amy Lipton
Curator ecoartspace
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