Vail Village receives new art installations

Four new art sculptures have been installed in Vail Village this summer, thanks to a generous donation from local art collectors Kent and Vicki Logan. Each of the sculptures has been hand-selected by the Logans from their extensive private art collection, which specializes in contemporary works by modern artists.

The pieces celebrate a connection with nature, with a strong emphasis on indigenous artists and art forms.

All of the new sculptures have been installed around the parking garage in Vail Village, where visitors will encounter them as they enter the village and again on their way out. Molly Eppard, the coordinator for Art in Public Places, said that these new works from the Logans are helping Vail to elevate its collection and expand its artistic presence beyond what is normally expected of a ski town.

Art in Public Places recently installed descriptive plaques at the base of each sculpture to help provide context about the artists and their works, and will be adding the latest acquisitions to the ART in Vail interactive map at ArtInVail.com soon.

‘We are all building nests‘

The most prominent new installation is a sculpture by Jason Middlebrook called “We are all building nests,” created in 2014-2015. Middlebrook conceptualized the piece while staying in Vail with the Logans and noticing the many species of birds that populate the valley.

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The sculpture is made up of dozens of birdhouses, each one fitting the sizing specifications of a local bird species so that they can be used as dwelling spaces. Each birdhouse is designed to imitate an iconic architectural structure, and those looking at the work can spend time identifying sights from around the world such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman Pantheon, an arctic igloo, a Native American teepee and many more.

The clustering of the birdhouses atop a pole-shaped base is intended to mimic the shape of an aspen tree, giving the whimsical concept root in a natural environment. 

“We are all building nests” is installed directly in front of the Vail Village parking garage, across from the covered bridge bus stop. Eppard said that they chose the location because it enables viewers to observe the work from all different heights and angles, thanks to the staircase that encircles the work. With so many separate birdhouses in one piece, each angle reveals a different collection of houses, and seeing the work from above, below and at eye level allows them all to be noticed and appreciated.

‘Killer Whale Totem’

Looking up at the parking garage from East Meadow Drive, if you walk up the left-hand side of the stairway you will come upon the “Killer Whale Totem,” a bronze sculpture by Native American sculptor Preston Singletary.

Singletary, a Seattle-based artist, is a member of the Tlingit tribe of the Pacific Northwest. His eight-foot-tall “Killer Whale Totem” depicts the crest of his clan, the killer whale, in the center. The eagle on top of the totem is the symbol of Singletary’s moiety, or familial group, and the red Thunderbird in the center represents David Svenson, one of his mentors. At the bottom is a wolf design, which was the original moiety for the Tlingit tribe before it was replaced by the Eagle.

The Logans are among the leading patrons of contemporary Native American art, and are helping local museums and curators, including the Denver Art Museum, to place greater emphasis on modern ingenious artists.

The “Killer Whale Totem” has replaced the Robert Tully sculpture that used to stand in its place, which is now relocated across the street, directly next to the bus stop. Eppard said that the 1999 Tully sculpture, “Branching Pattern,” was blending into the rocky background and can be better appreciated at its new location.

‘Waqui Totem USA (Urban Class Mark V)‘

Just across the way, on the right-hand side of the center stairs, there is another totem pole created by Brad Kahlhamer. 

Kahlhamer is of Native American descent, but was adopted by German-American parents. Kahlamer’s birth records were sealed, which cut him off from information about his Native American ancestry, and he uses art as an exploration of what he calls the “Third Place” – the meeting point of his two personal histories.

“Waqui Totem USA (Urban Class Mark V)” is one of many steps that Kahlamer has taken on this journey of self exploration, one that can be mirrored in Vail and all western communities located on formerly native land.

The totem, made in 2008, was originally crafted out of cardboard, but is now cast in bronze, standing 10 feet tall next to the stairway. Eppard said that the location was chosen because it creates a natural triangulation with Singletary and Middlebrook’s works, but also because the totem needed to face west as part of its spiritual essence.

The sculpture was commissioned as an original piece by the Logans, who have become close friends with Kahlamer, and now finds a permanent home in the town of Vail.

‘Two Vessels (Unpacked)’

The fourth and final piece in the Logans’ donation is a large bronze sculpture by Durango-born artist Nathan Mabry, located on the far left of the parking garage, next to Solaris Vail. 

Mabry derives influence for his figures from archeological and historical sources, ranging from ancient civilization to popular culture. The figure in “Two Vessels” is sourced from those used in Jalisco fertility rites in Mexico, placed in a position that instantly conjures connections to Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker.”

The totem-like sculptural style and intense facial expression contrast with the minimalist box base, and Kent Logan said that he wants the contemplative nature of the piece to make people stop in their tracks and think.

“It challenges the senses,” Kent Logan said to the Vail Daily after finalizing the donation in December. “I like a lot of different decorative arts, but they don’t make you think. You can have a great sculpture of a bear or a mountain, and you can admire the technique and the representation, but then all of a sudden someone bumps into this Mabry piece, and they say, ‘What’s this all about?’”

The sculpture is placed by itself in an enclave on the side of the staircase, with a tree growing overhead the figure that enhances the contemplative nature of the piece. There is also a natural connection made between the new Mabry and an older donation of the Logans’, Lawrence Weiner’s “To the extent of how deep the valley is at some given time,” located on the same side of the parking garage.

For those who are interested in gaining more information about the new works, Art in Public Places hosts free guided art tours every Wednesday from now through Aug. 31. Tours meet at the Vail Welcome Center at 11 a.m. and cover many works in the Vail Village area in the span of an hour, including the four latest pieces. For more information, visit ArtInVail.com or contact Molly Eppard at meppard@vailgov.com.