Summary: A radio documentary profiling artist Gary Greff’s attempt to save his dying Great Plains hometown by building giant metal sculptures along a lonely strip of county road.
My mother, two younger sisters and younger brother lived in Regent from 1980 until 2000, when my mother passed away. Going to visit many many times over the years, I can say that, while the sculptures aren't "high art," they are phenomenal...out there in the middle of nowhere and LARGE on such a lonely stretch of highway.
My mother, two younger sisters and younger brother lived in Regent from 1980 until 2000, when my mother passed away. Going to visit many many times over the years, I can say that, while the sculptures aren't "high art," they are phenomenal...out there in the middle of nowhere and LARGE on such a lonely stretch of highway.
What if you go home to the town where you were born and raised and find that it's dying...slowly? Would you become obsessed with trying to save it? If so, what hair-brained idea would YOU come-up with?
While erecting a giant tin family would not be MY idea, it does make for a curious pass on a quiet North Dakotan highway. What brings the deep humanity to the essence of this piece however, is the monumental gesture. By building giant sculptures of tin families of people, deer, grasshoppers and geese in flight, Gary Graff has placed in the landscape a reminder of what brought him home in the first place.
This listen is multi-dimensional. Like a piece of literature, it mushrooms in the mind with the memory of it. It's brilliantly edited with a rich inter-woven dialogue between narration and live recording. I cannot recommend this piece strongly enough as a message of hope beyond time. While a vision and dream may be unrealized in the life of the dreamer, what lasts lives on beyond their passing.
Comments for The Enchanted Highway, Part II
This piece belongs to the series "The Enchanted Highway/3 part series"
Produced by Long Haul Productions
Other pieces by Long Haul Productions
Rating Summary
3 comments
v l
Posted on October 08, 2009 at 05:39 PM | Permalink
I know The Enchanted Highway
My mother, two younger sisters and younger brother lived in Regent from 1980 until 2000, when my mother passed away. Going to visit many many times over the years, I can say that, while the sculptures aren't "high art," they are phenomenal...out there in the middle of nowhere and LARGE on such a lonely stretch of highway.
v l
Posted on October 08, 2009 at 05:39 PM | Permalink
I know The Enchanted Highway
My mother, two younger sisters and younger brother lived in Regent from 1980 until 2000, when my mother passed away. Going to visit many many times over the years, I can say that, while the sculptures aren't "high art," they are phenomenal...out there in the middle of nowhere and LARGE on such a lonely stretch of highway.
Sondra Sneed
Posted on July 05, 2005 at 05:11 PM | Permalink
Review of The Enchanted Highway, Part II
What if you go home to the town where you were born and raised and find that it's dying...slowly? Would you become obsessed with trying to save it? If so, what hair-brained idea would YOU come-up with?
While erecting a giant tin family would not be MY idea, it does make for a curious pass on a quiet North Dakotan highway. What brings the deep humanity to the essence of this piece however, is the monumental gesture. By building giant sculptures of tin families of people, deer, grasshoppers and geese in flight, Gary Graff has placed in the landscape a reminder of what brought him home in the first place.
This listen is multi-dimensional. Like a piece of literature, it mushrooms in the mind with the memory of it. It's brilliantly edited with a rich inter-woven dialogue between narration and live recording. I cannot recommend this piece strongly enough as a message of hope beyond time. While a vision and dream may be unrealized in the life of the dreamer, what lasts lives on beyond their passing.