As the sun moves across the sky and the light fills the courtyard at Easton’s Academy Art Museum, the environmental art piece titled “Branch Dance” by Howard and Mary McCoy comes to life. At first glance, from the exterior of the courtyard, the weathered cedar branches appear as landscaping. Except landscaping never looks as intentional as these branches do, and the bottom of the branches are cut cleanly off. Looking carefully, it’s evident that these branches, appearing so alive – are not. Carefully positioned along the gallery windows, the branches sit on concrete, and wrap around themselves, creating arches and intertwining, depicting the interconnected web of life.
From the interior of the long gallery space, the shadows in late afternoon are magical. The light plays upon the Museum’s opaque window shades, and the shadows of Branch Dance come to life. As the day progresses, the shadows reach across the floor and the outside comes inside, bringing a feeling of nature and the woods into the clean, white space of the Museum.
The McCoys created this site-specific installation to engage Museum guests in a remembrance of the interconnectivity of nature, and to recall the web of life. Viewed from the interior of the Museum, it engages memory – bringing the forest and the outdoors in. Viewed from the courtyard, it reminds us of the magnificence of life, as intertwining parts create a whole new form. Beauty is found not only in the living, but in the forms and shapes of these branches, cut off from their living roots.
The McCoys have been creating environmental art together since 1985. Using mostly natural materials found outside, their work has been shown in the US, Ireland, Wales and New Zealand. The installation can be viewed through April 29, and from May 6-31.
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