Cows Love Art, 2009

Cows Love Art started with a cow made from old, repurposed steel. The base is made from an old sewing machine base, and the spine is old metal found in the woods. Both were found when I walked with my kids in the woods behind my house. The face is a motorcycle manifold, framed by swirly metal from railings. The cowbell is a set of license plates, and the udders are windchimes.

It was rusty, a little scrappy, and full of character, and I wanted to see what would happen if I paired it with something brand new.

So I built a tall, shiny aluminum tripod right over it and crowned it with a giant orb of swirling aluminum ribbons, a few of them made from reflective gold aluminum signs. The cow stood tucked under the tripod as if it had wandered in for a closer look. Old and new, rust and shine, farm and gallery: that contrast is what made the piece come alive for me.

It was shown at Saunders Farm in Garrison, NY, a working cow farm and the same place where my first public piece, Gate, made its debut two years earlier. A metal cow among real ones felt exactly right. The title says cows love art. It turns out people loved the cow.

The title says Cows Love Art. It turns out people loved the cow.

Eventually I took the sculpture apart and sold the cow on its own. The swirly ribbons from the orb found their way into other projects, and the tripod waited in the yard until 2024, when it became the base for Radiant Energy.

I like knowing this piece is still out there, just in parts, each one living a new life: the cow in its new home (apparently its owner dresses it for holidays), the swirls in other sculptures, and the tripod holding up something radiant.