Situated among the trees of South Campus, along E College Way, a striking form sticks out like a beacon or sign; it’s stark white color and sharp geometric shape contrast with that of the soft emerald green trees and brush that surround it.

The sculpture,Garapata, was commissioned by Annie Dillard and Gary Clevidence in 1978 for a site on Lummi Island and in the Winter of 1986 was given as a gift to Western Washington University for their outdoor sculpture collection.

It is part of a series of abstract, origami-like, minimalist sculptures created by John Keppelman. Keppelman is a sculptor, painter, and retired teacher from Bellingham, even teaching in the Art Department at Western Washington University from 2000 to 2014.

To create such sculptures as Garapata Keppelman implemented a method of cutting and folding paper in a way that doesn’t involve much thought so the abstract shapes he comes up with are formed from unconscious intentions, making every form a surprise.

Keppelman has remarked of his sculptures, “I am interested in opening up form so it doesn’t settle down. My concern is with how things go together.

I try to work with abstract forms which are basically unstable or inconclusive in the sense of having structures the mind doesn’t easily grasp. There’s an ephemeral, elusive quality to the shapes which I enjoy.”

Garapata gives the sense of a soaring motion it creates and was therefore named after an area in California, formed by a canyon and river that intersects the Pacific Ocean, a place Keppelman spent time at as a child.

The sculpture is meant to be seen from the front as a 2-D work unlike typical sculptures that can be viewed from any angle, this is because the posture of Garapata suggest an imaginary wall behind it.

In terms of Garapata’s presentation and the choice to have it posted or standing Keppelman has stated, “ If you look at Garapata, it postures a wall, an imaginary wall or flat plane which is behind the piece or which is the basis for the back plane of that piece… when I cited that piece in its present location, I was looking for a spot where viewers passing along the pathway or road would be able to see the piece and not get behind it.

It is an unusual sighting for sculpture because normally, of course, sculpture is seen completely in the round. In the case of my work, that is not true.”

Lacquer on aluminum plate 10’h x 7’w

Credits:

Johnnae McDaniels

Sydney Franke

Isaiah Valera