Open Studio Fellow 2009

Johnny Appleseed

Mark di Suvero

Steel

Fabricated 1992

Artist Statement:

Johnny Appleseed recalls the forms of the industrial machinery used to make it while also incorporating whimsical, mischevious elements as well. The sculpture taunts the viewer with backhoe bucket loader lookouts and criss-crossing eyebeams raised like tightropes, daring climbers to take a risk and scale to the top. The title references the legendary American pioneer Johnny Appleseed, and imbues the sculpture with the same sense of adventure that marked the period of westward expansion in American history.