The recent removal of public monuments to the Confederacy stirred controversy and debate about the space their absence leaves empty. Does a void speak as loudly as the object that formerly occupied the space? Should something else take its place?

While not faced with such weighty cultural questions after Fantasy Topography came to the end of its run at Shelburne Museum, the occasion did get me thinking about the role of commemoration in the afterlife of temporary artworks. Is there an appropriate form of remembrance for public art that has come to the end of its natural lifespan? I’d be curious to know if such a thing exists. Have any artists made commemoration an integral part of their creative process?

I know, for myself, that what has carried my work forward, beyond the completion dates, is documentation, specifically photo documentation by my friend and comrade Peter Mauss. For decades, he has brought his discerning eye and technical skill to crafting, what I consider, fine art photographs. He is the consummate professional in the elite field of architectural photography. For each of my projects he produces a series of images that simultaneously fix them in time and hurl them into the future. No matter their actual circumstances, they get a life in perpetuity, thanks to him. I’m honored to be able to say, Peter’s work speaks for my work.

Fantasy Topography rose up out of the forest floor last April. It became an object of intrigue for some of the visitors who wandered off the beaten path that circles the museum grounds, or, for others just something to run across, as I observed when one bunch of children used it as a shortcut to the carousel by leaping along its spine. The pine tree glade has now returned to its former life as a quiet, shady glen. At each passing, to hold, or let slip, a memory is our choice to make.

For the support of the Shelburne Museum’s director, Thomas Denenberg, Carolyn Bauer, Assistant Curator, and Museum curators and staff (especially the grounds crew) I am forever grateful. Fellow waller, Jamie Masefield, helped gather up the toppers which are now retired to a hilltop behind the studio. Fantasy Topography marked my second invitation to be part of an exhibition on the museum campus. I truly hope the chance comes around again someday. Over the past four years, my association with Shelburne Museum has grown to be a pure pleasure, at every juncture.