The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury hosts a new installation by artist Michael Cooper as the latest feature of the PNC Arts Alive Outdoor Sculpture Project.
The PNC Arts Alive Outdoor Sculpture Project is a free and accessible public art display creating an artistic gateway into the Borough of New Hope. Administered by New Hope Arts since 2003, this walk-able family friendly public art display expanded its outdoor sculpture exhibition as a recipient of a sponsorship grant provided through PNC Arts Alive in June 2015.
Michael Cooper’s Earth Piercing was specifically designed for The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury site in collaboration with the Library’s Board of Directors, and installation specialist, Harry Gordon, L.L.C., Trenton Sheet Metal and Powtek Powder Coating. Historically, the Library has been a popular location since New Hope’s outdoor exhibition was launched in 2003, hosting a sculpture for the first exhibition. Subsequently, three other installations prior to Michael Cooper’s work have been shown there. As a rotating exhibition, The Sculpture Project has displayed over 65 artworks throughout the Borough since its inception.
Earth Piercing will remain in situ for a minimum of one year and will be designated on the Outdoor Sculpture Project walking tour map, available at no cost to residents and visitors to the New Hope community. For more information on the official opening event on September 10, tours of the exhibition, maps and programs contact New Hope Arts, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope, PA. 215 862-9606.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: MICHAEL COOPER IN HIS OWN WORDS:
I am a visual artist working in the fine and commercial fields. My work is not dictated by any one medium or style, thus I guess my work would be considered eclectic. My art designs point me to the method of creation for each piece versus the method suggesting the art itself. My visual ideas translate primarily into sculptures, but paintings and drawings as well.
I have been employed for the past 18 years as a Creative Director for Altech Corporation in Flemington NJ. For the past 25 years. I have also maintained a vibrant freelance business, Cooper Graphics, working primarily in the medical and advertising fields. For more than 30 years I have been creating art that has been in many shows and in private collections.
For the past several years I have explored simple and graphic shapes in my work. My commercial art in many cases has to be bold and eye catching using simple designs, shapes and colors. These new sculptures no doubt reflect those elements. However these seemingly simple forms hopefully become intriguing in their positive and negative shapes and their interaction with each other and the environment around them.
My most recent piece, “Earth Piercing” is human made forms and stylized nature forms meeting. It is a frame in a single moment and it is up to the viewer to add in the beginning and ending of the narrative. A front view shows the entire piece while a side view brings the piece to its simplest shape – a vertical rectangle. A triangle and arcs meet – interacting with the earth. There is ambiguity in that the triangle is coming down to pierce / split the arcs into the earth or maybe the triangle is being supported by the arcs that emerge from the earth or the triangle and arcs are possibly flowering from the earth. In the manner that I incorporate pedestals with indoor sculptures I like to incorporate the earth and environmental elements with outdoor designs.
