One of our local
artists, Lee Littlefield, died of lymphoma in his home last Sunday.
I first became
aware of Lee's work when three school bus yellow sculptures appeared
overnight in a small triangular esplanade along one of my main travel
arteries many many years ago. They were about 5' tall and
constructed from what looked like sections of telephone poles with
long wiggly sticks coming out of the top portions and painted bright
yellow. They looked like upright porcupines, at least that's how my
brain made sense of them.
Later, I started
seeing similar sculptures springing up along the freeways in the
city. They would stay for some months and then be gone to pop up
elsewhere or new ones would take their places. These were tall, more
slender, using trees and branches instead of telephone poles. It was
several years before I learned the name of the artist and that he
called these Pop Up sculptures. Sometimes he would have permission
from the authorities and perhaps, sometimes not.
I began to look
for them because they were always a delight. Eventually, we
purchased one of Lee's outdoor pieces being exhibited at a local
gallery. He had some wonderfull indoor wall pieces which I would
have liked but our house was small and we had no wall space for such.
Plus, it was his outdoor work that first grabbed my attention.
Unfortunately, I
don't have a picture of our sculpture because I can't find the old
ones I took on any of the devices here and I can't take a new one
because it is in Lee's studio. It suffered some damage and was in
for repairs. Unfortunately, he died before he could install it for
us out here. It's ready and we will make arrangements to get it.
I'll post pictures then.
I'm not going to
go into Lee's resume and biography. If you want to know all that you
can read about him here. Instead, here is a small gallery of some of his work.
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
museumpublicity.com
www.poissantgallery.com
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
http://www.chron.com/life/gallery/The-work-of-Lee-Littlefield-64237.php
I'm going to
miss seeing Lee's sculptures pop up along the Houston roadways.
what unique works. i hope they live on for years to come.
ReplyDeleteI love those! Looks like he's leaving behind a fabulous legacy...
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff. I would never have dared to try that with color. Well, yeah, dared, but failed miserably. Sorry to hear about his passing.
ReplyDeleteHe did some beautiful, colourful work. I can see why you'd be happy to own one of his pieces. I'm looking forward to seeing it. May he rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteHow many smiles he added to the world.
ReplyDeleteThese remind me of crinoids or some other type of underwater creature. Such whimsy he shared.
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful. I had never heard of him before this, but what a loss for the Houston area. I look forward to seeing your pics of his piece in your yard.
ReplyDeleteSea creatures along the roadway, what a marvelous artist to lose.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I love his renegade spirit, erecting works without permission. They do look like bizarre Martian plants, or maybe neurons. I'm glad you have one of his pieces to remember him by.
ReplyDeleteDelightful, whimsical. I love artists who just track their own path. Its magical.
ReplyDeleteI hope his soul is enjoy a forest as bright as the one that came out of his mind.
ReplyDeleteHis work is fabulous, very light. May his spirit fly as high as his beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteWhat a passion to have. I see it in you, as you see it in him. What beautiful work. I can imagine the smiles it invoked, as I smiled looking at all of his work.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for your loss. Take care my friend. Miss you.