'Yippee Ki Yay' in Pease Park
“Art in public places is often said to be art for the community, and we are thrilled to invite the community to enjoy this incredible project,” said Kristen Brown, CEO of Pease Park Conservancy. “Patrick’s process and the resulting Stickwork sculpture is a wonderful example of art for all."
AUSTIN, Texas (PRWEB) February 07, 2018
Today, Pease Park Conservancy is pleased to announce that on Saturday, February 10th, the organization will celebrate the public unveiling of Pease Park’s newest public art installation – a site-specific sculpture created by artist Patrick Dougherty and over 200 local volunteers over a three-week period in January 2018. The structure, titled “Yippee Ki Yay,” is made entirely out of locally-harvested saplings, and is the 288th installation in Dougherty’s Stickwork series created by the artist around the world.
Pease Park Conservancy’s unveiling event will take place from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 10th, 2018. The event is free and open to the public and will feature light bites, as well as remarks from Pease Park Conservancy CEO Kristen Brown, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, State Representative Gina Hinojosa, and Parks and Recreation Development Acting Director, Kimberly McNeeley.
“Art in public places is often said to be art for the community, and we are thrilled to invite the community to enjoy this incredible project,” said Kristen Brown, CEO of Pease Park Conservancy. “Patrick’s process and the resulting Stickwork sculpture is a wonderful example of art for all, sparking the imaginations of patrons of Pease Park and passersby of all ages, and we are truly proud to host this amazing piece of art in Pease Park.”
Over the past 30 years, Patrick Dougherty has created 288 Stickwork sculptures worldwide – including projects in Brussels, Scotland, and Japan as well as all over the United States. Each sculpture is unique and created specifically for its location. “Yippee Ki Yay” in Pease Park features five whimsical, hut-like structures that invite people to explore and immerse themselves in the piece, with “windows” that look out onto the trees, trails and green spaces in the surrounding park.
“Pease Park is a pristine active space that connects many aspects of Austin culture— educational life at the University of Texas, the energy of downtown, and the beauty of the Colorado River and Lady Bird Lake,” said Lea Weingarten, Principal at Weingarten Art Group, the art advisory firm that provided their project management services for the Stickwork project. “Patrick Dougherty’s sculpture for Pease Park becomes a mirror of those energies, commingling in an environment that fosters connection through whimsical play and discovery, both in its final form and in the collaborative spirit that took to create it.”
The process of bringing Stickwork to Pease Park was a true community effort, involving donations of time, energy and financial support from hundreds of individuals, as well as the expertise of various stakeholders, donors and groups from around Central Texas. Over the three-week installation period, more than 200 enthusiastic Austinites helped Dougherty harvest materials for the sculpture and then weave the saplings into the sculpture itself. Harvesting for the sculpture was led by Austin Tree Experts, who donated their services to the project, gathering nearly 10 trailer truckloads – including depression willow and ash, and the invasive species Ligustrum– from a private ranch in Stonewall, Texas, and from South Austin Park. Ligustrum and ash for the project were also harvested on-site at Pease Park.
Major stakeholders and donors for the project include: City of Austin Development Services Department Urban Forest
Grant, The Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation, Lynda Young Kaffie & Harris Kaffie, The Fentress Foundation, Harlon’s Fund, Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust, Ilene & Paul Barr, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division Community Initiatives Program, Debra Young Hatch & Rick Hatch, Carolyn Long and Andrew & Nona Sansom, among many others.
“Public art is such a powerful tool for raising community consciousness and reinforcing an authentic sense of place, and this is a key component for the future of Pease Park, as set out in the Pease Park Master Plan,” said Brown. “The Conservancy is committed to this mission of enhancing the cultural environment of Pease Park – through initiatives like this Stickwork project, and our partnership with The Contemporary Austin’s Museum Without Walls program, which brought David Deming’s Mystic Raven to its new home in Pease Park late last year.”
As the Conservancy welcomes these public art pieces to the park, the organization also looks forward to the upcoming restoration, revitalization and enhancement of the southernmost portion of Pease Park, in the area commonly referred to as Kingsbury Commons – which will kick off later this year. In October 2017, the organization received a $9.7 million donation from the Moody Foundation to support the vision for the future of Kingsbury Commons as laid out in the Pease Park Master Plan, which includes the creation of play features and nature-based playscapes in the area, adaptively repurposing the historic Tudor Cottage, and the creation of a new multi-use facility.
For more information about art at Pease Park, or the Conservancy’s vision for the future of this iconic greenspace, please visit http://www.peasepark.org