Star The Wishing Ox
Design Statement
Star, The Wishing Ox was a collaboration between Tyler Bell and Catherine Haggarty. These artists each have their own perspectives, approaches and unique styles, but they have shared a working relationship for almost five years. Since The Stampede embraces community engagement and creative solutions, Star is a ‘Wishing Ox’. This concept is based on cultural traditions related to gathering places for wishes and spiritual offerings, made popular recently by Yoko Ono’s interactive Wish Trees in New York and Washington, D.C. Star will be an interactive, ever shifting sculpture that engages participation from bystanders and viewers.
Tyler’s strength as an artist is color. Tyler has a very specific and sensible approach to color and an incredible eye for blending and creating colors most would not think of. Catherine worked with Tyler on the base color and pattern, then added details, surprises and embellishments to accent his work.
In the months leading up to Star’s completion the artists solicited wishes from friends, family and community members that will hang on Star. Viewers can write down their wishes on wishing tags and attach them to the ‘yoke’ that hangs around his neck. While the tags will eventually succumb to the elements of nature, the wishes will endure. When you wish upon a Star…
This ox is owned by its sponsor.
About the Artist
Ever since he was a young child, artist Tyler Bell has been visually oriented. Painting provides Tyler, a young man living with autism, a remarkable level of engagement and peace.
Both understanding and generating language are challenging for Tyler, though he can be incredibly funny or uncanny when he does have something to say. He communicates his unique perspective through visual representation, enjoying the sensory experiences of the process and uninhibited by the boundaries and constructs that are often found in two-dimensional art.
Through his paintings, Tyler communicates and shares his joy, and helps us to remember: Not speaking is not the same as having nothing to say.
Catherine Haggarty lives and works in Jersey City, New Jersey and is a graduate of Mason Gross School of Art at Rutger’s University with an M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing.
Her work has been shown at Opera Gallery, Bowery Gallery, and White Box in New York City, The Shore Institute for Contemporary Art and most recently at Bridget Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. For the month of February, 2013 Catherine was an Artist In Residence at the Vermont Studio Center. In December 2013 Catherine will be a featured artist in Studio Visit Magazine’s Winter Edition, Volume 24.
Website: something to say art
Website: Catherine Haggarty