Published: July 03, 2009 11:55 am      

Best in state

Sculpture by Ebensburg artist garners top prize in contest

BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

An area artist has sculpted an award-winning entry by combining his writing with his creativity.

“I’m a Tree Chopped Down Everyday,” a mixed-medium creation by Richard Bargdill of Ebensburg, captured first prize in the “Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2009” juried competition for state artists.

Bargdill is an associate professor of psychology at St. Francis University, Loretto.

The sculpture is a life-size mannequin with metal-like tree limbs growing from its shoulders and back.

“The sculpture combines a man and a tree to suggest that it is our nature to attempt to grow on a number of different dimensions at once,” Bargdill wrote in a press release. “A tree grows out, up and around while the human grows physically, mentally and spiritually.”

The mannequin is covered in writings from Bargdill’s 2006 book “An Artist’s Thought Book: Intriguing Thoughts about the Artistic Process,” except for a tattoo of a bull on its chest, similar to one in a prehistoric painting in the Caves of Lascaux in France.

“The writing emphasizes the importance of language for both our human and artistic development,” Bargdill wrote.

“This reminds us that in addition to language, symbols are often what the artist is trying to create because they are vital for finding significance in our lives.”

Bargdill added that the tree limbs imply that wisdom comes with experience, and many experiences have an acidic quality.

An ax embedded in the mannequin’s calves and small pieces of plastic that resemble wood chips from ax blows at the base of the sculpture symbolize the daily processes, such as employment and family life, that hinder or prevent artistic expression.

Bargdill’s entry was one of 157 works chosen from more than 2,179 entries in categories including painting, works on paper, photography, sculpture and crafts.

He has won several regional awards for his mixed-media sculptures and paintings.

Bargdill’s work has appeared in the biennial exhibit at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Loretto for the past three shows.