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Cleveland, Ohio (Sept. 12, 2006)- Carney-McNicholas, Inc. of Berea, Ohio has announced it has acquired Midwest Fine Art Services and Transportation, also known as Midwest F.A.S.T. of Kipton, Ohio. Midwest F.A.S.T. was founded in 1990 by Marvin Fan...
Seattle – MidWest Fine Art Service and Transportation Co. LLC recently moved Brian Tolle’s “Stronghold” for the University of Washington campus from the artist’s studio in New York. Brian Tolle, best known for his city-block-sized Irish Hunger Memorial project in Battery Park City, completed this monumental work of sculpture for the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Stronghold (2007) is a 23-foot diameter effigy of the base of a massive old-growth tree, like the ones that may have been on the university’s campus before logging. Painstakingly built from 2×6 cedar lumber, the sculpture seems like a low-resolution digital image — very realistic from a distance and obviously constructed up close.
According to Tolle, the project was inspired by the history of the region, particularly by old photos that documented the logging of old growth forests like this one featuring possibly the largest piece of lumber ever made :
Tolle originally planned on using cast concrete for the piece, but over time it became clear that lumber would be a better material. Many people questioned this decision at a post installation Q&A at the campus, but he pointed out that the lumber would be used either way. He stated that the fact that it is a work of art makes it different from a deck or a hot tub made of wood. The image of Stronghold is certainly potent considering that 10,000 linear feet of cedar went into it. We are slowly becoming more aware of our impact on the environment and how destructive we can be. Not only are we reading about it in books and newspapers and seeing it on the news, but more and more public art is making a statement to create awareness. Thus is so in New York based artist Brian Tolle ’s Stronghold , a new installation on the University of Washington Campus . The sculpture reintroduces the once abundant cedar trees on a now well-tended lawn.
Stronghold can be visited near the Portage Bay Vista on the south end of the UW campus. It provides a new meeting place and view point for students and visitors. Inspired from the history of the Northwest region and the logging of growth forests, Tolle decided to recreate a stump of one of the enormous cedar trees. Originally, the piece was to be constructed out of cast concrete, but with further studies and thought, it was determined that lumber was the better choice. Cedar was chosen for the suitability for the construction process and additionally to prove a point. The selected material is controversial to some, but Tolle believes that the lumber will be used and this application has more substance than a deck or hot tub. Although producing something from nature to recreate it isn’t an eco-friendly procedure, it does make us question our actions. With this piece, it is a reminder to the public every time they pass by it.
Tolle is recognized mainly for the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park of Lower Manhattan. This piece draws awareness to the Great Irish Famine that killed millions in Ireland. Also within the work is a tunnel that allows present facts of world hunger to be updated in order for us to understand the current situations around the world. History is the material in which he uses to make his art as he stated, “I look to history to understand the present.”
PITTSBURGH, PA: MidWest Fine Art Service and Transportation, Co. agent for Mayflower Transit recently moved a major traveling exhibition organized by the Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh to JFK International for ai...
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