Artists Talk With LVA: October 27, 2022

Brook White, Jr. & Dave Caudill discuss the Stephen Powell Memorial in Danville. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Brook Forrest White Jr. discovered his passion for hot glass under the tutelage of Stephen Rolfe Powell at Centre College. Brook has worked with artists and visited glass centers around the world. He has garnered many honors including a 1998 Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship, the Owensboro Mayor’s Award of Excellence in 2001, the 2003 Centre College Distinguished Young Alumnus Award and inclusion in the 2005 Leadership Kentucky class. In 2004 the Kentucky Arts Council commissioned him to create that year’s Governor’s Awards in the Arts. His glass is in galleries across the country and in the collections of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Huntington Museum of Art and the Asheville Art Museum. His blown-glass art installations are featured in many private collections and public buildings throughout the Midwest.

His studio, Flame Run, is locate in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

Dave Caudill creates artworks for public, corporate and private collections. His larger public works are found at Louisiana’s Rip Van Winkle Gardens, East Tennessee’s Horizon Center park, the University of Kentucky’s Singletary Center for the Arts and the University of Louisville School of Music. Corporate collections include Brown-Forman Corporation and Fire King International. Individual collectors across America have acquired his work.

He is also one of the few sculptors in the world who have created an environmental undersea sculpture. Caudill’s artwork was placed on the seabed near Nassau, The Bahamas.

Stephen Rolfe Powell (1951-2019) was hired by Centre College in 1983 to teach ceramics and sculpture. By 1985, thanks in part to Corning Glass in Harrodsburg, Philips Lighting in Danville, and Corhart in Louisville, he had built a glass studio and founded Centre's glass program. Powell designed and completed a new, state-of-the-art glass studio, which Centre College opened as part of their new Visual Arts Center in January 1998.

Powell was honored with Kentucky's Teacher of the Year award in 1999 and 2000. In 2004 he was presented with the Acorn Award by the Kentucky Council on Post-secondary Education.

Q&A: Dave Caudill

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“My sculpture is often placed in public spaces, and it celebrates attributes that enable all of us to thrive – idealism, enthusiasm and the joy of life.” — Dave Caudill

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Artist, Dave Caudill at work.

Dave Caudill and the “Odyssey” project

A well-liked, long-time fixture in the local art community, Dave Caudill has several public sculptures in Louisville: at 6th & Main St, the University of Louisville School of Music, Maryhurst Alternative School, the Crescent Hill public library, and the offices of the Waterfront Development Corp in downtown. His latest project is ambitious, even for an artist who has installed a large metal sculpture on the ocean floor.

How did you first hit upon the idea of “Odyssey”?

A few years ago, I realized the synthesis of a fingerprint and labyrinth could make a powerful combination that prompted consideration of identity and our individual journeys though life.

How do you think it fits in with the themes of your past work? Or does it?

I see it as another iteration of the theme of humanity in harmony with the rest of nature, a theme that I first addressed with an undersea sculpture in 1995.

Do you worry a labyrinth will intimidate people? Are people afraid of getting lost?

Labyrinth concept drawing by Dave Caudill.

Walking a labyrinth is different from a maze, in that once you'e on a path, it takes you to the center and back out again - there is no confusion or opportunity to get confused or lost as in a maze, as long as you stay on a path. Also, everything is at ground level - there are no walls that create blind spots. This misunderstanding is common, but a small plaque at the entrance to Odyssey will clarify the difference.

We are creating a meditative walking experience fused with a bold piece of public art.

You just returned from Bolivia, where you were involved in a similar project. What was your experience there?

The Bolivian Odyssey differs from my proposal for Louisville in that it’s half the size (1/4 the size of a football field) and uses gravel instead of flat terrazzo over concrete for the paths. The Bolivian project is located in a rural area and creating a handicapped accessible design was not an option.

Who are your collaborators, and how did you connect with them?

This unique labyrinth will engage people through the consideration of identity and personal journeys through.

I received a residency to start construction from Teresa Camacho-Hull, the owner and director of Ars.Natura.Uta, an art center near La Paz. She has been developing the center as a site dedicated to addressing the need to understand that the wholeness of our relationship to nature is essential to the health of both humanity and the planet. I met her at a sculptor’s conference in Pittsburgh, an event I was able to attend by a grant from Louisville’s Great Meadows Foundation. Teresa’s staff of three men was indispensable for a 2-week schedule.

What would be your dream location for “Odyssey”?

I’d like to see it in an area conducive to reflection and meditation, like a park. That being said, a strong design can go a long way toward overcoming the noise of an urban environment and establishing a unique asset for the city.

Hometown: Corbin, Kentucky
Age: 66
Education: University of Kentucky, 1970; Louisville School of Art, 1973; Anderson Ranch, CO, 2000 & 2001
Website: http://www.caudillart.com

An illustration showing an example of the terrazzo artwork that would cover the concrete paths of Odyssey. Each path would be a winding, evolving, unique design.

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