Sunday, August 05, 2007

Patrick Dougherty's Secret Treehouses



The Palm Springs Art Museum recently commissioned a site-specific sculpture from Patrick Dougherty...



...who specializes in huge nest-like lairs...



...made out of saplings...



...that the viewer can walk inside...



...where they can feel like they are in the ultimate secret treehouse...



...for hidden games.



Dougherty has been creating these amazing pieces all over the country since 1982...



...and it's worth going to his website to see some of the other installations (click here).

5 comments:

Matthew Hubbard said...

Wow. Brilliant. That first picture, you almost think the Lego man in the foreground is human sized until you see the woman next to the scuplture. Terrific shot, Mike.

janinsanfran said...

Great installation for Palm Springs. The sculpture reminds me of an oasis place I once explored down there. Fun.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love that boy and what he does under the Carolina moon! When does he come to SF?

Civic Center said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Just got a nice note from the artist wanting hi-res versions of the photos, since the museum hasn't gotten around to doing a decent photography job, and I'll ask him if and when he's ever going to make it to San Francisco.

Merisi said...

These are beautiful pictures of immensely beautiful sculptures. My favorite image is the first one, with the couple sitting on a bench, in deep trance, the sculptures in the background, rising like shadows of their ancestors, whispering of a long lost past.
I wonder if the artist will ever come to Vienna, I could imagine many places where a sculpture of his would find a perfect setting.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful works of art with us!
(Btw, as if to proof blogging's global reach, I came here from Vienna, Austria, via Patrick Dougherty's website which had been recommended to Sonia of São Paulo, Brazil by Letizia of Melbourne, Australia).