$19,000
Welded steel, Portland concrete products, paints, sealers
11′ x 2′ x 3′
From the Artist:
I call my this series of sculptures the “Land Buoy’s”. They are influenced by my love of the Neolithic standing stones I’ve seen in Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall and my life-changing move to
Chattanooga, from rural North Carolina. The visual stimuli of my city life include many nonverbal cautionary symbols. Railroad track markers and crossings, river buoys and other warnings are a larger part of my daily existence. These sculptures reflect that. I believe they may even function in some
similar manner to the ancient megaliths that fascinate me so. They go beyond the activation of space and designation of place and represent nonverbal directions and cautionary tales.
In his Mythos lectures series Joseph Campbell said, “Don’t ask an artist the meaning of his work. If an artist wants to insult you they will tell you.” My work has no single meaning and I have no intention of insulting the viewer.
I make my art with steel and concrete. The constraints and freedoms of our culture make these materials as available, accessible and reasonable for me to use as were the giant stones used by my Neolithic ancestors at sites like Carnac, Avebury or Stonehenge. My need for making these works is
similar, I feel, to those of my Neolithic ancestors. It is about creating an object that not only activates our sensual, physical environment but also invites the viewer to respond to and discover whatever meanings they might find through the associations they make with it.
Artist Bio:
Roger Halligan has been creating sculpture since the mid nineteen seventies. He received his MFA with honors in Studio Arts from the University of Georgia in 1977. After graduation he joined the newly formed Exhibit Design Department at the North Carolina Zoological Park where he was involved in the design and construction of natural habitat exhibits for African and later, North American animals. He was instrumental in the development of techniques now used at that zoo in its construction of hardscape features such as faux rocks, waterfalls and faux trees. In 1993 he was awarded the State of North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence for his work in the design and construction of the Sonora Desert Exhibit. He left the zoo in 1992 to devote his time to his fine art.
He has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions and has won numerous awards and commissions. His sculpture is in museum and public collections including the Weatherspoon Museum at UNC-Greensboro, the Maitland Museum in Maitland, FL and the William King Museum in Abington, VA.. Outdoor public collections include the Kellog Center, UNC- Asheveille in Hendersonville NC, the cities of Carrboro and Raleigh, NC, and Chattanooga, TN.. Other sites include the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Cullowhee, and Rock City, Lookout Mt., GA.
His work is privately collected and can be seen regularly at the Arts Company Gallery in Nashville, TN.
Artist Website: www.rogerhalligan.com