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River Report at the End of the Year

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, assemblage art, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature photography, Photograpy, plastic, Plastic art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, creativity, environment, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flotsam and jetsam, Life on the Ohio River, Plastic litter, sculpture, sense of place, site specific art, Styrofoam art on December 29, 2017| 5 Comments »

Artist at Exit 0 site the day after Christmas 2017

It’s the day after Christmas at the Falls of the Ohio on an admittedly nippy day. I stopped by my trusty site under the now bare willow trees to see how this latest group of sculptures and artworks are faring? Each time I come out here, I’m just as likely to find things knocked down and destroyed. A couple of posts back, I documented my site and the figures that were created there beginning in May of this year. I initially called the Styro-figures “The Assembled” and after they were vandalized they became “The Re-Assembled”. Well, even this group is now history after every standing figure was decapitated and speared! Here are some before and after images. I used this final image of “The Re-Assembled” with the peace sign on my Christmas cards this year.

Final View of "The Re-Assembled" with Flip-Flop Peace Sign, at the Falls of the Ohio, early Dec. 2017

"The Re-Assembled" decapitated and impaled, Dec. 2017

Every head was destroyed and that is where much of the personality of each figure resides. I gathered what remained of the heads and bodies and added them to the pile. I picked up what loose fishing floats that I had adapted for eyes and other plastic parts I used that were still in the area and placed them in my collecting bag. The found flip-flop peace sign was obliterated. It wasn’t up a week yet! Interestingly, the colorful plastic container arrangement I have on site has survived three attacks! It has essentially remained intact with me adding to it every once in a while.

Scrambled found flip-flop peace sign at the Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Of course we can’t leave things there! I visited my site in early December with Jason Moore, an art student at Murray State University who came to my presentation there last October. He was in town on winter break and asked to tag along. Together, we started the process of straightening things up and beginning some new pieces. I put him in charge of the flip-flop pit which was a very new medium for him. The only guidance I gave him was that he needed to use every sandal on site! He had one false attempt before arranging the flip-flops in this design.

Jason Moore, first attempt at a flip-flop design at the Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Jason Moore with his found flip-flop design at the Falls of the Ohio. Dec. 2017

As Jason tries his hand at this site specific piece, I set to work on creating what turned out to be an imposing figure that towers over you on site. After pairing a new head with a new body I began creating this figure’s features. As I’m doing this…I’m also aware that I am now re-re-reusing many of these materials. Some of this stuff has played a part in multiple figures.

A new head begins, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

This is where a new work begins. I searched through my collecting bag looking for the found components to make up the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. I then find a stick to attach the head to the body and then look for driftwood, tree roots, etc…to make the limbs. Here is how the head eventually presented.

Detail of my new figure's head, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

I thought the toe thong “thingie” from an old flip-flop made a decent mustache! Let’s pull back a little to take a wider look at things. This image shows the new figure dramatically illuminated as the sun sets.

New Styro-figures just before the Winter Solstice, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Jason created the small figure with the plastic squirrel and I added the round-headed, portly figure. Another week later I would add a fourth this time blue-bodied figure to bring us to the present.

Styro-skulls on the polystyrene pile, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

It has been a very interesting year and as it ends it’s good to reflect a bit. Perhaps creatively… this has been one of my better years. I think the work overall has taken on a more formal look as I continue to work with different materials. I’m out here as often as I can get away. A big change is in using other social media platforms to “publish” what I’m doing which was something I once reserved exclusively for this blog. I’m on Facebook and Instagram regularly which has been a fun way to share pictures. I’ve had a couple of exhibition opportunities this year which was great and unexpected. I’m even ending the year and this post…with some very positive press which also serendipitously came my way.

Here is a link to a lot of content that the News and Tribune, a southern Indiana newspaper, put together about my Falls of the Ohio Project. Albertus Gorman News and Tribune Article This link has a video shot at the Falls of the Ohio as I demonstrate what I do.

I will leave it here for this year and hope that everyone out in the wider world has a very Happy New Year. See you at the river during 2018.

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A Short History of “The Assembled”

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, Ohio River, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, tagged "Folk Fiction" exhibit Clara M. Eagle Gallery, "The Assembled", Art, artist at exit 0, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, lost and found, material culture, Murray State University art department, nature, plastic legacy, public art, sense of place, site specific installation, Styrofoam, the absurd on October 8, 2017| 2 Comments »

While my poor riverblog has been waiting for me…I have quietly been having one of my more creative years at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. When I visit the river, I’m making several projects with the junk I find as I walk along this familiar landscape. My previous post shows some of the ways I have played with color and form using other commonly found and mostly plastic materials. I also had fun this summer creating my own absurd brand of figurative sculpture from the river-polished polystyrene I have collected and stored out here. Beginning in May of this year, “we”, meaning myself and the public, have successfully added new figures to a growing site-specific installation at my favorite outdoor atelier under the willows.

One wonderful development is that on three different occasions, visitors discovering my site have interacted with or added their own figures to this group from the materials I have left behind for that purpose. I did “harvest” a couple of figures after they made their first appearance here for a group show I’m participating in October 2017 at Murray State University. That exhibit is entitled “Folk Fiction” and I’m elated to be showing at my old undergrad alma mater. Besides, it’s always good to have survivors.

Autumn began with a visit from my equally anonymous nemesis…forever branded by my sons as the “Smashers”. Whomever they are…they don’t play well which has resulted in the recent vandalism of several of these figures. More about them later. Now seems as good a time as any to provide a short history of this figural Styrofoam group I call “The Assembled”. This story begins at the river on May 14, 2017 with the creation of the first sculpture.

After a wet spring with frequent bouts of high water, I was able to configure a site under the trees and near the old railroad bridge. Over the next several months I kept adding recently found materials from the area while I pursued different art projects. This was the first Styro-figure I created here and he’s a bat-earred naturist! After he explored the landscape of this day in many other images, he eventually took his position greeting visitors to my outdoor studio and soon to be growing gallery. As this installation grew, each new figure was photographed in different contexts at the park before joining the others back at my eastern most studio site.

"The Naturist" stands watch over the Styro-larder during May 2017

“The Naturist” was the first figure to join “The Assembled”.

My next figure is also the largest. I remember needing to wait until enough of the absorbed water was gone from this big hunk of Styrofoam to just be able to lift it. I call this piece the “Queen of Clouds” because the sky was so beautiful on the day it was made.

I remember that the wind kept blowing this figure over and it was difficult to get it to stand in place while I shot this short video. The large fan blades that make up this sculpture kept falling off until I found a better way to attach them to her head. The nose is a large wooden fishing float I found out here. It’s mouth is the plastic cap from a deodorant stick.

Two Styro-figures at my outdoor studio during June 2017.

The “Queen of Clouds” parked at my studio under the willow trees.

Here’s another large figure from the month of July. I really like how expressive the head turned out on this one. His mouth is a red reflector that really caught the light well. I dragged this one down to the Ohio River and documented it with this short video and lots of photos. Afterward, it too joined “The Assembled” at my river studio.

One of the fun moments during this project was discovering visitors had added two new figures enlarging this group to four! By days end, it was five figures with my latest absurdity with the bright red reflector mouth. I was starting to get excited by the opportunity to create a nice little crowd this summer since plenty of Styrofoam remained to be used and people were playing along instead of just destroying what was on hand. I also started to piece together a couple of other projects nearby. One began at first with just a handful of found flip-flops of various colors and sizes. Each visit to the river usually resulted in more found foot wear to add to the design. I also created a colorful rainbow-like arrangement from discarded plastic containers that also was a stand alone piece, but also went well with the other projects. As the summer was approaching its height, wild grapevines were beginning to frame my grouping at the Falls of the Ohio.

Styro-group "The Assembled" in July 2017 at the Falls of the Ohio.

Three more figures joined the group.

As the summer wore on I couldn’t wait to visit my spot and listen to the oriole’s call and the sound of running water. My site was always changing and my sculptures had survived a few summer storms as well as being vulnerable to vandalism. So far, so good and so I continued to add new pieces here when I visited this section of the park. Here are a few more for your enjoyment.

Small Styro-character I called “Mr. Mosquito Nose”.

Rare view of “The Assembled” with “Mr. Mosquito Nose”.

I took “Mr. Mosquito Nose” home with me after this picture and he will reappear in an exhibition I’m participating in the early fall. This next piece turned out to be a visitor favorite. He began with me finding a flipper that I used for his headdress and the fishing lure that became his nose. Between what I found that day and what was already in my collecting bag…I soon had the makings of an orange and greenish-yellow theme for this shamanic or high priest figure. The staff he sports is capped with a found plastic jet toy I came across on the riverbank.

"Shamanic Figure with Staff and Flipper Headdress"

Shamanic Figure carries a staff capped with a found plastic jet toy.

Here he is in context with the other figures as the month of July began to pass. If you like trains crossing over bridges then you might like a couple of the videos I have here including this one showing an early flip-flop project at this site.

Another day and another figure and in this sculpture’s case…it’s pretty silly and strangely neurotic looking with its crossed fishing float eyes! Here he is posed sitting on a driftwood log with one leg crossed over the other. Soon he too would be added to “The Assembled”.

"Indecisive Dude" at the Falls of the Ohio.

“Indecisive Dude” sitting on a weather-bleached log.

Here is a video that is a good overall site view of my outdoor atelier and it shows this latest figure in the fold. It also features a passing train crossing over the old railroad bridge and yet another flip-flop arrangement in the form of a large spiral in the sand.

I like the way the spiral turned out and I tried working with the found colors as best as I could. There is so much individual variation between each sandal…right or left, large or small, bright blue versus dark blue, etc… I do feel that this piece really added to what I had already started here with “The Assembled”. Here is a still image from that moment.

My outdoor studio site at the Falls of the Ohio, August 7, 2017.

Spiral flip-flop arrangement along with “The Assembled” at my studio site, August 7, 2017.

We are into the month of August now and I keep adding figures and rearranging my site on a regular basis. It’s generally a very good month for me if I can get out to the river three or four times. Plus, I like to also do projects in other areas of the park and so a few weeks might pass before I next visit this particular studio site under the willow trees. I thought this next figure turned out nicely. It was aided by finding a nice hunk of polystyrene that was irregularly shaped enough that it could imply motion. He has a friendly demeanor to him if you can ascribe such qualities to an altered chunk of river-polished Styrofoam?

Smiling Figure next to discarded cooler.

Smiling Styro-figure next to an old cooler that washed into the park.

Here is the video from the end of this day showing this piece in the context of my studio under the trees. This clip also reminded me that it was a hot day peppered by annoying gnats that also buzzed around the camera. I will mention that generally speaking…biting flies and mosquitoes are not usually an issue to visiting the park.

Still two more figures to go before the fateful day the Smashers appear and reality reasserts itself. I improvised all my figurative sculptures on site from materials collected out here. I still feel it’s important for me to respect the hard-won shapes that nature has provided. Interestingly, I still feel that the river “humanizes” Styrofoam in particular by knocking of the hard edges and generalizing the overall forms.

"The Happy Hunchback" listening to birds singing.

“The Happy Hunchback” strolling through the willow woods listening to bird song at the Falls of the Ohio.

Moving very slowly and deliberately, the “Happy Hunchback” cranes his neck toward the treetops. It’s late August, have the orioles and indigo buntings already left? If it weren’t for the other life forms also inhabiting the Falls of the Ohio, this multi-year “art” project would not have sustained my interest alone. I can’t believe my luck! Between the time of this figure and the next…a visitor added another sculpture and awarded my Shamanic sculpture “Best in Show”!

“Best in Show” Award…presented anonymously.

I had stashed this green plastic ball with my rainbow-colored plastic containers. Makes a fine award and I have to admit, that I did put a lot of time into this particular figure. I’m sure I had the biggest smile I can muster when I first saw this. Whomever you are…thank you!

"The Assembled" at the Falls of the Ohio, mid September 2017.

“The Assembled”, mid September 2017 with “Best in Show” figure.

Another view from that day showing my overall site with a different found flip-flop design and my plastic container color spectrum on the left.

Outdoor studio and gallery, mid September 2017 showing "The Assembled", heart-shaped flip-flop arrangement, and plastic container color arrangement.

My outdoor studio and gallery with heart-shaped flip-flop design.

Just one more figure to go before that fateful day when the Smashers stop by and temporarily put a hitch in the magic that was this summer at the Falls of the Ohio. I am amazed that nothing negative had happened sooner. In the back of my mind, I understand that the river always has the last word in this process and so I don’t get too attached to the things I make out here. Weeks would go by before I would re-visit this site in the eastern section of the park. I was also spending a lot of time in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio which has a different quality to the landscape and receives fewer visitors. I like to visit there when the purple loosestrife flowers are blooming because they are magnets for butterflies and other insects. Moving on, here’s the last figure to officially join “The Assembled”.

"Raccoon Eyes" sipping from a found cup at the Falls of the Ohio, September 2017.

“Raccoon Eyes” enjoys a found beverage at the Falls of the Ohio, September 2017.

With his spiky hair-do and wide smile, the likable “Raccoon Eyes” likes to pause for refreshment when he can at the Falls of the Ohio. Locals visiting the park bring these giant cups and I guess seeing all the other debris that has washed into here makes it okay to leave more trash behind? The world is just absurd…and hence this project. Old “Raccoon Eyes” took a hit, lost and eye, along with one of his arms when the Smashers came by. Here is one more video this time showing my site before fate intervenes.

The little figure I ended the last clip with went on to have an adventure of his own and didn’t become a part of “The Assembled”. He’s a close if diminutive cousin. The Smashers came and went and it’s fortunate that more wasn’t actually destroyed. My naturist character, who was the first character here, had his head split in half. One of the volunteer figures that appeared was decapitated and I found its head in the tree branches above where it once stood. The “Happy Hunchback” lost all the features in his head and was rendered permanently senseless. The “Best in Show” figure lost and eye and his staff, but looks repairable. I think whomever did this ( teenage boy(s) loom large) must have had second thoughts while in destruct mode, because it looks like some sculptures were barely touched. I like to think that this is what happened and perhaps a little remorse set in before complete havoc was wrought. I found a nearby stick that I remember setting aside for future use that more than likely served as the weapon. I can imagine the temptation to not “light saber” all of them into bits must have been great. This is my best interpretation based upon reading the scene.

"The Assembled" after being visited by the Smashers. Early October 2017

View of “The Assembled” after recent vandalism.

Of course you know that I’m not going to leave it here. When I came upon the scene, I took some pictures and then off for a trek across the fossil beds and had a great day walking to the hydroelectric plant. Yesterday, I brought my friend Peter Erwin along for a visit to the Interpretive Center and afterward we visited my studio site. Using what I had on hand…I repaired what I could and recycled other parts to create new personas to replace the previous ones. I think it’s going to be okay and I look forward to experiencing the continued evolution of this developing site. I still have a little more work to do, but this is where I left it yesterday. As for this post…one of my longer ones…reveals the level of engagement that this special place still holds upon me. I think it also appropriate at this time to rename this group of survivors…I’m now going to call them “The Re-Assembled”! Until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

"The Re-Assembled", Found Styrofoam and other materials, Falls of the Ohio, October 7, 2017

“The Re-Assembled” at the Falls of the Ohio. October 7, 2017

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Flip-flops, Mystery Fluids, and Spent Cigarette Lighters

Posted in Absurd, Art, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, Louisville, Kentucky, material culture, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, art and nature, artist at exit 0, backwash, cigarette lighters, Color spectrum in art, driftwood, environment, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flip-flops, Genius loci, material culture, plastic, repurposed art, sense of place on June 5, 2017| 6 Comments »

Each year has a different character to it and for what I do at the Falls of the Ohio, a lot depends upon what I find. Last year, there was an abundance of plastic bottles in a full spectrum of colors that stood out among the natural driftwood. This year, we have had a mostly high river due to locally intense rains throughout the Ohio River Valley. There have been successive waves of wood and plastic that have had me wandering the wrack lines filling my collecting bags and stuffing my computer with images. The Falls are not a big area, but the dynamic changes that rearrange the riverbank keep it interesting. This year I have concentrated mostly on formal arrangements on site using flip-flop sandals, plastic soft drink bottles with colored backwash in them, and I have also been astounded by the number of cigarette lighters I have been finding. Following are a few of the many compositions I have already made this year. Chromatic arrangement in Flip-flops, Falls of the Ohio, Feb, 2017

Made this one on a sunny day in February. I found all these flip-flops on a single walk along the riverbank which is how I still like to work out here. I get ideas for projects based on what that day’s walk presents. Kind of like going to the grocery store and seeing what’s ripe and in season.

Flip-flop arrangement on the sand, Falls of the Ohio, March 2017

Why flip-flops? First, they are a ubiquitous part of human life around the river and they float and travel great distances to reach the park. I also like the idea that these sandals are unique to the people who wore them and have their “soul or spirit” imprinted on them. They come in a variety of colors and sizes and can be as variable as people. There is also that saying about not understanding others until you can stand in their shoes.

Flip-flop ring, Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

A work from April of this year made with flip-flops. Some colors seem to be harder to find than others particularly a true red or yellow. Once in a while, I will also pick up and use the sole of some other kind of foot ware if I think it will come in “handy”.

Cottonwood Tree Composition, late May 2017, Falls of the Ohio

My latest flip-flop composition from late May. Sited in the western section of the park, this piece is situated by a favorite cottonwood tree that I have shown in posts many times before. It uniquely has a space under the roots that you can stand under. It is a favorite place for locals to party. Now for the next part of this post…”Mystery Fluids”.

Found soft drink and sport drink bottles with partial contents, Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

Usually found floating in rivers and other bodies of water are these partially consumed sport and soft drinks capped and in their bottles. At the Falls of the Ohio I find them intermixed with the driftwood and everything else too. Often, it is the bottom of the bottle that is sticking up from the wood. I think being starved for color is why I gravitated towards this common element of our waste stream. When the light hits these bottles just right…the colors can be very jewel-like and attractive. Here are a few of the projects and images I made with them this year.

Found bottles and contents with the skyline of Louisville, Feb. 2017

Found bottles and contents, western section of the Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

Found bottle composition with contents, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

I have photographed these bottles in a variety of contexts and combinations over the year. Their contents are amazingly well-preserved and I have never found one that had mold growing in it. It could be that conditions have rendered these bottles sterile? Did they get too hot, too cold, not enough oxygen? Certainly, there is plenty of sugar, electrolytes, and preservatives in them. On site, I usually have arranged them on the back of stranded logs or boards that have floated in here and then I take my pictures and walk away. At my main outdoor studio…I have now been caching some of these bottles and flip-flops too for later in the year when the water level is low. Now for the final category….found cigarette lighters.

Found cigarette lighters by various manufacturers, Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

Took this photograph a few days a go and represents my record for found cigarette lighters in one day out at the Falls of the Ohio. I think there are 103 lighters here all gleaned from the driftwood. I have always known that cigarette lighters are out here, but not until now have I concentrated on them. When you begin looking for them, they can be everywhere up and down the riverbank and intermixed with the driftwood. Once upon a time, the ability to create fire was a special and important skill. It’s more than the climate that is changing. Before I show you what I made with a hundred lighters, here are some earlier attempts.

BIC lighter color line, found cigarette lighters from the Falls of the Ohio, 2017

This found lighter composition is unique in that only “Bic” brand lighters were used. The are arranged on the back of a log. I still like referencing light through color. The irony of our dependence on fossil fuels to make things like plastic and energy is that it comes from sequestered carbon created from sunlight by plants living millions of years a go. Now we need to just look up in the sky to see that same source of energy in the here and now.

88 Cigarette Lighter Oval, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

I think from April?, but definitely the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Created this oval from 88 found lighters. The river was still very high and this arrangement is up against the riverbank.

Found Lighter Circle, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

68 Found Lighter Circle, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

Lighter circle made with 68 found cigarette lighters. You can see the marks my fingers made in the sand adjusting the lighters to expand the circle.

Nearly forgot about this one! “Stump Star” composed of 48 found lighters, a yellow reflector, and of course…a stump. Made under the willow trees, the light playing through the tree canopy made this piece hard to photograph. It just occurred to me that I have no idea where butane comes from? All of these once stored compressed butane. As these physical objects age and are exposed to the elements, their metal components are the first to corrode and rust away.

Another day and visit to the river. I try to maximize each opportunity out here by making as many site specific pieces from the various materials I encounter. Here’s a quick piece with my the toes of my shoes poking in for good measure. I call this one “Keep Calm” because there’s one lighter that says that…or “From Clear to Blue” because if you look closely you can see between the white and blue lighters is one clear one. So far, that’s the only one like that I’ve seen out here. Okay, one more to end with and it’s the one with over a hundred lighters. I made another composition with these lighters, but decided to try a more open design and it turned out better than the first. Double-spiral Cigarette Lighter Composition, Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

When given the chance to go to the river or write about past experiences…I will opt for the river, unless the weather is bad and it has already rained hard today. I’m staying busy and engaged with art all around me which has had a calming effect on me considering all the political decisions people are making regarding the health of the environment and everything else too. If you are interested in some of what’s in the Ohio River and other rivers in this country…then I’m your blog. Until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

Double Spiral found cigarette lighter composition at the Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

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Plastic Arrangement in Black and White

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Installation, lost and found, Louisville, Kentucky, material culture, nature photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Bernheim Arborteutm and Research Forest, Bernheim Artist in Residency Program, Chiel Kuijl, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Genius loci, material culture, nature, nature and culture, photography, plastic bottle, plastic container, plastic pollution, public art, sense of place, site specific art on May 1, 2016| 6 Comments »

April was a busy but mostly productive blur. Lots of balancing went on encompassing family, work, loss, art, birthdays, and spring transitioning to summer. We had an issue with our family computer that kept us quiet for a while, but hopefully that has been resolved. At this point, I have thousands of photographic images scattered everywhere and if by chance I happen to lose something…well, chalk that one up to the will of the digital gods. I had this strange realization about being a survivor of a by gone analog era that my sons don’t understand or have much experience with. These digital images I have been creating at the Falls of the Ohio can be as transient as the artworks they document. Fortunately, for my sanity, I was able to get to the river on a couple of occasions in this month, breathe deeply, and relax with my art. The last two visits I made to the park in April were gorgeous days and productive. Here are images made from that day’s project.

I have been having fun gathering up the different plastic bottles and containers that I have been coming across the last two years and making something with them. The arrangement I made today was composed of black and white plastic junk I came across after a few hours of work. All the black and white containers were found in the general area of where this piece eventually came together. I moved around a center location and after fanning in and out found enough stuff to bring back to “base”. I had previously picked out a place where I wanted to make something because I liked the view with the railroad bridge and the City of Louisville behind that.

I found a couple of nice plastic buckets and a nice fairly straight wooden plank and set the arrangement up with its back shielded by a huge log. There was an even larger log that had an end on it that had been scorched by fire, but it worked with the scene. First, I arranged all the black bottles up and moved from left to right and kept the large containers on the bottom row. I set the three “grayish” containers up next and that including the two silver jugs I came across. At least they seemed to represent some value between black and white and I took several photos with them in the configuration. Later in the day, I did return back to this spot and shot a few without the gray containers in the pictures…just the black and white ones which I liked too.

Here’s an image with a train crossing the tracks. Unfortunately, I did not get a shot before my piece was set up. Now for a progression of other work in progress photos documenting the brief peak of the “Arrangement in Black and White Plastic”.

While I was working out in the driftwood, new friend and fellow artist Chiel Kuijl came out looking for a few choice pieces of wood for his rope installation. Chiel has been the Artist at Residence at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest and is originally from the Netherlands. We have crossed paths out here at the Falls of the Ohio as well as socially with mutual friends. He has returned to Holland, but is due to return to Louisville this year to work on a recent commission.

Chiel later built a beautiful rope installation over water as well as distinctive “furniture” from ropes and driftwood. Park of this busy April included visiting Chiel out in Clermont, KY to see what he accomplished during his residency. I look forward to showing you a few images of his work in a later post. First!…let’s get through this one. I did remove the “gray” containers so it is just black and white butting up to one another.

I week after I made this piece, I returned to check on it and inspect my base studio. Here is an “after” picture. I already have plans in mind on how I can reuse this black and white plastic. One other fun development…I am working towards my show at Bob Hill’s Hidden Hills Nursery in Utica, IN. That will open on May 22 after some of the Kentucky Derby madness has subsided some. I have three very large figures I have been working on and you will see those soon. Have a wonderful Sunday…from the Falls of the Ohio and the Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog.

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Late March Petrochemical Color Composition

Posted in Absurd, animals, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, birding, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature photography, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, discarded Teddy bear, Falls of the Ohio, Genius loci, lost and found, material culture, nature, petrochemical junk, photography, plastic, plastic art, public art, rainbow spectrum, site specific art, toy bear on April 3, 2016| 2 Comments »

It’s the end of March and Spring is in full swing at the Falls of the Ohio. Today, I have a bigger block of time and so I’m going back to the western section of the park to see how flooding has affected this area. I am expecting to find lots of plastic and who know’s what else…and this trip did not disappoint. Just about everywhere I looked, I found plastic and other trash. I will begin with a few images of stuff I came across.

Quite unexpectedly, I found myself immersed in a bear theme. I found this little blue plastic bear intermixed with the driftwood. It may actually represent a panda, but I think the latest thinking on this unique animal is that it is indeed more closely related to bears than to raccoons. Looks like it’s sucking its thumb. And now for bear number 2.

Here’s a piece that was originally intended for a little person. I’m going to venture that this is a teething ring. From the wear on the surface of the plastic, it looks like this object has spent some time in the river. If this is not a teething ring…I have no idea what it was originally intended to be? Okay, here is bear number 3 and it is a lot larger that these first two examples.

This piece is spectacularly integrated into the surrounding gravel! About half of it is visible and the rest is hidden by gravel deposited here during the last Ice Age glacier. I posted this image on my Facebook account and it resonated with a lot of my friends. I could go on and on with the junk I’ve found out here, but I think I can also do that by showing you my latest artwork which is of course, composed of found junk. On this beautiful day, I decided to continue my explorations using colorful found plastic and made a new variation on this theme that I think turned out pretty well. I’ll start with a few in process shots.

This is some of the found plastic I came across on this day. I brought two collecting bags and filled them both up. I then scouted around and found a large blue plastic tub that I pressed into service before incorporating it into my finished arrangement. The yellow object on the left is a water cooler minus the lid. I had to do a bit of navigating around an obstacle course of downed trees and built up driftwood. I’m usually still stiff and tired the day after I do one of these because I guess I’m not used to getting that much exercise anymore! My two sons are quick to tell me that I’m not a young man anymore and yes I do get goaded by their trash talking into trying stuff that on occasion is more physical than I need to attempt.

After selecting a site to build my latest arrangement. I separate out all this gathered up plastic into their various color groups. On this day, orange and purple items were in short supply, but I worked around that. I set up this piece next to a log that looks to me like it was split in half. The side you can see that is rough and beautiful and takes the setting sun well. From the opposite side of this log…you wouldn’t be able to see any of the plastic. It is intended as a surprise for those who come across it on this side of the park.

I will begin with a view that incorporates more of the local scenery. This piece is located next to an old cottonwood tree that has a severe lean to it. I can imagine that at some time in the not too distant future that this tree will eventually fall over. Even from this far away, you can see the color introduced by these plastic containers and such. Let’s get closer.

Now you can get more of a sense for the degree in which this tree is leaning towards the river.

There are essentially two layers stacked up here. The big blue plastic tub has a found board that finds its partner consisting of the yellow water cooler sitting on a plastic yellow child’s chair. The span is pretty level. The rest is a matter of picking and choosing color hues that you think will work best together. These plastic elements are not fixed in some way. Everything is free-standing or leaning against what is next to it. I have by accident…set off chain reactions where the whole arrangement collapses down like dominoes. That is where a little patience comes into play by beginning again and hopefully learning from each individual situation.

I can see elements in these three details that I know I have used before in other projects and were later scattered across the park when the river floods. Perhaps you might recognize the green plastic Tug Boat or the “Hulk Hand” also found in the green section? They have appeared in other posts in my riverblog.

I hung out by this piece and the river for many hours. A few people came by, but nobody said anything. Perhaps this comes across as being an example of “unusual or eccentric behavior” to some people? Best to provide a wide berth around this one! Who knows…couldn’t be any stranger than the people who make all this plastic and set it free into the world. At the end of the day, I could not make up my mind which I thought provided the definitive view of this project? I think some of the more successful arrangements look good in their contexts, but also provide some information on what individual elements have been brought together to create this “whole” experience. After I felt I had enough pictures and the thought of a shower was sounding good. I picked up my stuff and headed home.

The trees are just budding out and this past week took a significant turn towards the green. I’m still on the lookout for migrating birds that come into our area. I often wonder about the Heisenberg’s Hammerkopf I had the distinct pleasure of observing and photographing out here a few weeks a go. I wonder where in the world it flew off to? I was just alerted by WordPress that this week is my seventh anniversary of blogging with them! For all the people who have dropped by and sampled something from the Falls of the Ohio State Park through this riverblog…I give my heartfelt thanks! I hope to continue out here for a bit longer still. This is the Artist at Exit 0 signing off for now.

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Easter Day Odds and Ends

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, plastic, public art, recycled art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Bob Hill, Chiel Kuijl, Easter, Falls of the Ohio, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flotsam and jetsam, found materials, holiday junk, lost purse, material culture, nature, odds and ends, photography, plastic Easter basket, plastic egg, sense of place, Southern Indiana Living Magazine, Tasmanian Devil plush toy on March 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Today is Easter and close enough to month’s end to post an article of little things that weren’t quite strong enough to be posts unto themselves. Since almost all of our holidays have a significant material culture connection to them…it’s “natural” that I would find some of the remains here at the Falls of the Ohio. Just looking at recent images, here are a few such holiday related objects and images to ponder.

Crushed and mix among all the other debris is the remains of what was probably a child’s Easter basket. Although a novel item, I can remember in “my day”, the colorful wooden baskets worked just as well as the plastic ones, but without the long-term ramifications. Interestingly, this plastic basket “mimics” the texture of an actual wooden basket. Here are a couple of “egg-related” images to enjoy.

I certainly would be very afraid of the giant American Robin that laid this large blue egg! This is how it appeared when I first encountered it on the driftwood pile. This picture is from last year and I eventually used it for an all-blue colored assemblage. This egg does not come apart and was made to be purely decorative. One more egg picture to go and here it is.

Two views of the extremely rare and transient bird, Heisenberg’s Hammerkopf, interacting with a found plastic egg. I photographed this bird investigating/playing? with this bright yellow plastic egg with a Sponge Bob Squarepants design on it. I’m certain the egg once contained Easter candy in it, but now that it’s empty it becomes a candidate for the worldwide junk pile. To see more Heisenberg’s Hammerkopf images please see my previous post. People ask me all the time…”Al, have you ever found anything of real value?” Usually, I reply that I’m waiting for that solid gold ingot to wash up here…but I’m not holding my breath on that one! Recently, however, I did come across something that had great value for someone and here it is.

Walking along the riverbank in the eastern section of the park…I spied a soggy and muddy purse at the water’s edge. Investigating further, I could see that there was a wallet and checkbook inside and so I opened up the wallet to see if the owner’s name could be found. As it turns out, this person’s credit cards, insurance cards, driver’s license, etc…were all still there. I took the muddy purse home and called the person whom it belongs to and she was thrilled that her purse had turned up somewhere. She had given it up for lost after someone had broken into her home a week before and took the purse along with a few other electronic items. The thief who broke into and entered her home only took the seven dollars in cash she had and then threw the purse into the river. The elderly woman whose purse this is was most anxious to get back the family photos she kept in her wallet. Included among them were precious black and white photos of her own parents that could not be replaced. Since the owner lived in Southern Indiana we met the following day at my place of work in New Albany and I gave her property back to her. That certainly was my good deed for that day. Here’s another lost and found item I’m posting just for fun. First, here’s how this object appeared as I came across it.

On first blush…I recoiled slightly because I associated the brown fur with a dead animal. I have found several dead deer out here this year and if this was that…I wanted nothing to do with it. Looking more closely and since few animals are this uniformly brown I could make out that it was synthetic fur and not the real thing. So, I reached down and lifted the mystery object from its sand, mud, and wood chip debris matrix to reveal…

…this good size plush toy of the Tasmanian Devil (aka “Taz”). I guess he was waiting to ambush any unsuspecting prey like me that came across its path. Years a go, I found a much smaller Tasmanian Devil and posted about that one too, but this one was truly “trophy size”. And now, to introduce someone who actually knows something about the history of Tasmania.

This is Chiel Kuijl who is visiting from the Netherlands and is at the time of this writing the current Artist at Residence at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky. I ran into him the day the Heisenberg’s Hammerkopf was spotted out at the Falls. Chiel is creating a site specific work at Bernheim using rope to create an elevated space that people can explore. He needed some interesting pieces of wood for his installation and the Falls of the Ohio State Park is a great place for that. I have had the chance to interact a little bit more with Chiel so far and look forward to his finished project and hanging out with him more. Oh, Tasmania was visited early on by Dutch sailors who help put it onto the world’s map. Holland has a great seafaring tradition and I wouldn’t doubt that some of Chiel’s skill with ropes and knots is a part of that heritage. One more artist to talk about before closing…

The current issue of Southern Indiana Living features an article about me…the Artist at Exit 0 written by good friend and retired Courier-Journal columnist Bob Hill. Bob now in his “retirement” also runs Hidden Hills nursery where unusual and rare plants and trees are offered for sale. Every once in a while, Bob will invite artists to place projects at Hidden Hills which is what I will do in late May. The day we went out to see something about the world I like to explore it is was about twenty degrees or so and an earlier attempt at a photo shoot was thwarted by snow and extreme cold. Here is the link for the article should anyone care to check that out…Artist at Exit 0 magazine article. This issue is good for one more month and I have had a lot of fun with this and have been gratified by the response from friends and family through Facebook. The actual article begins on page 22 and the link allows you to turn the pages of the magazine which is cool too. Well, there you have it…my odds and ends post to conclude March 2016. Spring is starting out warm and promising and I look forward to many more new adventures on the Indiana side of the Ohio River. See you then!

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Plastic Rainbow Arrangement with Fred Flintstone too!

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, Clarksville, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature, Ohio River flooding, Photograpy, tagged Art, art made from plastic, artist at exit 0, found materials, Fred Flintstone baby bottle, material culture, nature, photography, plastic butterfly, plastic containers, plastic rainbow, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, site specific artworks on February 8, 2016| 4 Comments »

Beyond the Woodland Loop Trail in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio is where today’s river adventure finds me. It has been many months since I last visited this side of the park. I have been looking forward to walking on the driftwood that accumulates on this riverbank. As always, I’ve got my trusty walking stick and collecting bag with me. It’s time to find what there is to find and make something from that. Right away, I found this plastic butterfly or moth (fireworks perhaps?) and enjoyed taking several images of it juxtaposed with the riverbank landscape. Just a quick look around and I can see lots of plastic and polystyrene to potentially use. I will also keep my eyes open for a good site to do one of my plastic arrangements that I have been having fun with of late.

I was fairly confident that I would find as much plastic debris on this shoreline as I had found in the eastern section of the park. That would prove to be correct and I brought an extra collecting bag along to help with the gathering process. I have been enjoying organizing the colorful plastic bottles and containers that I find into mostly chromatic and rainbow-inspired arrangements. The driftwood and sand out here is unified in coloring presenting a monochromatic landscape where bright, colorful plastic notes sing out among all these lost trees. You soon realize as you sort out the plastic from the driftwood, how much of our material culture is intermixed into everything else.

After walking the high water line for a couple of hours, I dumped all the colorful plastic I had collected onto the sand. I thought I had picked a good location that was between the water and the riverbank. I picked up a nice plastic milk crate along the way to assist with the gathering. I notice that I usually pick up intact items preferring them over plastic bits and pieces…although, I will use fragments too especially if they are a hard to come by color. Most all of the plastic bottles and containers I find have had their labels washed off by the river. I put a lot of trust in the cleaning power of millions of gallons of water.

Using the patterns and intervals of driftwood that the river had previously laid down here as a supporting structure where today’s found plastic is sorted by color and staged. Here is where you might find out that you picked up more green bottles than yellow or that purple was that day’s hard to find color.

Here’s a view looking eastward with a bit of the skyline of Louisville suggested through the distant trees. From my experience, fewer people visit this section of the park and many who do often prove to be residents of Clarksville which is just over the flood wall. Let’s show a few more images of how this piece rounded into shape.

I like the big wooden beam lying parallel to the plastic. Not all the driftwood out here is of the wild variety. I find lumber cut-offs and planed planks of all kinds and have used them in my art as well. These shots were taken on a beautiful end of the month day where we had a respite from the cold and grayness.

There was one large blue plastic drum that was buried in the sand and had water in it as well. I didn’t like how it intruded into these pictures and so tried to take it away. Well, it was much too heavy for one person to life out of the sand. Fortunately, among the few people I did see on this day were old river rat friends who gave me a hand with this. The blue drum nearly folded in half takes its position at the end of the line.

I hung around and admired all the bright colors as they revealed themselves in a setting sun. I think this is the most complex plastic assemblage (as far as variety and number of individual pieces used goes) that I have made thus far. I will go ahead and tell you that this work no longer exists except as digital images. Over the past week, we had strong rain storms that went through the Ohio Valley resulting in a high river. Although the rains didn’t affect us directly, all the water that was dropped into the watershed caused it to inundate many of the familiar places on the riverbank that I like to work. The river has been unpredictable of late and I have had at least three new projects washed away. As I walked home, I did find an interesting bottle that I walked over before. I’m fairly sure this is Fred Flintstone based on the diamond pattern on his “garment”. A quick inquiry over the internet yielded some results. This find was originally part of a four plastic baby bottle set that featured Fred, Barney, and their kids Pebbles and BamBam. This vintage baby product was more than likely manufactured between 1977 and 1984! I wonder if its possible for my find to be that old? Judging from the wear and tear and severe fading…that’s a distinct possibility. Happy with my new find…I dropped it into my collecting bag. I think it is the unusual items I come across that make this such a fun way to spend time at the river. With the sun going down, the temperatures are getting cooler…time to go home. Until next time from an ever-changing Falls of the Ohio.

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Two Arrangements in Plastic

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, nature photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, colorful plastic containers, Ekoart, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, material culture, nature, photography, plastic, plastic art, recycled materials, repurposed art, sense of place on January 24, 2016| 6 Comments »

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend I was able to make it out to the Falls of the Ohio State Park on a couple of occasions. It helped that this was a three-day weekend. I was curious to see what was lying around the riverbank after our first dusting of snow had blown away. As I was expecting, I found a lot of plastic bottles and containers, Styrofoam, and plenty of driftwood. I first inspect an area for the larger pattern left by the river. The stuff that floats most readily often defines the high water mark on the riverbank.

This is a typical detail of stuff that builds up on a driftwood mound. There are many automotive and boating references particularly plastic bottles that held various petroleum products. There is also a wealth of plastic beverage bottles to illustrate the carelessness of some folks recreating on the river. I have a mental image of this stuff eventually flowing downriver, into the Mississippi River, and out into the wider world through the Gulf of Mexico. What I see at the Falls of the Ohio is only what I see. I know there is a glacier of plastic and junk that by passes me and will show up somewhere downstream. With each succeeding flood, I keep thinking that all the stuff that had been accumulating upriver has already been washed into the watershed. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case and the amount of “fresh trash” that shows up in the park seems not to have a limit.

Both days that I worked at the river were very cold ones. The piece I made using found yellow and green plastic was the coldest with temps hovering around 10 degrees and it was colder than that with the wind. After picking up what caught my eye, I retreated to my little studio area near the U.F.O. (Unidentified Floating Object) that is this welded and painted steel platform that washed into this area over five years ago.

I saw a possibility in the space under the UFO that was formed when the river shifted the driftwood mound. I cleared the space a little bit and found a plank and stump in which to set up what I would eventually call “Arrangement in Yellow and Green Plastic”. All the bottles and other colorful plastic items were picked up in the immediate area. The wind was really biting and so I sought shelter by the treeline. It took a little patience to make this piece because the wind kept blowing away the lighter items. Eventually, I fit everything together and held it in place by strategically using found bottles that still had weight to them because mud or sand had become their new contents.

My photos of this piece vary from one another because elements kept blowing off. I was struck that I could make a colorful gradation using primarily yellow and green plastic found just in the willow habitat. I favor doing these color pieces because they also reference the electromagnetic spectrum and without light, those ancient plants that lived and succeeded millions of years ago would not eventually become the crude substance from which these bottles were fabricated. It’s interesting to me to think that much of the energy we derive from fossil fuels is captured starlight from an ancient time. We owe it to the plants to be able to stabilize this energy through photosynthesis and fix it into their very tissues.

Eventually, the cold started to get to me and I was fast losing what little light was present on this day. I might have moved the blue plastic drum out of the bottom picture, but it was frozen into the ground and full of sand and mud and would have been a challenge to lift. After awhile, I began to like it for the additional color it lent this scene. One thing concentrating so much color in one area does is call into attention the brown drabness that subsumes everything else.

I returned to the river two days later. It was still very cold, however, a big improvement over the previous day. The sun was shining and the wind was absent. Having completed and photographed one colorful plastic arrangement, I set about creating a new one in a different palette of colors. Searching the area I decided to work at…I could see plenty of red and blue plastic items spread out among the driftwood. It took me an hour or so to pull these bottles and objects together. I wished that I might have come across a few more violet or purple items, but I guess these are colors that are used less than straight up red or blue? I know that in terms of lightfastness, red and purple plastic fades away quicker than many other colors.

Using a bit of the geometry I was feeling from the willow trees and the way the sunlight was hitting their trunks…I decided to site “Arrangement in Red and Blue Plastic” on the sand. There’s a distant view of the Ohio River through this informal avenue of trees. Watching how the shadows of the tree trunks were being cast upon the sand was an important element in the overall composition of this piece.

Among the items comprising this work are a blue plastic child’s putter golf club, the cap to a plastic cane that held Christmas candy and several flip-flops of the right color. When I finished this piece, I left it in place as I did the other arrangement. Perhaps the next time I return to this area, I may combine the two groups of plastic? I could create another grand rainbow with the addition of finding more orange in particular. I probably would throw in some black and white plastic items since they are here in quantity as well. I felt relatively good about this weekend’s projects and some of the images that resulted. When I am occupied with a project, I really don’t feel the elements in the same way. I suppose there is a bit of mind over matter happening too. When I do feel the cold, however, is when I decide to turn for home and come across a frozen sight like these containers locked in ice! Stay warm and safe everybody…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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First Snow of 2016

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, birds and birding, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature photography, photography, plastic, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, fake snowman, Falls of the Ohio, Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, found materials, material culture, nature, photography, plastic bottles, plastic dinosaur, plastic duck decoy, sense of place, site specific art, Styrofoam, willow tree, winter on January 16, 2016| 5 Comments »

The new year is off to an auspicious start. First we had a bit of minor flooding that rearranged the park and the new and improved Interpretive Center has successfully opened. I was curious to see what the river had left behind and make my first foray upon the riverbank and fossil beds. On the day I had prepared to venture forth, well, it snowed the night before and covered many areas with a light dusting of what looks like confectioner’s sugar upon the landscape.

I come prepared…mostly. Even covered up, I could feel the wind and the cold which was blowing hard enough that it made my eyes water. Reaching into my trusty Dutch field jacket, I pull out my vintage “Wind-Dodger” goggles and put them on. I came across these goggles still new in their 1950’s box at a favorite junk store that is now gone. They were manufactured by the Kono Manufacturing Co., of Woodside, N.Y. I think the graphics on the side of the box sold me as to their value. Printed in red ink it read:

“The scientific construction of the Wind-Dodger fits the natural contours of the features-providing maximum exclusion of wind and rain and all foreign particles in the air. The elastic tape holds the Wind-Dodger firmly in place under every condition of work and play in all kinds of weather.” I am a big believer in the value of science.

Further more, printed on the side of the box, was added they were suitable “For Work” and “For Play” and would be useful to railroad men, farmers, mechanics, construction workers, as they engage in sailing, hunting, fishing, flying, skiing, and driving. It was a natural leap for me to assume that they would also be perfect for a river junk artist like yours truly. One thing that the Kono Manufacturing Co. forgot to say is that they also steam up inside the goggles and require frequent drying. Still, they prove to be better than nothing.

The scarf I’m wearing is the oldest piece of clothing I own. It was given to me by a friend and artistic mentor back in the mid 1970’s and somehow I have held on to it over the years. I realize that with a lot of the clothing I own…I can be ridiculously sentimental.

The biting wind and cold are a concern, but so is the footing. The snow covers up a multitude of sins that cannot be seen. It is still slippery out here and in places the mud hasn’t completely frozen. Much of what I think I can find out here will remain hidden until warmer weather returns. But, I’m out here anyway and so I make a quick walk around some familiar places and record what I can with my camera phone.

I discover that a favorite willow tree is now almost completely bent over and resting on the ground. A huge log that the river deposited on top of this tree has shattered one of its main branches. I suspect that it is not long for the world. Spring flooding will repeat this battering process and I assume the tree’s prognosis is not good. Of course, there are other things that present themselves in this frigid landscape that rode in with the high waters.

My eye is immediately drawn to this purple plastic “dragon” rocking toy. I find another giant reptile reference on the rocks nearest the river and here it is.

This plastic sauropod arrived in a fresh water wave. I believe this species was formerly called “Brontosaurus”, but has been renamed “Apatosaurus” since it was discovered that an earlier scientific find gave the new name priority over the older, more familiar name. I briefly allow myself to soak in the irony of finding an object made from ancient petroleum that washed up on these even older fossil beds that references this prehistoric animal. Heady stuff indeed! Nearby, was my next find that continued this line of thinking.

And, what happened to some of the dinosaurs? It is believed that they evolved into birds. Right on cue, I find this plastic duck decoy! It represents the male Northern Shoveler, (Anas clypeata). I have found many other plastic duck decoys out here, but this is the first for this pretty species. The winter river at the Falls of the Ohio is a good place to see different duck species. In fact, winter may be the only time of year to see many of them. The river is steaming because the actual water temperature is warmer that the surrounding air, but the wind is a little fiercer too. I decide to keep walking and soon come across an old project I did from last year.

I created this site specific piece using green plastic bottles after last year’s flooding. It was sited high upon a big mound of driftwood that was too big for this recent minor flooding to affect much. Originally, I had filled the underside of what I think is the remains of a boat dock with the green bottles. Time has shifted the bottles to the bottom of the wood form.

While the snow is beautiful and transforming as these snow-covered vines can attest to….it is also getting ridiculously cold! The fingers on my right hand hurt and sting from the cold because I have to take my glove off to operate my camera. Soon images of a hot cup of coffee began to intrude upon my winter reverie. It’s time to go home, but there was yet one more very pleasant surprise waiting in store for me.

As I was heading back to the parking lot…I came across an old friend whom I was happy to see! We first met at the Falls on an absurdly warm day in December when the temperatures were in the low 70 degree range! I had photographed him as he was decorating river trees in advance of the holiday season. My old Styro-Snowman buddy was just beaming! At last, he was in his element and I’m so happy that his patience was rewarded. Not wanting to intrude too much in his special moment, I bid farewell and took this parting shot as I left the river. Stay warm everybody…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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New Exhibits at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center

Posted in Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, photography, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit o, assemblage art, Devonian Period, driftwood, exhibit design, Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flint artifacts, fossil beds, found objects, Lewis and Clark, nature display, photography, plastic, pollution, sense of place, Shawnee language, Solid Light on January 10, 2016| 6 Comments »

On January 8 of this new year, the exhibits at the renovated Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center opened to the public with a grand ribbon cutting ceremony. The interior of the Interpretive Center had been closed for 13 months. About 6 million dollars had to be raised to upgrade the 22-year-old permanent educational displays. After a national search, Louisville-based exhibit design company, Solid Light, Inc. won this high-profile contract and solidified their growing reputation within the exhibit design field. Judging from the enthusiastic response of the people attending the reopening it was worth the wait. I played a very small part with a commission to create an assemblage from objects I found in the park and I was eager to see how Solid Light used it.

The displays are divided into four themes or sections beginning with “An Ancient Sea” that highlights early marine life during the Devonian Period. The extensive fossil beds in the park date roughly to 400 million years ago and are the remains of an early coral reef ecosystem populated with many species of coral, brachiopods, and early fish which make their first appearance during the Devonian Period. I was glad to see some of the older models that made up the original display were re-purposed into the new display. The exhibit is interactive and there are hands on elements that children will enjoy. Large, wall-sized videos help set the scene through many of the sections and in “An Ancient Sea” an animation depicting a shallow marine environment includes fish swimming through sun-dappled waters as trilobites search for food among the corals.

The second theme is entitled “A Changing Land” and covers all the geologic changes from the Ice Age to the appearance of the first Americans. For me, the highlight of this area is the inclusion of the Shawnee language which can be heard spoken inside a reconstructed shelter. It’s wonderful that the contemporary descendants of these ancient people were involved in the design of this display and acknowledges their presence at the Falls of the Ohio.

Previously, the remains of prehistoric man’s material culture (primarily represented through flint tools) were a focal point in the old center’s displays. For those worried that examples of the “real thing” would be replaced with virtual images and copies will be pleased that you can still explore original material through some inspired casework. Be sure to peek inside many of the drawers in the different themed areas to see fine examples of specimens and artifacts.

The third theme “Converging Cultures” recounts the history of the Falls area with the arrival of the Europeans. The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a key moment not only in the history of the United States, but of the Falls of the Ohio as well. Many of the men that comprised the “Corps of Discovery” were originally from Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Wall-sized videos in the Lewis and Clark Theater recount the biographies of many of the men who made this epic transcontinental journey. The story of John James Audubon is also noted and forms a transition into the last themed area of the new displays.

This last section is called “The Falls Today” and focuses upon the Falls of the Ohio as a rich contemporary ecosystem. Some of the old taxidermy mounts have been reused to highlight some of the many species that live within the park. Another large video display, this time a virtual aquarium, speaks to the richness of life in the river, particularly the species of game fish that are of interest to fisherman. There is also a call to responsible and sustainable living and the need to keep pollution at bay. This is where I come in. I was commissioned by Solid Light to create an assemblage of found objects that is representative of what can be found in the Ohio River. Here is the finished result that was placed within its own case with graphic elements added.

The panel within the case is 8 feet by 4 feet large. I posted about the panel as I was creating it and showed many details of the more than 100 different objects that comprise it. Of course, everything I’ve attached here was found within the context of the park. The early reaction is that children in particular love looking at all the odd elements especially the found toys. My panel is among the last things you see as you leave the exhibits area to exit the building. I’m glad that there has been a greater emphasis in this new interpretation to include the current state of the world. One could argue that as interesting as the past is…it is the present that is of the greatest concern. Further reinforcing this idea are the results of the minor flooding we experienced the previous week. As the river has subsided, another massive new inventory of junk has washed into the park. As I was leaving the ribbon cutting ceremony and walking to my vehicle, I could clearly see how much more work needs to be done. Until next time…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

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River Report at the End of the Year

A Short History of “The Assembled”

Flip-flops, Mystery Fluids, and Spent Cigarette Lighters

Plastic Arrangement in Black and White

Late March Petrochemical Color Composition

Easter Day Odds and Ends

Plastic Rainbow Arrangement with Fred Flintstone too!

Two Arrangements in Plastic

First Snow of 2016

New Exhibits at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center

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