Charles Pilkey’s Ark invites viewers aboard a space ‘ship’ pointed toward the stars and loaded with animal passengers. The painted steel sculpture, installed at The Arc of Howard County, “can be interpreted in one of two ways,” says Pilkey. “[First], as a metaphor for our role as the stewards, the captains of Ark Earth. The work can also be seen in a darker light: a preview of a future when either because of war or environmental devastation, we are compelled to build a space ark and colonize other worlds, carrying with us those plants and animals necessary for our survival.”
Charles Pilkey is a former geologist turned artist, writer, and illustrator. Using a wide range of materials including stone, wood, metal, and ceramics, he creates sculptures exploring the environmental and societal costs of capitalism and technology. Pilkey’s stone and metal sculpture Appalachian Spring was part of ARTsites 2013.
ARTsites 2019 sculptures will be on display through July 2020. You might not be able to get out and see these sculptures right now, but you can take a virtual look at all twelve here.