Return To Newburyport : Dog Walker Reinstalled

Last week I reinstalled my Dog Walker sculpture in Newburyport, MA after having repaired it from the damage it suffered last Halloween (here is the previous post with images of the damage). In returning there, I was even more impressed with the amazing job the city has done in filling their community with public art. For such a small city, they have a tremendous amount of very good art for people to casually encounter. Between Somersby Landing, where this piece was originally installed, and the bike path they must have twenty sculptures.
As I mentioned in my previous post on this piece, it is no longer my art, but rather an unsolicited collaboration with vandals and, although I really don't appreciate unsolicited collaborations, there were some aspects of the vandals' work that I do think work better than the original piece. For example, I really like how they bent the rear wheels on the dogs so that now they look like they are wagging.
This one isn't as bent but it is still noticeable. I couldn't find another gear shifter for the eye and struggled a while with what to do with it. I haven't decided whether this part is better or not but it does give sense that the robot is winking, which may be good.
And, although I really didn't appreciate having to splice new wood into the body in order to secure the handlebars sufficiently, I like the look of the horizontal wood across the bottom of the splice. Also, though it isn't too obvious in the picture, the repair gave me the opportunity to turn the head just a little to the left to give it a more life-like appearance. The ear repair on the red dog may or may not be a result of the vandals. Apparently, there is a problematic issue of young children liking the piece so much they climb on top of the dogs and hold them by the ears. I secured this one better so hopefully it can be loved without being damaged.
While installing the piece we had quite a few people walk by and complement the work. It was good to see the bike trail is so well used -- on a week day morning with a steady rain we still saw about 15 people in 75 minutes, it must be packed on a nice weekend day. If you want to visit Dog Walker in person it is on the Clipper City Rail Trail between Washington and High Streets with the best entrance located on this Google Map.

Collaborating With Vandals

Sometimes a work of art is so compelling that people can't help themselves from interacting with it. Sometimes people are so inspired that they are driven to the point of leaving their unsolicited ideas behind. The Dog Walker piece that I completed in 2008 as part of Montpelier SculptCycle must be one of those pieces.

Dog Walker
October 2010
Newburyport, MA Bike Path

The city of Newburyport, MA purchased it for display along their new bike path but they kept it in their harbor sculpture park until the path was completed in the summer of 2010. Unfortunately, it only lasted at its new location until November 1, 2010 because some art enthusiasts decided it needed a little more work.

Dog Walker
November 2010

I have been in communication with the city since the event and thought that they would be able to make the repairs, however, the damage to the section where the head of the walker fits was too extensive, so we decided that it would be better if I spliced in some new wood.

I look forward to making some alterations. It was a good piece before but now is an opportunity to give it some character -- war scars that will make it even more interesting.

Dog Walker
May 2011
Back at the studio - Montpelier, VT

In addition, I even get some gas money to make a couple of trips down to Boston. Coincidentally, when I went down to pick it up I met the artist B. Amore who told me she had the same thing happen to one of her pieces (twenty years ago?) in the same town (or vicinity?) on another Halloween night.

By the way, check out those glue lines --
more than three years outside, in New England, and
absolutely no separation. Titebond III is the best!

I just have to say, I feel honored that my work has inspired someone (or two!) to be more involved in the arts than they might otherwise have been. It just goes to show how important the arts are; these people could have been running all over town causing some real trouble.

All SculptCycles Installed

I finally finished and installed my SculptCycles last Friday (7/3 - three days late). The four dogs were placed in front of The Drawing Board and the unicorn was moved from that location to the Montpelier tourist center along with a new unicorn. I'm happy with how they turned out but I think they improved as I made more. The dogs definitely benefited from being in a pack. One or two would have been too small to be noticed.

Two Unicorns

View of all four dogs

Big Dog

I like the ears on this one, they flop up and down. I wasn't sure if the feet would work and was worried they I would have to take them off but liked them when I was done.

Dalmatian

I like the feet on this one the best, I also like the pedal reflector ears. I received the bike painted as it is and was surprised when someone mentioned that it looks like a dalmation. Having to agree with them, I think it makes for a good title.

Alien Dog

This was the first of the dog series for this year. I think it definitely has an alien character, especially with the antenna ears.

Small Robot Dog

I like the angular head, the ears spin and the head wobbles. It has a lot of character.

These sculptcycles can be purchased through the Montpelier Downtown Community Association along with all the other sculptcycles. Learn more at the SculptCycle website. They, and all the other sculptcycles are all reasonably priced. The dogs are only $150 apiece and the unicorns are $225 each. Hope they sell but if not I have some cool sculptcycles to go with my collection.

One SculptCycle Installed

I installed my first SculptCycle last week, a unicorn. I like the piece but it is a bit overwhelmed by the space, so I'm in the process of making another one to go with it. I'm also trying to finish at least three dogs for the "Dog Pack" ScultCycle. When they are finished, they may go in this space, in front of The Drawing Board on Main Street, Montpelier; I would then move the unicorns to the tourist center on State Street. Hopefully, they will be done next week, being the deadline is the end of the month. At least I'm not the last to install yet; I know several other artists are planning on installing next week so I might be able to beat them.

SculptCycles In Progress

Having just finished the shows in May that I was preparing for, I now have time to work on my SculptCycles, sculptures with recycled bicycles, for Montpelier SculptCycle 2009. Last year I created a robot walking two dogs with bike parts, northern white cedar, and plenty of epoxy. It was bought by the town of Newburyport, MA and should be moved to their new bike path this summer.

Dog Walker
©Robert Hitzig

This year my plan was to make a series of the dogs and scatter them around town, maybe making more as the summer progresses. Here are seven of the frames I found, some pulled out of the garbage. Taking them apart was a lot easier this year but it is still time consuming. Sometimes the crank is reverse threaded, sometime not, sometimes it can take a while to figure it out. I usually need to pull out the Sawzall to get the axle off. I have three more that I haven't been able to finish taking apart and might have to break down and ask Onion River Sports to help me out. Last year I spent hours trying to separate a couple of rear sprockets before heading over there. I found you need a special tool for the procedure.
I had made a three extra trapezoids for the robot body that I found left over as I was digging around for some cedar last week and I used part of it for the first small dog, giving it more of a robot look.
I decided to use the second half of the trapezoid for the larger dog but after I glued it together I decided that it really wanted to be a horse, especially with the knot-eye of the side of the head. Unfortunately, I had already added the sprocket collar. Not sure if I want to go to the trouble of taking it off or just have a horse with a collar. Hopefully, as I make more I'll find other animals as well.
The third piece is the most dog-like of the bunch. It is much softer and will be sculpted into a rounded head.