Stacy Levy enjoys watching the passersby on the Lake Fayetteville Trail stop and look as her creation comes to life. It literally is coming to life, after all.
“I like when art comes to you,” Levy says.
Levy is the creative force behind “Spiral Wetland,” a spiral-shaped assembly of soft rush plants that will provide fish habitat, cleaner lake water and its aesthetic beauty, which will change over time as the living material grows. Levy, a Pennsylvaniabased but internationally known sculptor and installation artist, previously worked in Fayetteville as apart of Artosphere’s inaugural visual arts exhibition, “Beyond Sublime/Changing Nature.” The piece was called Reservoir, and it was an installation inspired by the topography of Beaver Lake made from underlayment, steel rods and vinyl.
Walton Arts Center staffers called her again to create a new project for Artosphere, the center’s two-month-long festival dedicated to examining the links between art and nature. Levy’s works often explore those very themes. Other notable creations - often temporary and no longer visible - include oversized, beaded curtains that dangled from a road bridge in Pennsylvania and responded to water flow; “Pink Wedges,” whichwrapped a large section of trees in pink tape to indicate how high water would be during a catastrophic flood;
and “Watermap,” which featured sandblasted structures that outlined a section of the Delaware River.
Work on “Spiral Wetland” began about a year ago and included clearing the project and design with Fayetteville city planners, including those in Parks & Recreation. Upon final approval, Levy designed the work, then built a onethird scale model that ended up on her own farm pond.
Initial plans called for the work to extend out from the bank. But Levy’s work cannot be walked upon by visitors. Levy, worried about that and that fishing
Whats Up, Pages 16 on 05/17/2013