Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen's second sculpture unveiling for the “HOME” public art campaign took place at the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens' Ball Visitor Center on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 10:30 a.m., before a group of visitors and guests.
The installation was imagined and created by Luke Huling, MFA, a ceramic sculptor, associate professor of visual arts and visual arts coordinator at Sandhills Community College. His nationally exhibited work explores the human form through intricate textures, symbolism and imaginative compositions.
“The design was completely influenced by the location,” said Huling. “When I found out the garden's location was a go, I spent a couple of days walking around the paths with a sketch book and a camera documenting all the flora and fauna that interested me. Everything that I sculpted is also something that I have seen during my walks. I really wanted my home piece to honor the plants and animals that we share our home with.”
His artwork includes 29 pinecones forming the letter “H”; the “O” is made of 16 zinnia flowers and 16 coneflowers; and the “M” is made of eight pine logs and native birds: one cardinal, one bluebird and two red-cockaded woodpeckers. The “E” features 27 green frogs and 33 green anole lizards forming the letter. Every component is hand-sculpted from North Carolina clay manufactured in Star, North Carolina.
“I have been working on this project for the last six months,” he said. “During the summer when I was not teaching in-person courses my average workday was 10-12 hours every day seven days a week. I believe there were only five or six days where I did not work during the summer months due to being out of town. It was a massive undertaking for sure! Starting on October 11th I began installing the M, the O on the 12th, the M on the 13th and the E was finished on the 16th. Each letter took 8-12 hours to install and the E definitely took the longest due to the fact that is has almost just as many components to install as the H, O, and M combined. If I were to guess how much the entire project took from start to finish, I would estimate well over one thousand hours.”
Huling added that he is honored to be one of five artists chosen for the HOME project and happy to create a piece about home in a place where he feels so much at home.
“Everyone has been so kind and excited to see the finished project, I truly feel such a strong sense of community with everyone here.”
Because this was a commissioned project, Huling was unable to involve students directly in creating the installation.
“However, this opportunity has been a great teaching tool to show my students what it takes to design, build, and install a large public art installation from start to finish. This project has sparked some great conversations on the engineering of public art, especially how important it is for artists to be versed in a variety of power tools and construction elements.”
The artwork is also designed to stand the test of time.
“Believe it or not, some of the oldest artifacts known to existence are ceramic. There are ceramic objects that are 30,000 years old, such as the Venus of Dolní Věstonice. The HOME installation is a permanent installation, and as long as viewers are not aggressively yanking the pieces or a tree doesn't fall into the building, it will last indefinitely,” said Huling.
He added that there are also details for young visitors to discover in the artwork.
Huling typically has 10 to 15 exhibitions around the country each year, although they are usually held indoors at galleries and museums. HOME is his largest-scale project to date. The finished installation measures approximately 6 feet tall by 25 feet wide.
The installation differs from Huling's typical work, which tends to be more conceptual and introspective. Commissioned and public art projects, however, require artists to work within more specific guidelines or themes.
“This project was a great change of pace as well as a challenge for me to do something that was a bit more foreign to me. I really enjoyed creating the piece, and I will seek out other opportunities like this in the future.”
View more images of Huling's art installation at the SCC Flickr page.
Visitors can view the installation in-person at the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, 3245 Airport Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374.
For additional information about the HOME public art campaign, visit Home of Golf.