Art on Sunday #7

Unveiled in 2006, On the Trail of Discovery features five life-sized bronze figures: Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, a generic Indian man and girl, and Clark’s big explorer dog Seaman.  Located on the front lawn of the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society in Paducah, Kentucky, the sculptures were donated by Bill and Meredith Schroeder, founders of the Museum.

Meriwether Lewis  and Seaman

William Clark

According to the sculptor, George Lundeen, who designed these figures, the Native Americans shown here represent all Native Americans who helped Lewis and Clark during their journey. He purposely placed few decorations or designs on their clothing because he did not want to identify them with any particular Native American group. The man wears a “peace medal” with the likeness on it of President Thomas Jefferson. Peace medals were presented by the Co-Captains to the Native American chiefs they met along the way. If you look carefully, you will also find a “coin” similar to the Sacagawea dollar. The Sacagawea dollar was not created until 2000, but the image provides a reminder that Sacagawea, a Native American woman, traveled from Montana to the Pacific Ocean and back with the Expedition assisting the expedition in many ways. The child holds an American flag similar to ones that would have been carried by the expedition. (Sue Henry Photography)

Native American child with expedition’s 1803 flag

Native American man

Sunflower, Mille Lacs Lake, Father Hennepin State Park, Minnesota, September 9, 2013

Dianthus (Pink) flower; Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas, April 13, 2010

Dianthus (Wikipedia)

Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species (D. repens) in arctic North America. Common names include carnation (D. caryophyllus), pink (D. plumarius and related species) and sweet william (D. barbatus).

Trail marker cairn, Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 26, 2011

Galley, Aircraft Carrier, USS Yorktown (CV-10), Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, June 13, 2012

Butterfly Magnolia Blossom, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, March 13, 2011

White Tail Deer, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia May 12, 2009

Art on Sunday #6

Swannanoa/Swannanoa II, Painted and chromium-plated steel with wood and metal base, 1959/1974, John Chamberlain, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, August 1, 2015

Assembled from crushed car parts, Swannanoa/Swannanoa II seems to open its wings in whirling movement. In its free-flowing style and large scale, the sculpture shows the influence of the expressive, abstract paintings John Chamberlain saw in New York, similar to the paintings in this gallery. His ongoing exploration of incorporating unusual “found” materials into his work extended beyond car parts: he also used steel, paper bags, and foam rubber in his sculpture. Chamberlain loved expressive titles that sometimes referenced his life. This title refers to the Swannanoa River near Asheville, North Carolina, which flows near Black Mountain College. In 1955 and ‘56, Chamberlain attended Black Mountain, where he met a group of similarly inspired artists and poets. (Crystal Bridges)

Born in Rochester, Indiana as the son of a saloonkeeper, John Chamberlain was raised mostly by his grandmother after his parents divorced. He spent much of his youth in Chicago. After serving in the U.S Navy from 1943 to 1946, he attended the Art Institute of Chicago (1951–52) and Black Mountain College (1955–56). At Black Mountain, he studied with the poets Charles Olsen, Robert Creeley, and Robert Duncan, who were teaching there that semester. The following year, he moved to New York, where for the first time he created sculpture that included scrap-metal auto parts. Over the course of his prolific career, he had studios in New York, New Mexico, Florida, Connecticut, and finally Shelter Island. (Wikipedia)

I adjusted depth of field and color of the background for this image to make the sculpture stand out from its surrounding – Mike.

Seven Hollows Trail
Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

Blast from the Past blog post — moved from August 9, 2009 to here.

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Petit Jean State Park and Petit Jean Mountain images

Petit Jean State Park and Petit Jean Mountain information

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Haw Creek galleries