Installment #6
Matt Langley, Beth Liguori and I drove to Woodstock, VT on Wednesday August, 17th and when we arrived we announced our arrival and figured out our approach and where to park. Matt was the official truck driver, and thanks to him for doing that. At that point in the project I didn’t feel alert enough to drive and I was needed to keep focused on the next steps of the process: unloading, staging for the assembly and the first step of the installation, installing the 10inch PVC pipe bases. Once Matt parked the 30 feet of TRUCK, we immediately began to unload its contents, organize the materials, andset up the racks to store the birch sculptural elements in the barn. Once this was accomplished we barbecued with the Davenports, uncorked some beers and the returned to Portsmouth. What a long day! Beth took her turn at the wheel of my car, Matt copiloted while I napped in the back seat. The following day I spent time cleaning the hallway and my neighbors studio, then I got some sleep that night (not much) and then drove back up to Woodstock with Matt to install the bases for the the sculpture.
Here are some pics and commentary of these next steps.
Step eight: Where to park and unload the materials.
At first we thought we would have to park and walk across a vast lawn to get to the barn for storing for the sculptural elements….Then Pete Davenport said, “Hell no, just drive up the driveway and around the barn. We had to move a couple of hanging mobiles out of the way, but it was easy street! We set up a temporary sawhorse rack to hold the birches as we emptied the first rack in the truck so we could rebuild it in the barn.
As we unloaded the elements, we laid them out in groupings according to the specific notation located on their butt ends. The notations included diameter measurements, a number to identify it and a letter of the alphabet to signify which of the six groupings it was a member. Each sculpture was to be built of three or in one case, four of the birch elements. Finally, before I left my studio, I color coded each group; red, yellow, black, dark blue, etc. for easy identification or the groupings. We laid them out in their respective groups to eliminate sorting at the time of assembly.
If you look closely, one may notice the color swatches at the butt ends of the birches……
Once in their groups, we paraded them into the barn for safe keeping…..
What a colorful array of artwork! Yummy! All tucked in for the night…..
Woooooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Step nine: First Goldenberg discussed with curator Charlet Davenport the layout of the sculptures in the 5 acre field and and then Roger and Matt Langley walked the hummocky terrain while discussing exact placement by marking the location of each sculpture with a blazing orange stake. Using modern equipment to dig the 4.5 foot deep holes…. Pete Davenport was very generous with his time throughout the installation process. He offered his farming expertise by helping with his 8″ posthole digger. What time saver that was. As it was it was backbreaking work to install the 4.5 foot long, 10 PVC piping that was to become the outer part of the swivel base for each of the 6 sculptures.
Roger Goldenberg discussing the layout of the installation with curator Charlet Davenport with another participating sculptor, Lela, contributing to the process as well. An oblique view of the site looking down from above.
Matt Langley helped Pete remove the bucket from his Kubota and attach the posthole digger.
Here, Mr. Greenjeans tromps off to the first stake with shovels, a ramrod to test for rocks, and an old style posthole digger. Goldenberg laid out plastic in which Matt had cut a 12″ hole. This plastic drape would protect the grass from the excavated soil, making its removal easier and keeping the site absolutely clean.
Aligning the tractor with the hole. It was amazing how precise Pete Davenport could be with this mammoth equipment. Beats shoveling!
Oh yeah, really beats shoveling….. And speaking of beat, no sooner had Roger reached for the manual posthole digger, he whacked his brow drawing blood. What a FACE!
With this mini Kubota trucklet Goldenberg carried tools to the installation points in the field. Seen here is the artist’s tripod of 16 foot 2×4’s, an eight foot step ladder and a grouping of the birch elements that are being lashed together at their base
