Getting Fired Up with Patrick Dougherty

Ketchum, Idaho 2010 Patrick Dougherty Installation, photo by Ellen Hanson

Ketchum, Idaho 2010 Patrick Dougherty Installation, photo by Ellen Hanson

This summer my husband Richard and I were the sponsors of a wonderful public artwork by Patrick Dougherty in Ketchum Idaho. The structure he built was a magnet for folks of all ages.

Ann Hanson investigates a Dougherty shelter in Ketchum Idaho. Photo by Ellen Hanson

Most of the time we saw little kids running through it squealing with delight but we we also caught my Mom posing in the window.

I think MY favorite feature is the porthole to the sky.

Patrick Dougherty, Ketchum Idaho 2010. Photo by Ellen Hanson

In reading the article about Dougherty in today's NYT Home Section I was surprised and thrilled to learn that Patrick Dougherty gets fired up by The Foxfire Books- a favorite with all of us here in the office.

This revelation sent me back through the pages looking for the connective tissue. Log cabin building is an obvious thread but the real "aha" moment? Hidden forest structures built to camouflage illegal moonshine stills.

These improvised frames were draped with twigs and saplings to create a forest room to hide stills in plain sight. Courtesy of The Firefox Book

While enjoying Dougherty's Ketchum installation my friends and I discussed why public art matters. My companions were the folks at Mercury Artworks visitng from Athens, Georgia. They had several ruminations on the subject. My personal favorite:
"Public art is like another form of wilderness. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to pause, and have a pure experience" Chris Wyrick

 

“Natural History,” five winsome wind-blown pods that Mr. Dougherty described as “lairs for feral children or wayward adults” photo and caption courtesy of Artslope


Dougherty brought his magic to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens at the end of the summer using saplings gathered in Staten Island's marshes and providing Brooklynites a wild habitat for its feral inner child. 

 I'm just surprised these guys didn't figure out the connection and move in!



Kings County Distellery, Brooklyn Moonshine