Balance & Bounty

In the landscape of the agrarian west bales of straw and hay are a powerful visual presence. Balance & Bounty was inspired by the way baled cylinders of hay activate the landscape with their implied rolling progress. This installation takes this implied motion further by “rebaling” straw into forms that seem animated with a gyrating energy. During each of the four seasons, in this year-long collaboration with a choreographer and videographer, the straw “tops” were joined by dancers of the Montana Transport Company and choreographer Amy Ragsdale. Funded by a New Forms: Regional Initiative Grant.