Patrick
Dougherty's 2003 installation, entitled Na
Hale 'O Waiawi,
is
a complex of bee-hive-like stuctures threaded in and around
the magnifient monkeypod tree that graces the grounds
at the Contemporay Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. (By the
way, these spectacularly beautiful grounds are populated
with unusual plantings and various other visual and textural
suprises for museum visitors).
Internationally
acclaimed sculptor Patrick Dougherty creates eight to
ten site-specific works a year in various locations across
the country and internationally. His only materials for
these large, organic sculptures are tree saplings, preferably
taken from local sources, which he twists and wraps to
create his unique art in harmony with other elements in
the surrounding environment.
For
his installation at the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu,
the North Carolina-based artist utilized strawberry guava
and rose apple saplings harvested from Ho'omaluhia Botanical
Gardens in nearby Kane'ohe to weave his magic in and around
the Museum's monkeypod tree. The result is a series of
inviting open-weave spaces that meander among the great
tree's trunks and grow up into its branches in intriguing
patterns. You can walk inside and between them, and look
through 'windows' onto magical views, within and beyond
the sculptures.
