The reception for this year’s three-week artist residence sculpting at the enormous stone field at the YV Museum in Acton on August 25 was attended by an enthusiastic 35 people. In its 13th year of the residence where artists select a boulder to carve from the huge boulder field in front of the museum, the whole project is expected to extend over a 20-year period. The artists this year included Dankha Zomaya, David Adilman, Marin Murakoshi and Yin Peet, one of the owners of the museum. After a brief ceremony in which Peet provided each of the other participants with a beautifully-printed certificate, the ceremony moved outside where the artists talked about their respective pieces.
Dankha Zomaya, originally from Syria, now living and working in Chicago, chose a boulder on the ground for the simplicity in working with the granite without climbing to get to it. His majestic carving depicts Syrian King Ashur Banipa, who loved languages, arts, history and ruled from 669-631 B.C. He is holding a tablet on which is written PEACE in English and Syrian, conveying the vitality of this message for everyone around the world. In his right arm is a lamb, emphasizing the need for kindness and peace.
David Adilman, of Andover, MA, chose his boulder resting on the ground for the same pragmatic reason, but created a giant playful head of a dog out of his. “There’s no history here,” he says. “Yin asked if I would complete what another artist had barely just begun. When I looked at the stone I saw a huge dog’s head in it. It’s just fun. Kids love it,” he adds. Adilman spent two and a half sessions carving at YV Museum. He notes that the different color of the dog’s nose is due to polishing, which makes it darker. Viktor Lois, artist, and the other owner of the museum, pointed out that after a rain, there was water dripping from one of the dog’s eyes, so he named it Crying Big Dog, a positive association for someone from Hungary, as he is.
Moving around to the back of the approximately twenty-five-foot high,105-foot long pile of boulders, we could see Marin Murakoshi’s compelling dragon baby emerging. This is her 5th year sculpting at YV. “I saw the dragon in the stone and could not resist it,” she remarked. Originally from Japan, now living in Concord, MA, she notes that, “This is the year of the dragon, and I wanted to honor that.” She sees dragons as guardians of the earth, and echoed the theme of peace and the importance of this message. Other works of hers include a fish/bird creature and giant head.
Yin Peet, originally from Taiwan, now living in Acton, MA, and one of the owners of YV Museum, does not usually participate in the residencies but, due to a late cancellation by the fourth artist, she worked on a boulder midway up the pile. She is creating the head of Louise Bourgeois, an accomplished French-American sculptor. “Women are still greatly outnumbered by their male counterparts, and I wanted to pay homage to women artists,” she says. Viktor Lois sees a series of pieces surrounding the Louise Bourgeois head, and there are a number of available boulders nearby which have yet to have images carved on them. Peet demonstrated how she scampers up to her workspace halfway up the pile.
All the artists know ahead of time that their work will remain on site at the YV Museum, founded in 1999, as part of the evolving project of the boulder field. Perhaps this is part of the mystique of the event: the artists “donate” their work, where it will live alongside other sculptors’ imaginations. It takes several minutes to circumnavigate the installation, and in walking three loops around it, different images come out in greater relief each time. This dynamic exhibit will remain an invitation to visit, and for artists to let their imaginations soar – creating gigantic 3D work to evoke meaning, reflection and joy.
Meg Stafford is an award winning author of two memoirs, speaker, storyteller and columnist. Her forty years as a licensed psychotherapist has provided invaluable insight into the quirks and passions of the human experience.