Beth Hartmann

Beth Hartmann’s “Trunkated” nestles into the landscape at the entrance to the plaza, where it looks completely at home with the trees and other vegetation. “Trunkated”, constructed of pierced steel segments, is welded together to leave holes to see into and through to the other side. Hartmann’s sculptures reflect the feelings left in her after she has viewed objects in nature. Using her own techniques and alternative reflective or translucent materials, she constructs objects which work to provide viewer reaction. “All of us are worried about the vegetation in our warming environment” Hartmann says. “This hard steel sculpture speaks to hope about the hardiness of our trees, and their beauty, even as they go through decay.”

Hartmann’s themes involve the environment and health. “We create an industrial environment, and then, with our fragile protective mechanisms, attempt to live in that environment,” she states. “We also subject coexistent organisms to our industrial environment and then react, often adversely, to what we have changed. By folding, pushing, piercing, welding, and bending metal or other plastic materials, I construct shapes which are reminiscent of birds, waves, and other forms from nature.”  

Photo by Tedd Peterson