Window Rock Pole | chasedaniel

WOOL POLE, WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA, 2012

Wool Pole is part of Matthew Chase-Daniel's ongoing series of site-specific Pole Sculptures, placed in environments around the world. Each work in the series is made from locally collected materials which are part of the region's culture and ecology. Wool Pole uses Churro sheep wool in the four traditional colors, collected from local Navajo herds.

Working with local master dyer and tool-maker Mark Deschinny and others, Chase-Daniel has, spun and felted the wool and hung it from a tall wooden pole, as an act of reverence and honoring. Over time, the sculpture, installed outside the Navajo Museum in Window Rock, will be affected by the elements: Rain, wind, sun, ice, heat, and cold. The balls and strands of wool will break down in a natural process of decomposition, and redistribute their bounty to the surrounding landscape. The sculpture speaks of living cycles of plants and animals, of the relationship of the earth to the sun, of birth, death, and regeneration, of the cyclical aspect of nature, and of our human relationship to these cycles.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this project, especially all the spinners and felters in Window Rock, Hard Rock, Ft. Defiance, and Santa Fe. I didn’t get everybody’s name, but many are listed here:

Edith Simonson

Lorraine Herder

Mark Deschinny

Eunice Khan

Genevieve Hardy

4th & 5th grade students from Hunter’s Point School

Birdie

Elijah Yazzie

Tashina

Trish Arviso

Francess Benally

Alice Curtis