On any given morning people can be seen walking, running, or biking along Mosholu Parkway. Benches on the sidewalks can even provide a contemplative resting stop for others. For Barbara Korman however, the landscaped thoroughfare provides a source of inspiration for her art.

 

Korman has lived in Bedford Park for 50 years, the last 42 of which she has spent in the same two-bedroom apartment, having converted one of the bedrooms into a studio. The passage of time has not caused the artist to slow down however. “I’m always working,” Korman said. When asked if the pandemic had impacted upon her art production, she responded adamantly, “I’ve been able to spend more time [creating art]!”

 

The artist uses salvaged tree branches that she finds along the parkway and transforms them into what she describes as “discrete objects and installations.”  She strips the bark, sands the wood, glues the branches together, and then paints them usually in dark gray and black tones. Others have a blue or green hue. The pieces end up in a multitude of shapes and configurations with some serving as freestanding sculptures.

 

In April 2012, Korman appeared in a video profile published by Norwood News in which she explained her process as she prepared for an exhibition at Arts Westchester Gallery in White Plains, entitled “Looking at Woods.”

 

She credits living in Bedford Park, and her morning walks along the parkway, as an important reason why she decided to work with wood. “Living close to the Botanical Gardens and Mosholu Parkway made me aware of the trees and the debris,” she said.

 

Since the beginning of August, Korman has been showcasing her work as part of a multi-media exhibition organized by Studio Theater in Exile and the Hudson Valley MOCA entitled “Climbing the Walls.” The organizers asked various artists to create works that imagine the future by looking at how COVID-19 and the subsequent protests for social justice have changed the way we experience life.

Rather than reflect upon some of the darker themes that have emerged from the current state of world affairs, Korman chose to include an array of colorful sculptures made of wood, papier mâché, vinyl compound, and acrylic paint, entitled “Fetishes for Fun.” These specific artworks represent something of a departure from her usual process of working with wood she saves from her walks in Mosholu parkway. “After many years of working with salvaged tree branches, it felt like time for a change,’ she writes in her artist statement. For this particular exhibition, she created the sculptures with store-bought wood and painted the pieces in bright, eye-catching colors.

 

She hopes the pieces will give people a respite from today’s stressors. “These small sculptures while serious, seemed playful and demanded bright, playful color. I think of them as fetishes for fun,” she said.

 

A virtual viewing of “Climbing the Walls” is available through the new year on the Hudson Valley MOCA website.

 

Korman’s work can be viewed on her website at www.bkormanstudio.com.