The Woodwinders
David Kemp 1984
I only recently learned that this ever existed. It was located on the road just north of the Millwood Trail, not too far from the visitor centre. It looks like a fun piece; one that I would have enjoyed seeing as a kid.
Photograph by Mike Barker
In 1996 David Kemp contributed a piece to 'The Grizedale Experience', providing tips for finding artworks in the forest. Here it is, reproduced in full:
"Sculptures appear and vanish with each new season. The sculpture map is renewed at regular intervals and is a useful guide, but there are no footnotes by the footpath and sculpture spotters might find the following suggestions useful when tracking down forest sculpture:
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Keep a sharp look out. Is it a bird, a beast, a stump, a root or a sculpture? Some sculptures, like other forest denizens, are well camouflaged, and sometimes hidden off the beaten track.
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Be attentive on approach. The work may be designed to change with aspect. It may look different when viewed from a distance than when viewed close-up. Walk around the sculpture, there may be other features on the other side. The work might be serial, with other elements in the vicinity.
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Be careful. Although the work is maintained and removed when it begins to lose its integrity, sculpture, often made from forest materials, is eventually subject to change, rot and decay.
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Be curious. There are a number of questions that might be considered:
Also by this artist:
The Chariot 1980
The Heron 1981
Rook Crossing 1981
Scale Green Birdman 1981
Deer Hunter 1982
Forest Fugue 1984
The Ancient Forester 1988
What has the sculpture been made from? Why have these particular materials been chosen, where did they come from, are they integral to the sculpture, or might another choice of material been more effective or appropriate?
How was the sculpture put together, and how does it stand up? What sort of technology has been used to make the sculpture? Are things cut, carved, jointed, pinned, bolted, nailed, glued, woven, bent, tied, stacked or balanced together?
Why is it here? Why has the sculptor sited the work in this place? How does it relate to its immediate environment? Does it fit in, is it secret or conspicuous? What elements are there in the vicinity that may have influenced the sculptor's choice? How has it changed with the seasons, and how have its surroundings changed since it was made?
What is it about? This is the biggest question of all. Some references may be more obvious than others, and the list is endless: the forest, growth, atrophy, change, rhythm, animal and plant life, local crafts and defunct industries, different kinds of space, time, distance, the earth, the sky? There may be no words to describe the feelings and ideas inherent in an individual piece of work. Ultimately sculpture in itself is a language, some pieces are simple, some more complex or paradoxical. Although the sculptor's statements can offer some illumination, the sculptures themselves should be regarded as eloquent, and to be speaking for themselves."