American artist Dodd Holsapple presented his installation Sea Glass Again, created from fragments of glass waste near the canyon of the River Bjela, created as part of the project „IT IS NOT TOO LATE“.
The lecture and conversation with the artist was held as part of the Introduction to Art Theory course in the Great Lecture Hall ALU Zagreb, 09.October 2023, at 7 p.m.
Dodd Holsapple, visual artist [wpm l_nbsp] from Los Angeles actively produces unique contemporary visual artwork in a wide range of mediums.
He has worked on innovative and widely popular pieces such as the ” Living Sculpture the View Planter Series,” which have been extensively published, exhibited, and featured in a television documentary on contemporary sculpture and architecture.
He has produced several public art installations focused on environmental awareness and notable solo and group exhibitions at Universities, museums and galleries featuring his recognizable style. Contributed to environmental podcasts and presented a live painting event at Budman Studios in California.
Dodd released an innovative NFT series entitled Seeds To Smoke in 2022. Dodd’s works will be showcased when the US Senate convenes later this year during NCA5 conferences decide on climate policies.
About the art installationSEE GRASS AGAIN
On September 8th, Holsapple became the eleventh resident of Lončari, where he is currently working on an art installation. For its creation, he is using glass collected during two volunteer eco-cleaning actions in the canyon of the River Bijela in 2020. and 2022. year.
His work was chosen from a total of 46 applications that arrived from several countries.
The collected glass waste will be used by Holsapple to create a drywall with a mosaic of eels in the shape of a ring that will form a space for sitting, hanging out or talking. His stay at OPG Pueblo Escondido through the residency “Art for the Environment and Nature” will be accompanied by public events and workshops in collaboration with other associations and institutions that will be announced in time.
Dodd’s proposal represents the transformation of glass waste into an observation deck, a landmark in the landscape, and a gathering place with an artistic intervention. This intervention also serves a practical function as a resting area in the form of a bench.
The inspiration for the creation of the circular form comes from ancient historical sources (snake, dragon, lizard), and the proposal emphasizes cyclic energy and symbolic spiritual regeneration, and in this case incorporated into an authentic local context through a circular shape with an illustration of an eel fish species, characteristic of the area Three Seas.
European eel fish is a favorite animal among the locals, who place it into their wells to clean the water.
The locals used to take it in the rainy seasons when it comes out of the sea and moves on the wet grass. They would put it in the rain water tanks to protect their water by eating the pests that would appear in the collected rainwater.
The creation of an art installation is part of the project „#itIsNotTooLate – Seagrass beds: Zostera marina, Zostera noltei and Cymodocea nodosa, their significance for fish life and the overall ecosystem of the three seas area“.
The project was approved through the Three Seas FLAG competition under Measure 2.1. Support for the evaluation, protection and promotion of the natural resource base – rivers, seas and coasts” in order to implement activities removal of waste/pollution located in the watershed, mapping the state of seagrass surfaces and making people aware of their footprint on natural resources with the aim of valorizing and protecting seagrass as a source of marine life and with the aim of raising the quality of life of the fish stock.
The event #itIsNotTooLate River Bijela 2023, taking place from September 16th to October 10th, is supported by the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
