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 Artist Moses Pinkerton was on hand for the process of
unloading and placing the statue in its new home. He worked beside
several helpers including local artist Jason Hoffman, Bill Davis,
Gary Minder and Kenny Hoffman to determine how to lift and drive the
statue to its new resting place.
Jason Hoffman,
Moses Pinkerton, Bill Davis, Gary Minder, and Kenny Hoffman
There is a great deal of engineering that comes into play during
this process. Hoffman and Pinkerton have installed several large
sculptures in and around the Lincoln area, and understood the
balance and the tilt they would have to achieve when the sculpture
was lifted by the forklift. They worried about the large piece
slipping from the straps it would hang from, and did a few dry runs
on lifting the sculpture before they settled on a method.
Hoffman summed it up finally, saying, “We just have to go and see
what happens.” Well, all went well. Pinkerton and Hoffman walked
beside the sculpture holding the rods out so they wouldn’t get
caught in the gravel of the parking lot. They were also somewhat
steering the bottom end of the sculpture in the right direction as
the forklift driver did his job.
A pad had be prepared for the statue along the sidewalk that leads
from the parking lot to the pavilion. The statue had long steel rods
protruding from the bottom that would be placed into holes in the
pad. The process would include standing the statue upright over the
pad, getting the rods lined up in the holes, then filling it with
Quick Crete. Once the alignment was correct, the statue was lifted
and the workers began filling the holes with the fast setting
concrete and water.
When the statue was on the ground, and standing upright on its own,
there was a sigh of relief from Pinkerton whose only comment about
the installation at that moment was, “Amen, and hallelujah! What
else is there to say?” While Pinkerton may have been short on words,
his expression told a story of relief and happiness as he was able
to see his art safely placed in its new home.
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Dr. Dennis Campbell, overseer of the Creekside
facility had a few more words to add.
“I frequently say that Creekside is for (someday) having agriculture
here talking about seed corn, then turning around and saying ‘and
how does this effect the environment with the use of chemicals?’ I
frequently use the term ‘tree huggers,’ and talk about having tree
huggers out here and saying, ‘Well, where does your food come from?
You can’t be totally against farming.’”
“So here, we are going to have a sculpture of a tree hugger, but it
is actually the tree hugging the people, so it is nature supporting
humans.
“I think it is a good juxtapositioning of philosophies. I think
Lincoln College is fortunate to have an art community that can see
that art can be out in nature as well. I’m thrilled that I was
approached first by Pam Moriearty, then Moses Pinkerton and Jason
(Hoffman), thinking that this would be a site for the community.”
Dr. Pamela
Moriearty (left) with Cris Wibben of the Logan County Tourism Bureau
Dr. Pamela Moriearty was on hand on Thursday and watched as the art
was installed. Moriearty is a Logan County Master Naturalist and a
member of the Logan County Arts that Pinkerton and Hoffman both
participate in as well. According to Campbell she was the person
instrumental in bringing nature and art together for the project.
With the installation complete, it was time for the passing of
stewardship from Pinkerton to Dr. Campbell and Creekside. In a fun
and symbolic gesture, the two men shared a hug in front of the
sculpture, followed immediately by a hearty hand shake.
The sculpture is large enough for a person to fit in and experience
the feeling of “nature supporting humans” from the ultimate
tree-hugger.
Creekside is free and open to the public. The environmental center
is continually growing and expanding its offerings to the community.
Throughout the center there are trails and benches where folks can
walk a while, sit a spell, and then move on and soak in all that the
center has to offer.
[Nila Smith with photos by Smith and Curtis Fox] |
