Whitetail Crossing

Deer Park Entrance, 11523 Jefferson Ave, Newport News VA

Commissioned by Newport News Public Art Foundation.

Abundant now, deer were severely threatened in the early 20th century. The animal that gave livelihood to Native Americans and colonists alike almost died out. Deer Park was established as a preserve; thesesculptures are a permanent reminder of the creatures that once roamed this woodland setting. I was in conversation with the art foundation for several years about a piece and had already determined it would be, the subject matter would be deer. When they found the site of Deer Park, it worked particularly well because it turns out that in the early 1900s the park was used as a preserve for deer. It’s hard to believe, because deer are such a nuisance to many people now, but at the turn of the 20th century, whitetail deer were actually threatened and in danger of extinction. Deer Park was established as a preserve by Anna Hyatt Huntington; my piece commemorates the resurgence of the deer and celebrates the fact that an animal could come so close to disappearing and then go on to thrive in spite of and even because of mankind’s interventions.

The pieces are made of salvaged steel that I’ve welded together, and the buck has antlers that are also salvaged steel and then coated with a marine epoxy, a two-part epoxy, that gives them a bone-like, antler-like quality which adds to the visibility of the piece, with the white popping out against the dark woods.