Dallas Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1984 Page: 23
29 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Stake Hitch Undergoing Fabrication
Due for April Installation
East of North Haven, Connecticut, there is a field with a
huge mason's trowel that gives pause to all passing motor-
ists. The Trouel is a work by Claes Oldenburg, and it was
fabricated by Lippincott, the company that owns the field.
In a rather nondescript building, Lippincott fabricates
much of the major sculpture currently being produced in
this country: Among their recent work is the untitled
Ellsworth Kelly piece that was installed in our Sculpture
Garden in October. They are now doing the final work on
Oldenburg' Stake Hitch, that will be installed in the
Museums Contemporary Gallery in April.
Owned by Donald and Alfred Lippincott, the company
and its employees take a great deal of pride in their craft,
relying on teamwork and sharing opinions. It is also
interesting to see works of art in production: a Louise
Nevelson piece on which they have been working for
over six months; a Robert Indiana "9" as vet unpolished;
and mysterious covered boxes by Donald Judd awaiting
transport to Marfa, Texas. But more thrilling to us was
seeing the almost finished Stake Hitch laid out in its five
components.
When installed, Stake Hitch will be the most dramatic
piece of the contemporary collection, and the focal point
of the barrel vault. The Stake itself appears to penetrate
the floor, and in fact, a second section will be mounted
below in the loading dock. Tied around the Stake will be
a half-hitch knot with a length of rope attached high to
the side of the vault, as if disappearing above to some
imaginary tent. It is truly a wonderful piece destined to
be debated by all.
Stake Hitch is presently disassembled on the floor at
Lippincott. The knot is finished and locked to a metal
frame and cradle. The length of rope is ready for a final
coat of paint and another application of fiberglass fila-
ments that will give it the appearance of a fibrous rope.
The rope itself is made of three strands of flexible air
conditioning duct woven together, shaped, and made
rigid by filling it with foam. The stake is fabricated from
sheet metal in three pieces - the head, the foot, and the
tail which will be installed in the loading dock. By early
April all will be complete and ready for transport to
Dallas. By the end of April we will have a sculpture that
will attract much attention to the new Museum.
Larry Francell
DMA Director of OperationsA illustrates Ithe dramatic scale ,f I.., the i , Stake in the i " Iope.
illustrates the dramatic scale of b)th the "Stake and the "Rope.This photograph of an earlier modcl suggests what Stake Hitch will look
like when installed in the Museum's barrel vault in April
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Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1984, periodical, Spring 1984; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth224954/m1/25/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Museum of Art.