George Trakas
George Trakas | |
---|---|
Born |
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
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Newtown Creek Nature Walk: "Vessel" entrance
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Newtown Creek Nature Walk: Whale Creek, sewage plant in distance
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Newtown Creek Nature Walk: steps into the water
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Beacon Point, view of entire site, looking westward toward Newburgh, NY.
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Beacon Point, looking northward, showing mouth of channel that runs through the piece.
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Beacon Point, looking eastward, showing other end of the channel.
References
- 1 2 "Summit NYC 2011: George Trakas". Municipal Art Society.
- ↑ "George Trakas". New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- 1 2 "George Trakas, Beacon Point". Dia Art Foundation. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Arts for Transit and Urban Design". Metropolitan Transportaition Authority. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Art History (newsletter)" (PDF). Emory University Department of Art History. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ "George Trakas". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ "Award-winning installation artist George Trakas to discuss Hudson River environmental project, Wednesday, April 18, 2007". Vassar College. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ Complete works
- ↑ "George Trakas at the Water's Edge: Newtown Creek". Urban Omnibus. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "The North Mayo Sculpture Trail". The Western Business Directory. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Parc naturel régional du Pilat" (PDF) (in French). art 3. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "The Sculpture Park". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "NOAA Western Service Center Art Walk" (PDF). City of Seattle. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "Soundscapes". building beyond. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "Environmental artist Trakas returns to Emory". Emory University. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ↑ "George Trakas "Source Route"". Emory University. Retrieved 5 November 2013.