2.03.2012
Force of Nature on the AmericanCraft Magazine blog. Nov.2010
WEB EXCLUSIVE
BY JOYCE LOVELACE
It takes a passionate vision to make art that is ambitious in concept and scale, meticulously engineered and handcrafted, and fully intended to be destroyed by the elements.
For over 30 years Roy Staab has been a master of the ephemeral, turning natural materials (reeds, branches, bamboo) into captivating environmental sculptures at outdoor sites in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. "Four Seasons/Four Corners," a touring retrospective show that documents Staab's career in photos and drawings, is at the Foster Gallery of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire through October 28.
To mark the occasion, Staab did a project on the UW campus called Eau Claire Currents. He and a group of students bundled weeds into eight Y-shaped lines, attaching a log to the end of each one. The lines were then suspended from a footbridge, so that they float in ethereal patterns on the Chippewa River like an animated drawing; when the water is low, they lie in formation on a sandbar. Already some of the logs have come loose and drifted downriver, which is fine with Staab. In fact, it's the very point, illustrating the fragile, transitory beauty of life.
"Nothing is permanent," he says. "It could go down to one ...
For over 30 years Roy Staab has been a master of the ephemeral, turning natural materials (reeds, branches, bamboo) into captivating environmental sculptures at outdoor sites in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. "Four Seasons/Four Corners," a touring retrospective show that documents Staab's career in photos and drawings, is at the Foster Gallery of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire through October 28.
To mark the occasion, Staab did a project on the UW campus called Eau Claire Currents. He and a group of students bundled weeds into eight Y-shaped lines, attaching a log to the end of each one. The lines were then suspended from a footbridge, so that they float in ethereal patterns on the Chippewa River like an animated drawing; when the water is low, they lie in formation on a sandbar. Already some of the logs have come loose and drifted downriver, which is fine with Staab. In fact, it's the very point, illustrating the fragile, transitory beauty of life.
"Nothing is permanent," he says. "It could go down to one ...
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