Kate Pond is part of Exposed 2011. She lives in Burlington, Vermont.
Tidings is a sundial/sculpture that delineates three paths of the sun during the course of a year. Illustrating the cyclical nature of our earth’s movement around the sun, the shadow cast from the ball onto the gnomon (the straight length of pipe leading to the circle) traces the path of the sun throughout the days of the equinoxes, and the summer and winter solstices. The sphere on the gnomon casts a shadow following the curve during the week around summer solstice. The ball casts a shadow marking the equinox on the straight crosspiece, and the winter solstice on the curve farthest from the gnomon. In addition to the seasonal time, there are subtle marks on the summer-solstice curve nearest to the gnomon for hourly time.
Tidings is made of 1” steel pipe and the circle is 22” in diameter. It is 5-½ feet tall so that viewers can easily see the shadows. The black granite base weighs approximately 375 pounds.
Much of my work is site specific – that is, each piece is designed for a specific latitude or to be placed on a specific piece of land. This sundial is made to be sited at plus or minus 44 degrees latitude north. The dial will be fairly accurate in all of Vermont, and could be tilted for latitudes above and below 44 degrees. Tidings comes from the Old English word tid which means hour. The ebb and flow of the shadow of the dial from solstice to solstice is reminiscent of the tidal flow of the sea.
Growing up in the hills of Vermont, Kate Pond’s first sculptures were of cattle bones, clay or fallen branches found in the woods near home. She now works exclusively in steel. Her sculptures invite participation: with people, with sun, shadows and alignments at different seasons of the year. The position of the sun, moon and stars creates a structure, like a painter might use a rectangle as a frame of reference. Pond’s recent public work includes Come Light, Visit Me at Champlain College in Burlington, and Wellspring at the Heller School at Brandeis University near Boston.
ABOUT EXPOSED
For the past twenty years, the Helen Day Art Center has hosted an outdoor public art and sculpture exhibition called Exposed in Stowe, Vermont. Exposed hosts sculptures, site-specific installations, and participatory work from twenty-three national and international artists. the 2011 edition offers a series of Thursday night events by 12 video artists, writers, performers, and musicians accompany the exhibit. This exhibition and series of events is accompanied by cell phone audio tours, QR codes, walking tour maps, walkabouts, and a catalogue of the exhibit published by Kasini House Books. The exhibition will take place July 8th to October 8th, 2011.