West Rock with Branches
Artist
Valerie Hegarty
(b. 1967)
Date2012
MediumWood, wire, epoxy, archival print on canvas, acrylic paint, gel mediums, sand, glue, hardware
Dimensions65 x 48 x 11 in.
ClassificationsMixed Media
Credit LinePaul W. Zimmerman Purchase Fund
Object number2011.104
DescriptionConstructed with the idea of destruction in mind, "West Rock Branches" was commissioned by the New Britain Museum of American Art as a contemporary commentary on Frederic E. Church's 1849 masterpiece, "West Rock, New Haven". Originally celebrating the pastoral charm of the American landscape, Church also paid homage to the labors of the industrious citizens who were reaping the bounty of this new "paradise." Hegarty, however, subverts these purposes. The once peaceful scene appears to melt from disaster, ridden with holes and burnt features. The wood from the canvas' frame begins to grow from its man-made construction back into the form of twisting, uncontrollable branches, as if returning to its natural state.
Similarly, Hegarty's painting for the High Line park in New York City depicts another famous Hudson River School landscape gone awry. Left outdoors and exposed to the elements, the artwork is transformed overtime, appearing "as if nature has become the artist, altering the idealized image of the early American wilderness to be a more layered representation of the area and times today." Thus, through her paintings and installations, Hegarty continues to raise questions about human attempts to civilize nature and the future of such endeavors.
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