TEMPORARY-EPHEMERAL-TRANSITIONAL-SITE SPECIFIC- PERFORMATIVE- KINETIC- ENVIRONMENTAL
Nancy Winship Milliken: Varied and Alive is a solo outdoor exhibition of four, nature-centric, monumental sculptures set in a pollinator meadow at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.
Dates: May 15 through October 16, 2022
Site: Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont
Curator: Carolyn Bauer
Collaborators: Eliot Hays Lothrop of Building Heritage, and Mike and Tawnya Kiernan of Bee The Change
Engineer: John Higgins, Artisan Engineering
Studio Assistants: Katie Gorson and Jill Williamson
Nancy Winship Milliken: Varied and Alive, is a site-specific outdoor sculpture exhibition that embodies the Museum’s commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability while also engaging in global and local ecological conversations, from climate change to Lake Champlain’s watershed history. Installed within a pollinator meadow planted for this exhibition, Winship Milliken’s four monumental post-and-beam structures feature different natural materials intrinsic to the land, all of which explore themes related to sustainability: horsehair, wool, beeswax, and driftwood. Activated by the wind and sun, each sculpture uniquely moves, changes, and adapts to the environment, inspiring community conversations surrounding our roles within and relationships to nature.
PC Spencer Media
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The four sculptures—Pasture Song, Meadow Breath, Lake Bones, and Earth Glow—are multisensory, multidisciplinary explorations of the natural environment. Unifying the distinct sculptures are allusions to Vermont’s agricultural buildings, bountiful fields, and landscapes. Fabricated in collaboration with historic preservation and restorationist, Eliot Hays Lothrop, each of the minimalist post and beam structures are joined with traditional mortise and tenon joints. Surrounding and embracing the sculptures is a pollinator meadow—which provides a habitat for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, and other insects—and is created and generously donated by the non-profit organization Bee the Change.
Winship Milliken describes her sculptures as “contemporary pastoralism.” They are evocative of abstract landscape paintings while also providing critical insight into contemporary environmental issues while conveying a reverence for nature. Activated by the wind and sun, the sculptures and the meadow both adapt to their environment, subtly transforming throughout the duration of this exhibition. Winship Milliken welcomes these changes, understanding that she is not the sole creator of this installation. “These sculptures react, respond, and transition in their own unique ways, and in their own timeline, in the environment [in which] they are presented,” she asserts. “It is a goal to let the environment have the last say and make its mark.”
Detail image of Meadow Breath, 15x17’, raw New England wool, wood, fishing net, hardware, 2022
Nancy Winship Milliken on Her Work as Nature-Centric Monuments
"Celebratory Ecology calls each of us to spend time outdoors, to observe colors, movement, presences and absence of species, and yes, to simply enjoy the bounty. We celebrate ecology and are inspired to do all within our power to protect, and learn about this essential life-giving ecosystem."
–Eleanor Robinson, environmental advocate, community leader, naturalist, and teacher
“The word monumental comes from the Latin word moneo, which means to remember. Culturally, we often create monuments for two reasons: to celebrate what we value and to remember people or events. These kinetic monumental sculptures featuring natural materials, inspire to do both, they remind us of our relationship to nature, and celebrate the beauty of our natural environment.
Monuments are conceived of the past, but are designed for the future. They create places where we can organize, exchange ideas, celebrate, grieve and reflect. Varied and Alive offers the space for reflection of our local natural history, and a place to celebrate nature, or ecology, as Robinson mentions, and to mourn those species and ecosystems we have lost.
As creatives during this time of anthropogenic environmental change, we do not have time to be subtle in our work. We can use our creative platform to awaken the public by shining a light on the emotional spaces vs. the data driven spaces of the climate crises. Creating opportunities within one’s own community to gather all sectors of society and engage with the public on matters pertaining to climate crises (not separate from racial and gender justice) is something the art sector can lead. As such, the scale of the exhibition is demanding of our attention. I think the environment has something to say. Here, the scale hardly matches the actions that are needed by us all.
Two years ago during the pandemic, my studio created an online project with an intrepid group of interns called The Place Where Project. We invited the public to tell their stories of place during the stay-at-home order. Some of the examples offered reflected an emotional relationship to place, such as “The Place Where I gather my thoughts” or “The Place Where tall trees bend.” For me, if I was to describe this space of Varied and Alive, I might call it, “The Place Where the bees sing,” or “The Place Where the wind dances.” It is my hope that Varied and Alive becomes a place where everyone can gather, experience, and share.”
—Nancy Winship Milliken
Pollinator Meadow install generously donated by Bee The Change
A Collaborative Project
“Collaboration is critical to ensuring sustainability, and as such, it is the backbone of my work in the studio,” Winship Milliken says. “Working with others enlivens, alters, and expands the message and scale of the work. It offers an environment of stories and possibilities beyond any one person. “
Varied and Alive is the result of several contributors and community-members, including the key partnerships with historic preservation and restorationist Eliot Hays Lothrop and Mike and Tawnya Kiernan of Bee the Change whose contributions unite Winship Milliken’s distinct sculptures with ties to Vermont’s agricultural buildings and bountiful meadows. “For the first time in my studio’s exhibition history, we are incorporating the message of restoration. Both Hays Lothrop and Bee the Change restore habitat and architecture, and by working together, this exhibition amplifies the story of restoration of the landscapes and the ecosystems for wildlife and plant habitats in those landscapes.”
In collaboration with Hays Lothrop, each of the minimalist post and beam structures are joined with traditional mortise and tenon joints, structures that refer to Vermont’s architectural history. Hewn from of locally sourced and milled Hemlock, each of the timbers have been applied with a distinct blackened patina. While this method of charring and oiling the timbers deters extensive rot and insect infestation, it also creates a bold, contrasting frame for the interior materials.
Inspired by the arrangement of color, sound, smell, and movement found in the fields that surround her home and studio, Winship Milliken’s sculptures are likewise installed within a similar environment. Surrounding and embracing the sculptures is a pollinator meadow, which was generously donated and created by Bee the Change. This nonprofit organization, devoted to supporting pollinators, has also created larger pollinator-friendly meadows surrounding the Museum’s solar arrays. The garden will grow and change throughout the duration of the exhibition, providing a habitat for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, and other insects critical to food security.
press
Cynthia Close, Art New England, Spotlight Review: Nancy Winship Milliken: Varied and Alive, P. 72, July/August, 2022
Large Scale Environmental Sculptures on View This Summer, The Hinesburg Record, June 2022, cover page
WCAX, Shelburne Museum Adds New Exhibits, May 25, 2022
Scooter MacMilllan, Charlotte News, Milliken’s creations help to celebrate Shelburne Museum’s anniversary, May 19, 2022
Visit Shelburne Museum to learn more
Community, Collaboration and Impact
This video explores the collaborations and community partnerships crucial to planning, fabricating, and installing her monumental sculptures. This is the final video in a three-part series looking behind-the-scenes at the work of Nancy Winship Milliken and her team of collaborators.
MAKING, MATERIALS, & MESSAGE NANCY WINSHIP MILLIKEN: VARIED AND ALIVE
Join Nancy Winship Milliken: Varied and Alive featured artist to explore her artistic practice, materials, and message. This is the first video in a three-part series exploring the work of Nancy Winship Milliken Studio and her creative team – stay tuned for part two coming in mid-late June!
Creating the four sculptures of horse hair, beeswax, driftwood and wool.
PC: Jill Williamson, Katie Gorson, Geoffrey Gevalt
