CORN FIELDS
Various Metals & Sapele Mahogany 10′ x 4′ x 4′, Located on Fort Lee Road on the Leonia Public Library front lawn.
Continuing my journey on technology and farming this sculpture was inspired by the evolution of corn. Corn is a staple crop that’s importance lies on feeding the world. As the human population continues to rise we depend on farmers to increase global food production.
Farmers have been selecting the most productive plants and seeds from their crops for thousands of years. In the last quarter century, scientists have begun selecting productive traits at the individual gene level to create new seeds. Science has become the new machine farmers use to increase crop yields. But with this new machine, scientists have created corn plants that are no longer self-sustainable. It is now believed that if farmers stopped planting seeds tomorrow, corn would cease to exist.
“Corn Fields” sculpture represents the force between nature and science. Cables with wood pieces are woven through the structure representing genetic modification of the seed. The wood pieces symbolize the original seed thus creating the web of life.
THE LEGEND
Metal, Sapele Mahogany & Glass 11′ x 2.5′ x 3′ Located in the Sculpture Garden.
This sculpture was inspired by Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow, weaving the region’s history of folk tales together with superstitions. Sleepy Hollow is known as the region of shadows and for the witching influence of the air. The best known celebration of this time of year stems from the Celtic festival of Samhain, where Celtic people had celebrations to ward off wandering ghosts. In the 19th century, the Irish immigrants brought this festival to America, which developed into Halloween. “The Legend” represents the love triangle that was the core theme in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The shapes of the horse’s head and hooves symbolizes not only the horse of Ichabod and the ghost of the Headless Horseman but also the dichotomy of America and Europe, a correlating theme Irving used throughout the essay. The sides of the sculpture are woven with wood and glass. The wood representing the vine of the pumpkin and the glass representing the pumpkin, the same as the Celtic legends have been woven into our culture. “The Legend” stands upright allowing the viewer to see shadows through the openings created by the different dimensions. These shadows create the bewitching feeling of the legend. Your eye ends at the top of the sculpture with a reflective metal pumpkin head bringing to the conclusion the complexity of Sleepy Hollow.
HIDDEN POCKETS
ONE IN PART, WHOLE IN BEING
For more information please visit http://sburokerstudio.com