Existing comment:
Robert Stackhouse
Ghost Dance, 1974
Ghost Dance – a nearly five-foot-tall, semicircular, vertical structure made of consecutive slats of recycled, industrial-grade wood – marks the focal point of Renewal. On the adjacent wall, a display of Stackhouse’s watercolor renderings of the sculpture and detailed instructions for its original construction in 1974 accompany the structure. Stackhouse first unveiled Ghost Dance nearly 40 years ago, drawing inspiration from the 19th-century Native American movement among the Nevada Northern Paiute to restore ownership of their land and way of life.
Stackhouse and his wife, Carol Mickett, who are artistic collaborators, unveiled the opening of their exhibit with a reception and a lecture last week titled “Where we’ve been, where we are, where we’re going.” Babette Pendleton, Corcoran’s exhibition and programming associate, said the slogan encapsulates the exhibition, which centers around the restoration of the work of art.
The sculpture explores themes of renewal, rebirth and sustainability through its use of recycled materials and now through its rebirth as part of a new exhibition. The spiritual movement of Ghost Dance emerged after European settlers brought a period of devastating disease to the Paiute people in Nevada who wished to cleanse their land of the European settlers and sustain its natural beauty.
Pendleton said after sitting in the gallery’s storage for over a decade, Ghost Dance was in need of restoration. Visible disrepair on the wood and metal screws left Stackhouse and Mickett to decide between modernizing the construction or maintaining its original appearance, Stackhouse said.
The above was from https://www.gwhatchet.com/2022/09/19/art-preview-corcoran-unveils-exhibits-featuring-sculpture-immersive-projection-this-month/ |