From the Bush Artist Fellowship Catalog 1998

Mike Rathbun-

It is a glimpse of something that seems to be the most important thing. It is something that is up and just to the right of my vision, and when I turn in that direction, it seems to move and keep pace with my turning. Then another set of circumstances cloud it and it is gone.

In 1995, Mike Rathbun built a boat and, with virtual no sailing or navigation experience, crossed lake michigan on a dark april night. The experience was pivotal for the artist, who was finishing graduate school and wrestling with issues of voice and authenticity. “Most of my work looked like I was sitting in my studio making work,” Rathbun recalls. “It looked a lot like Art, but it seemed ridiculous because it had no content.”

Today Rathbun describes his quixotic boat journey as a kin to ”feeling joy and fear at the same time.” so profound was the episode , He equates it to an epiphany - a moment of total clarity. Rathbun also credits the ride with forging his sculptural language, which includes four central forms: waves, universal joints, airplane wings and wooden boats. He combines these element into large pieces, whose sheer scale commands the viewers attention, encouraging us to see from a new perspective.

Rathbun’s colossal sculptures are typically short lived, created for specific installations and dismantled when the shows are finished. He says the episodic nature of showing complements the idea of the trip. “They become like a legend, which, to me, is completely legitimate. I think hyperbole is the only way you can get somebody to actually experience what you experienced.”

Learn more about this sculpture.