"Temporary" art

Pipes, traffic cones, road signs, caution tape. Is it art? Ralph Hicks thinks so.

Hicks is set to give Creemore a glimpse into his artistic process when he creates – and disassembles – an installation before viewers’ eyes.

The piece, titled “Public Works,” will appear at the Horticultural Garden as part of the Creemore Festival of the Arts on Saturday, October 5.

As for the form of the project, that remains a mystery – even to its creator.

Hicks, who lives in Mulmur, draws his inspiration from the materials he works with.

“I get infatuated with materials: wire, clay, styrofoam, etc., to get as many ideas as I can.”

In this case, he won’t know what these materials will be until he visits the Clearview Township supply yard on Friday, October 4, the day before he is scheduled to start work on the piece.
“What I do won’t really be defined until the day before,” Hicks explained. “It is based on what the Township won’t be using on that day.”

With the help of one assistant, Hicks will use the materials to build the installation. At the end of the day, they will take everything down and return the materials to the Township.

This kind of art is not about making money. “It’s about process. It’s about using what you’ve got to make something that surprises and intrigues people. There is something fun about building something that’s temporary,” Hicks said.

The idea for “Public Works” sprang from the sight of a pile of bright yellow sewer pipes, which Hicks noticed at the side of the road one day.

When Clearview Township gave him permission to borrow materials for the installation, he visited the supply yard and saw “all sorts of neat stuff, such as road signs and traffic pylons,” he said.

Hicks hopes that the piece inspires other people to create art using a similar process next year.

“I’d like people to say, ‘Hey, I can do that in my own backyard!’”