Art WORK @ Endville

TODAY'S BIG STORY:  Road Crews Create Art in Motion! This past Tuesday, my mom and I rode with my niece and her son to Endville (what a great name- sounds like a picture book idea) to visit my brother and his wife.  My brother is a crew foreman in charge of grassing a ten-mile stretch of four-lane highway being built near Tupelo for the new Toyota plant.  The preliminary dirt work for the highway project is massive, and I was amazed as I watched the various crews at work.  In the bottom of these deep excavations, the dirt movers, bulldozers, and graders looked like a little boy's play toys - two to three inches tall.

As part of our tour, we took a thrill ride to the top one of the highest hills and parked...so that I could take pictures and Roger could explain the process from start to finish.  I continued to look and listen and somewhere between the engineer's design and the estimated completion date, I was overcome with awe by the skills of these heavy machine operators.  Upon closer examination, I realized that I was watching art in motion ~ literal ART WORK.  Each operation was performed with synchronized precision like a choreographed dance.  HUGE, and I mean HUGE, pieces of equipment going up and down, and back and forth, and over and under ~ never missing a beat. Even the Slow/Stop signs were turning in perfect rhythm with the machines and trucks. It was so incredible to watch. Digging, scooping, lifting, plowing, dumping ~ skilled men/women at work all day.

As I listened to Roger describe the project operation, the words sounded more like a discussion of art than road construction.   He talked about the use of natural materials, such a water and grass and "good" dirt ~ which has to be mixed and tested for certain textures, consistency and density.  Whoever thought that common dirt could be so highly sophisticated? Any artist who has ever used clay or mud as a medium certainly knows and appreciates the rendering process.  

According to Roger, the dirt has to be perfect as does the landscape ~ another art word.  He talked about how the crews create this blank canvas by moving tons of dirt, which is done by hours of grubbing, chiseling, sculpting, and smoothing ~ the same techniques used to work out all the imperfections in creating works of art. Even the rocks that line the long stretch of highway are flawlessly placed stone upon stone by Mennonite craftsmen. A long day in the artist's studio may not compare to the long hours logged by these skilled laborers but the end result is no less amazing!

The next step in the process is grassing ~ temporary and permanent.  In the temporary stage, a quick-growing grass is planted to support and sustain the dirt work and prevent erosion. According to The Artist's Handbook, the support is the structure to which the paint and the ground layers adhere.  In order for the paint to remain in tact, the support must have good dimensional stability and durability.  Are we talking about road construction or art?  Additives, solvents, seasoning ~ all multi-layering techniques used in art.

In the permanent stage, the grass is planted to finish the work ~ the final layer of tempera green to be admired by all who travel the ten-mile masterpiece.  That's exactly what it is ~ an amazing work of art by everyday people.  Being an artist is not just about embracing the creative genius required to design such an grand endeavor, but it is also about the perfect execution of that design.  That finished product is what these skilled laborers achieve on a daily basis - one stroke or rotation at a time.

Before my visit with my brother this week, I would have probably told people that he helps build highways.  Now, I think I will say that he helps create art in motion!

 

Sandra, thank you so much for those delicious sloppy joes and for letting us "camp out" with you for a few hours.  And Roger, thanks for reminding me that no matter what we do, all work is creative. 

Dianne ; )