George Trakas

George Trakas
Born 1944 (1944)
Quebec, Canada
Nationality Canadian and American
Education New York University, B.S., 1969
Known for Environmental Sculpture

George Trakas is a sculptor who was born in Quebec in 1944 and has lived in New York City since 1963. Many of his projects are site-specific installations, and he describes himself as an environmental sculptor. He often recycles local materials and incorporates them into his work.[1][2]

Notable recent examples of his work include a waterfront nature walk at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New York; another waterfront installation adjacent to the Dia:Beacon museum in Beacon, New York; and public art in the New York City Subway at the Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station.[3][4]

Trakas taught sculpture at Yale University for 13 years and has also taught at other schools.[5] He graduated from Sir George Williams University in Montreal and then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in art history at New York University in 1969.[1] He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1982,[6] a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1989, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Medal for Sculpture in 1996.[7] Emory University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2011.[5]

List of works

The following table contains a partial list of works by George Trakas.[8]

Title Location Description Year References
Beacon Point Beacon, New York Angling deck, boardwalk, & restored bulkhead in Long Dock Park on a 25-acre peninsula adjacent to Dia:Beacon museum 2007 [3]
Shoreline Nature Walkway Brooklyn, New York Nature walk adjacent to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant 2007 [9]
Hook (Archean Reach), Line (Sea House), and Sinker (Mined Swell) Brooklyn, New York Public sculpture inside the Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station (New York City Subway) 2004 [4]
Reconnections Belmullet, Ireland Footbridge across a canal in County Mayo. On the North Mayo Sculpture Trail. 1993 [10][11]
Self Passage Humlebæk, Denmark Site-specific sculpture leading to a waterside platform, in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art's sculpture park. 1989 [11][12]
Berth Haven Seattle, Washington A cedar and steel lakeside deck on the premises of an NOAA facility. Rests on foundations remaining from the site’s prior use as navy airfield. 1983 [13][14]
Route Source Atlanta, Georgia Site-specific sculpture in a wooded area of the Emory University campus 1979 [15][16]

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 "Summit NYC 2011: George Trakas". Municipal Art Society.
  2. "George Trakas". New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 "George Trakas, Beacon Point". Dia Art Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Arts for Transit and Urban Design". Metropolitan Transportaition Authority. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Art History (newsletter)" (PDF). Emory University Department of Art History. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  6. "George Trakas". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  7. "Award-winning installation artist George Trakas to discuss Hudson River environmental project, Wednesday, April 18, 2007". Vassar College. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  8. Complete works
  9. "George Trakas at the Water's Edge: Newtown Creek". Urban Omnibus. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  10. "The North Mayo Sculpture Trail". The Western Business Directory. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Parc naturel régional du Pilat" (PDF) (in French). art 3. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  12. "The Sculpture Park". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. "NOAA Western Service Center Art Walk" (PDF). City of Seattle. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  14. "Soundscapes". building beyond. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  15. "Environmental artist Trakas returns to Emory". Emory University. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  16. "George Trakas "Source Route"". Emory University. Retrieved 5 November 2013.


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