Hoss Haley
Sculptor
Spruce Pine, North Carolina
"My involvement was complete in the beginning - I conceived of that first shape - but as I got further and further into it, my involvement would back out. And by the end, essentially the piece is determining itself."
er·rat·ic:
1. Geology - a rock or boulder that differs from the surrounding rock and is believed to have been brought from a distance by glacial action.
The surface of the earth, though seemingly immobile and locked in place, is in a perpetual state of movement – forever shifting and responding to weathering elements and conditions. Rain causes erosion, softening and shaping once jagged mountains to gentle rolling hills. Volcanoes violently erupt, bringing magma from deep within the earth’s surface to form new terra.
And on occasion, due to dramatic transformations in a particular region, a mass of bedrock, sometimes as large as a house, will break free from its parenting bedrock. The erratic, now independent of its former position and often carried by eroding glacier ice, begins its own journey through the vastness of time.
Erratics have been known to travel great distances, sometimes hundreds of miles. When observing the aged and scarred surface of the boulder –– a story-in-the-making that began perhaps thousands of years ago –– the texture can reveal a history, a record of the boulder’s experience. Though the mineral character of the erratic is oftentimes different than its surrounding landscape, the elements and time have cooperated to foster a harmonious existence.
In 2021, ERRATIC: Rest was installed in a western North Carolina gallery, which was previously a church sanctuary. Sharing space with Hoss Haley’s monumental work transports the viewer to a place where a clear separation between human creation and organic influence is undefined, yet beautifully intertwined.
Color and texture are suggested but are ultimately ruled by nature. The marrying of raw nature and human intervention is what makes Haley’s work so captivating, allowing the opportunity to forget traditional rules, and marvel at a creation beyond our understanding.
For more, please visit Hoss Haley's website .