South Arts Spotlight: Herb Parker of South Carolina
Sorry, looks like no contributors are set
Herb Parker, Highlands Dialogue, Created for the Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. The work consists of 20 tons of earth over a ferro-cement dome bordered by large stones and covered with indigenous plants. There are two seating elements inside offering a quiet place for reflection or communication. Herb Parker was the South Carolina state finalist for the Southern Prize, a new visual arts prize given by South Arts. A sculptor, site-specific landscape artist, and since 1991 a College of Charleston art professor, he has created over 50 site-specific works since the early 1980s, including those at botanical gardens, a Japanese temple, urban centers, universities, rural landscapes and museums.
Parker earned his BFA in 1978 at Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He served in the Marines and then the Peace Corps in the Grenadines, before returning to Eastern Carolina University to earn his MFA in 1983. He credits the Marines with providing him with the ability to focus his attention, and for developing self-discipline that has helped him maintain his art career.
Parker has created his nature-based installations in Italy, Japan, Sweden and around the U.S. His work was featured in the Wall Street Journal in 2009. His work revolves around ideas of time, movement, history, culture, community, dialogue, spirituality, entropy and regeneration. His sculptures reference a cultural and historical involvement with the landscape, and incorporate the notion of passage, both the physicality of traveling through the work as well as the transcendental concept, involving time and materials. I-PARK DIALOGUE, wood, reeds, stone, steel. 12′ x 18’ x 7’ Herb Parker, Highlands Dialogue, [Detail interior seating elements] Created for the Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. The work consists of 20 tons of earth over a ferro-cement dome bordered by large stones and covered with indigenous plants. There are two seating elements inside offering a quiet place for reflection or communication. Herb Parker, OLYMPIA DIALOGUE, detail interior, constructed on the grounds at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art, in Columbia, South Carolina. Architectural structure with labyrinthine walkways and two wooden seating elements facing across the central space under skylights. Herb Parker, LAESO LABYRINTH, A golden rectangle inside a golden rectangle within a labyrinth. This is a permanent work created at the Laeso History Park on Laeso Island, Denmark as a winner of the LAND-SHAPE International Competition for North Jutland, Denmark. Herb Parker, LAESO LABYRINTH, [Detail of corridor walkway] A golden rectangle inside a golden rectangle within a labyrinth. This is a permanent work created at the Laeso History Park on Laeso Island, Denmark as a winner of the LAND-SHAPE International Competition for North Jutland, DenmarkHerb Parker, LAESO LABYRINTH, [Detail interior room] A golden rectangle inside a golden rectangle within a labyrinth. This is a permanent work created at the Laeso History Park on Laeso Island, Denmark as a winner of the LAND-SHAPE International Competition for North Jutland, Denmark These are shots from inside Herb Parker’s studio. In this other body of work Herb Parker uses these objects to explore social and political situations. Herb Parker, HIGHLANDS PASSAGE Herb Parker, GEUMGANG LANDSCAPE #2 Herb Parker, Circular Labyrinthe
In June's co-publishing partnership with Oxford American, Colony Little examines how Black Mountain College catalyzed Ruth Asawa's artistic career and arts education within San Francisco public schools.
In June's co-publishing partnership with Oxford American, UFO enthusiast and author Will Clarke goes behind the scenes at Rice University’s 2025 Archives of the Impossible Conference in Houston, Texas.
Seen through the work of artists Sofía Gallisá Muriente and Hope Strickland, Daisy Gould considers how hurricanes and storms influence Caribbean moving image practices.
Subscribe to BurnawaySign up to recieve the Burnaway newsletter and get notified about upcoming events and opportunities.* required field
