Blind Curve begins at the edge of the meadows hedgerow, where past logging roads in the forest have created a heavy runoff point.  The first run, which is a gentle long slope, is 200ft in length and is the beginning of the engineered redirection of the runoff.  This run feeds into the first curve of the Meadow Meander, which is 100ft in length, designed with a 4ft tall bank and wide point bar plateau.  The line then divides, creating a short braided channel with a small, elevated island before dropping into its second curve.

The first run also feeds into a switchback which runs opposite of the Meadow Meander, allowing for an equal distribution of the water flow between the two distinct channels.  This second channel, the Forest Meander, consists of tree consecutive loops, each characterized with its own irregular waveform.  The first curve is 50 ft, the second 35 ft and the third 100ft in length with varying bank heights.  As the Forest Meander exits the grove of saplings it becomes a long, wide channel that runs at a rapid downhill rate.  The same can be said for the Meadow Meander as it descends from its second curve.  The design encourages the channels to nearly collide, but maintains their separation through the use of a land bridge 80 ft in length running parallel between the two.  Each channel then finds its terminus in the form of an Oxbow pond, one cradling the other.  The inner oxbow is 60 ft in length and 8 ft in depth, the outer oxbow is 70 ft in length, 25 ft wide and 12 ft deep.  The upper has a narrow overflow trench that allows the water to cascade into the lower.  It is in this delicate manner that the two separate forms combine.

There is artistry to the movements on the machine and rake alike…. it takes time, effort, focus, and creativity.

outerspace: Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind creating an earthwork?

Parrish: There is something that appeals to me about forms emerging from the landscape versus existing upon or above the surface.   Hidden from view, the piece only becomes fully known when it is explored.  This piece is a metaphor for the things in life that guide us to unforeseen and unpredictable places, as you walk through the meandering paths and around blind curves there is a constant sense of discovery.  The design of it welcomes Nature’s hand, and encourages the processes of reclamation and regeneration.  It embraces and supports the inescapable evolution of change and the alterations that take place through that process.  It is not designed to be static; it exemplifies the ever-changing nature of existence and being.  Life doesn’t take place in a linear box…. I guess that’s why I always wanted to create and present my artwork outside of conventional gallery spaces.

outerspace: Have you worked on this scale before?

Parrish: Last year I completed a multistory mural in Pittsburgh’s Strip District supported by the Sprout Fund, which required a similar time investment- without the camping out element!  I have assisted in the creation of earthworks made from stone and cast iron at Griffis Sculpture Park located in Western New York, and built an earthwork of my own design, on a much smaller scale, at Pedvale Sculpture Park, Latvia.  I am currently working on a waterfront project in Buffalo that integrates abandoned architectural structures with adaptive reuse.  The project is still in the planning phases and hasn’t been introduced to the public yet.

outerspace: Can you briefly describe the dimensions of the piece?

Parrish: I haven’t taken a complete measurement of it yet, but I know that it’s over 1000 feet in length and the first major run absorbs 200 of that.  The banks increase in elevation from the top to the bottom.  The depth changes throughout, but the deepest part, the Oxbow, is at least 12 feet deep, 70 feet in length, and 25 feet wide.  The Meadow Meanders are the broadest, while the Forest Meanders are tighter and more intimate.  There are parts of this that you can get lost in.

outerspace: Why were you compelled to work on such a monumental scale?

Parrish: Each gesture of the hand is monumental in its origin, and destined through nature to inspire an introductory path.

To express and represent an unavoidable path.
To inspire awe and fear through unpredictability.
To understand determination.
To saddle desire.
To have a fixed vision.
To explore it in full length and to its fullest potential.

outerspace: Are you describing the experience that you’re creating for the viewer?

Parrish: Yes, and the experience that I had as the piece emerged.

outerspace: Can you describe your approach to creating it? Would you say that it was intuitive?  

Parrish: I first considered the distinct qualities of the landscape and its potential for runoff and wetland biodiversity.  I wanted to incorporate water into the piece but there wasn’t a direct source, pond or stream.  I was interested in exploring the relationship between the pre-existing channels that the surface water had made over time, the huge gestural and meandering lines that I wanted to create, and the landmass surrounding it.  The physics of gravity was important, and the ways it influences the behavior of natural occurrences.  For instance, the angle, pitch, velocity, and volume of the water flow, and how it is guided and distributed through the channels was key when I was determining the depth and elevation.  That was coupled with a fluid and intuitive creative energy.  I wanted to create places where water could easily move through it and contours for it to lay and puddle.   I was really inspired by images of water erosion and the impressions it leaves over time, and of sinuous braided and oxbow channels that carry water.  I was struck by how these things, the relationship between earth and water or, more specifically, the ways that they can affect one another, can serve as a metaphor for the human condition.

The earthwork is designed after forms found in naturally occurring movements of water through sinuous channels, also known as meandering channels. It combines elements of the braided channel, as well as evolving erosion and deposition patterns through interpretive earth carving methods.  There are elevated plateaus, referenced to as point bars, on the interior of each curve of the two channels.  These plateaus are an amplified version of those found in nature, which function as dense growth platforms.

Through an interpretive study of meander geometry two different channels were designed.  The first, the Meadow Meander, follows a broader sinuous axis with a greater meander width, but lower amplitude.  The Forest Meander has a greater down-valley axis and a tighter meander length, creating higher amplitude.

Blind Curve is designed to engage the helical flow through crossing riffles creating various levels of elevation and depth, which allow for the sweeping and deposit of silt, sand and clay.  These deposits will have a naturally occurring fining- upward sequence and promote the visual presence of such phenomena within the piece.  The deep banks and sweeping channels increase the wave velocity of the runoff, allowing the water to become a clear and defined force.

The elevation of the channels vary such that depth patterns as well as volume can be manipulated, allowing for shallow beds and pools through out.   This engineering approach not only propagates the growth potential of the wetland, but also varies the speed and movement of the water as heavy rain or spring thaw occur over the course of the seasons.

It is made to maximize the potential of the runoff, flushing with water when the time is right and then flourishing with growth.  There will also be times when the season is so dry that one might see the silt and clay deposits dry and crack.  This is an intentional aesthetic, as the piece is designed to directly respond to the conditions of the surrounding environment.

outerspace: What past experiences have you had, artistic or work-related, that helped inform your approach to working with earth as a medium?

Parrish: I have long admired works that are immersive in their scale for the viewer, forms which are so large in their presence that they allow the person to leave a sense of self behind as they enter into the space.  The meander (channel), like a scar in the earth, reminds me of the course life can take for each of us, the ways in which it is ever-changing, and the idea that where we have gone remains with us long after we have moved onto something new.  I also admire the natural patina of time as human-made gestures and materials are left to the elements- algae ribbons, moss beds, banks affected by root growth, dry silt beds flushed rich and alive by cool rain.   I’m also drawn to deep geologic scars by passing glaciers, land bridges created by nearly colliding channels, and courses made by water.

outerspace: When you talk about algae ribbon and moss beds are you describing this piece?

Parrish: Yes, in anticipation of what naturally settles in forms such as this.

As a child I spent many summers on the road with my father as he directed the construction of roads, bridges and ditch systems- watching, helping, and learning.  Riding the machines, learning how to harness or straddle the immense power of the earth and her contours, creating systems to carry or re-direct water and becoming familiar with its demands.  With my mother I was exposed to the meaning and metaphor of materials and how that can be used to speak in a visual language as artistic expression of universal truths or individual realities.  I feel that the knowledge I gained from those hands-on experiences and introspection gave me the confidence and know-how to work on this scale using these methods.

outerspace: How does this work relate to your other artwork?

Parrish: I’ve done a lot of installation work that emphasizes the aesthetics of aging forms and the natural reclamation of materials but one piece in particular stands out, Old Bones, a permanent piece installed on the waterfront in Buffalo.  Other works that relate to this theme were created at Pedvale Sculpture Park, Latvia and at a symposium in Finland in early 2000; unfortunately all images of this work were destroyed.

The pattern for Old Bones was made from a bunch of Styrofoam hypocycloids that I found in a dumpster behind a company that did laser cutting.  The piece was cast in sections and welded together, and mounted on an Italian marble plinth.  The marble and red sand stone that make the walkway around it were salvaged from a site near the waterfront that became a dumping ground for the demolition of St. Joseph’s cathedral.  There were also enough marble elements to make several benches.

The stones for the path were installed so that there was space in-between and around them.  On site, I melted down 1300 lbs. of scrap aluminum from light posts that the city removed because they were damaged, and poured the molten metal into the negative space around the stone.

I’m interested in using abandoned or waste materials such as broken concrete slab from rebuilt roads and sidewalks.  At outerspace I wanted to re-purpose similar materials in a way that continues this aesthetic focus as well as aids in the creation of a new habitat for indigenous species.

I have also been thinking about my childhood and the time I would spend playing in the ditches during the spring; mud slogging, puddle-jumping, imagining and constructing makeshift habitats, meandering and exploring an indirect path as children do.  With this in mind, the piece is also about playing with fluid materials as they carve out physical form, exploring the process of solid informing the movement of liquid and vise versa.  I really appreciate the delicate balance that exists between us and nature, and wanted to engage that through a subtly, guided hand-in-hand relationship with natural progression.

outerspace: Have you experienced any challenges while you were creating this piece?

Parrish: The number of hours spent on the machines in a day can be overwhelming.  I’ve consistently spent 12 or more hours daily digging, shaping, and moving dirt.  It took time to learn how to completely utilize the machines potential and to create and master methods for achieving the aesthetic I was after.  There is a big difference between what I’m doing and making something like this that is strictly utilitarian.  I didn’t approach this project with a blueprint but I had formulas to guide my decisions:

Meandering streams represent equilibrium between the effects of friction and inertia on the flow of water.  Water’s tendency is to follow the shortest path and steepest gradient.

All streams are sinuous at some time in their geologic history and over some part of their length.

Meander is two consecutive loops pointing in opposite directions.

Crossovers are marked by riffles (shallow beds) and at the apices there are pools.

outerspace: How much time have you invested so far? Can you explain your process and the materials you’ve used or plan to use?

Parrish: I spent six months planning, researching, and examining.  Since I broke ground on June 23 I’ve put 300 plus hours on the excavator, 200 plus hours on the skid steer, and 60 plus hours on the tamper.  There are two phases of the project completed including Phase 1 of planning, laying out the design, excavating and hand forming; and Phase 2 of laying down the fabric, adding reinforcements, and fine tuning the Oxbows.  Not to mention the hours put in by employees and volunteers intermittently throughout the summer.

To see photographs of Phase 1 click here.

To see photographs of Phase 2 click here.

outerspace: Can you be a little more specific for those who aren’t familiar with this process.  Now that the piece is dug out and defined, why are you lining it with fabric? Do you plan to use other materials for functional or aesthetic purposes?

Parrish: This particular type of fabric, a non-woven geotextile, helps to control erosion and control overgrowth from the surrounding meadow.  It also allows sediment from the runoff to settle between the castaway concrete elements that will line the channels and encourage moss and other specifically introduced vegetation such as ferns and native grasses to grow.  The concrete elements will be used to create landing and fill spaces for sediment to emphasize and encourage the growth of moss and other vegetation that thrive in these conditions, as well as protect the banks and dikes from the velocity of the water rushing down the hillside.

outerspace: How many more phases are there and what do they include?

Parrish: There is an overflow drainage system to establish because there is a chance that as the water collects in the spring or during the thaw it will be more than the piece can contain.  The concrete and rock has to be placed, and then the final phase of introducing the specific vegetation species.  This final phase will occur next spring, after the piece and the land have had the fall and winter to settle into each other.

outerspace: Do you have a title for it yet?

Parrish: Blind Curve

outerspace: If you can pick one word to describe this piece what would it be?

Interactional.

outerspace: Why did you want to make it at outerspace?

Parrish: Because I believe in the mission and values of the outerspace team, I feel it was a valid and positive endeavor for myself, and my career as an artist.  I also believe it was a beautiful and inspired way to help to develop and create space for the park.

I also find tremendous inspiration in being outdoors and the things I see around me; crickets, sparrows, toads and frogs, dragonflies, fireflies, dark moss, silky mud, raindrops, rushing water, rocks and stars…. and all that is hidden in-between.  I wanted to be able to create a place that would encourage a physical exploration of the space but that also provided spots to relax.   An environment that takes over the senses through its mystery and physically challenging contours- a place for others to experience these same, simple qualities of life.

outerspace: What is your intent or hope for it?

Parrish: There is a deep hope that adults who visit the park will allow themselves the time and space to explore, and to relax and follow an unknown and changeable path.  Also, that the children who visit with their families will be challenged and encouraged to delve into that which makes childhood so special- mystery, animals and plants, secret hiding places and barefoot playtime.