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George Trakas

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George Trakas
Born1944 (age 79–80)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian and American
EducationNew York University, B.S., 1969
Known forEnvironmental Sculpture
Spouse
​
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(m. 1971; div. 1979)​

George Trakas is a sculptor who was born in Quebec City in 1944 and has lived in New York City since 1963. Many of his projects are site-specific installations, and he describes himself as an environmental sculptor. He often recycles local materials and incorporates them into his work.[1][2]

Notable recent examples of his work include a waterfront nature walk at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New York; another waterfront installation adjacent to the Dia:Beacon museum in Beacon, New York; and public art in the New York City Subway at the Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station.[3][4]

Trakas taught sculpture at Yale University for 13 years and has also taught at other schools.[5] He graduated from Sir George Williams University in Montreal and then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in art history at New York University in 1969.[1] He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1982,[6] a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1989, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Medal for Sculpture in 1996.[7] Emory University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2011.[5] He also won the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award (2017).[8]

George Trakas married Susan Rothenberg, a painter, in 1971. Their daughter Maggie was born in 1972. They divorced in 1979 but remained close until Rothenberg's death in 2020.[9]

List of works

The following table contains a partial list of works by George Trakas.[10]

Title Location Description Year References
Pont Épée Thiers, France Set of walkways and bridges on the Durolle river next to the "Creux-de-l'enfer" 1985 [11]
Beacon Point Beacon, New York Angling deck, boardwalk, & restored bulkhead in Long Dock Park on a 25-acre peninsula adjacent to Dia:Beacon museum 2007 [3]
The pathway of love Santomato, Pistoia A path made of iron and wood that crosses a romantic forest alongside a stream 1982 [12]
Shoreline Nature Walkway Brooklyn, New York Nature walk adjacent to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant 2007 [13]
Hook (Archean Reach), Line (Sea House), and Sinker (Mined Swell) Brooklyn, New York Public sculpture inside the Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station (New York City Subway) 2004 [4]
Reconnections Belmullet, Ireland Footbridge across a canal in County Mayo. On the North Mayo Sculpture Trail. 1993 [14][15]
Self Passage Humlebæk, Denmark Site-specific sculpture leading to a waterside platform, in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art's sculpture park. 1989 [15][16]
Berth Haven Seattle, Washington A cedar and steel lakeside deck on the premises of an NOAA facility. Rests on foundations remaining from the site’s prior use as navy airfield. 1983 [17][18]
Route Source Atlanta, Georgia Site-specific sculpture in a wooded area of the Emory University campus 1979 [19][20]
  • The "pont Epée" in Thiers.
    The "pont Epée" in Thiers.
  • Newtown Creek Nature Walk: "Vessel" entrance
    Newtown Creek Nature Walk: "Vessel" entrance
  • Newtown Creek Nature Walk: Whale Creek, sewage plant in distance
    Newtown Creek Nature Walk: Whale Creek, sewage plant in distance
  • Newtown Creek Nature Walk: steps into the water
    Newtown Creek Nature Walk: steps into the water
  • Beacon Point, view of entire site, looking westward toward Newburgh, NY.
    Beacon Point, view of entire site, looking westward toward Newburgh, NY.
  • Beacon Point, looking northward, showing mouth of channel that runs through the piece.
    Beacon Point, looking northward, showing mouth of channel that runs through the piece.
  • Beacon Point, looking eastward, showing other end of the channel.
    Beacon Point, looking eastward, showing other end of the channel.
  • Line sculpture in the former control house of the Atlantic Avenue station.
    Line sculpture in the former control house of the Atlantic Avenue station.

References

  1. ^ a b "Summit NYC 2011: George Trakas". Municipal Art Society.
  2. ^ "George Trakas". New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b "George Trakas, Beacon Point". Dia Art Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Arts for Transit and Urban Design". Metropolitan Transportaition Authority. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Art History (newsletter)" (PDF). Emory University Department of Art History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  6. ^ "George Trakas". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Award-winning installation artist George Trakas to discuss Hudson River environmental project, Wednesday, April 18, 2007". Vassar College. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  8. ^ "George Trakas :: Foundation for Contemporary Arts". www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  9. ^ Kennedy, Randy (21 May 2020). "Susan Rothenberg, Acclaimed Figurative Painter, Dies at 75". New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  10. ^ Complete works
  11. ^ France, Centre. "Diable, 30 ans ! - Que reste-t-il du Symposium national de sculpture monumentale métallique organisé en 1985 à Thiers ?". www.lamontagne.fr. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  12. ^ "The path of love". Fattoria di Celle. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  13. ^ "George Trakas at the Water's Edge: Newtown Creek". Urban Omnibus. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  14. ^ "The North Mayo Sculpture Trail". The Western Business Directory. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Parc naturel régional du Pilat" (PDF) (in French). art 3. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  16. ^ "The Sculpture Park". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  17. ^ "NOAA Western Service Center Art Walk" (PDF). City of Seattle. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Soundscapes". building beyond. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  19. ^ "Environmental artist Trakas returns to Emory". Emory University. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  20. ^ "George Trakas "Source Route"". Emory University. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
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