Tery Fugate-Wilcox (born 1944) (also known as Terry Fugate-Wilcox before the 1980s when he "donated a surplus ''r'' to charity"), is a

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

and natural-process postminimalist ( Actual Art)-ist painter and sculptor best known for three monumental art works in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and surrounding region: the LMCC-sponsored ''Holland Tunnel Wall'' (dismantled circa 1989), the 3-storey ''Self-Watering Tetrahedrons'' fountain located in Prudential's ''Gateway 4'' lobby until 1998, and the permanently installed 36-foot-tall ''3000 A.D. Diffusion Piece'' in

J. Hood Wright Park J. Hood Wright Park is a park of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation which is located between Fort Washington and Haven Avenue, and between West 173rd and 176th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, N ...

overlooking the ''

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee in Bergen County, New Jersey, with the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named after George W ...

''. The latter is the subject of a New York City official historical sign.NYC Parks

''

NYC Parks The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

''. The artist is an NEA-laureate with creations in the collections of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, and several museums. His art at times led to tangles with the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

, the

New York City Department of Buildings The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...

, and magazine " Art in America". He was co-organizer of the Fulcrum Gallery (AKA Fvlcrvm Gallery, AKA Shakespeare's Fvlcrvm) located in the basement of the SoHo Branch of the Guggenheim Museum until both sites closed in 2002 in part due to the economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks on

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

and

TriBeCa Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

Early life

According to his own autobiography, ''It's the Artists' Life for Me!'', he was born with the name Raymond Terry Fugate in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, and he never met his father (who was

KIA Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second larges ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

). At age sixteen, Raymond was formally adopted by his stepfather, Dale Wilcox, becoming Raymond Terry Fugate-Wilcox. He attended military schools and some college. His autobiography also says that he married in 1963 to Valerie Monroe Shakespeare who convinced him to drop ''Raymond'' from his name; changing his name to ''Terry Fugate-Wilcox''. Fugate-Wilcox and wife moved to

in December 1968.

Work

Diffusing metal sculptures

Consistent with the artist's enthusiasm for the Actual Art concept that time and natural process should be able to change art's appearance, the most recognizable Fugate-Wilcox pieces involve same-sized flat rectangular slabs of chemically sensitive metals which are physically bolted together—with the intent that, over time (an estimated year indicated in the piece's title) the slabs would chemically bond together through diffusion or other means into one solid mass. Such pieces include the

's ''2,500 A.D. ( Cu & Zn)'', and ''Cu & C (3500 ad)'', and also ''Blue steel & brass (2500 ad)'' New York City's prominent 1974 outdoor sculpture, ''3000 A.D. Diffusion Piece'' is such a work: in theory, the piece's various

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

slabs will join themselves into one continuous alloy block around the year 3000. (The

geo-coordinates A geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or geodetic coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest, and most widely used type of the various s ...

of the site of the ''3000 A.D. Diffusion Piece'' are: 40.847283,-73.94205.)

Other sculpture

Fugate-Wilcox concrete sculptures typically consist of flat slabs of concrete in the elemental

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

al shapes so often favored by minimalist artists. Fugate-Wilcox peppers the exposed surfaces of the still-wet concrete with metallic powder or other substances likely to

oxidize Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

or otherwise chemically change with the passage of time, thus changing the surface colors. The artist's ''Weathering Triangle'' outdoor sculpture in New York City was meant to feature the changing colors brought about by chemical reactions over time; however, Smithsonian photos Smithsonian (ref# IAS 87870227)

'' Smithsonian''. show that in fact the surface was usually just covered-over by unauthorized event posters and

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

. (The piece was also a long-time "litigating triangle" as NY Buildings repeatedly fought to challenge in court the ''Triangles erection without permits.) Some Fugate-Wilcox flat steel creations have involved changes created by blast effects from explosives. The warping and

spalling Spall are fragments of a material that are broken off a larger solid body. It can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball ...

resulting from contact with detonating explosives is used for artistic effect. Fugate-Wilcox also designs

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

-modified art. Some of the artist's creations use furnace-burnt or otherwise deweaponized handguns obtained from municipal

gun buyback program A gun buyback program is one instituted to purchase privately owned firearms. The goal of such programs is to reduce the circulation of both legally and illegally owned firearms. A buyback program would provide a process whereby civilians can dispo ...

s. Some sculptures have used bundles of vertically installed 2 by 4 lumber which would gradually fan-out slightly from their original rigidly compact vertical formation due to the swelling and warping effects of humidity. According to a 1983 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article, a Fugate-Wilcox warping wood piece called ''Weathering Wood'' took advantage of variations in humidity to flex and "flower out" when dry, and then "close back up" when the environment became more humid. A future sculptural design for which the artist acquired land and started a nonprofit organization to raise funds is his ''San Andreas Fault Sculpture Project'': a proposed monolith of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

() meant to straddle both sides of the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

so that over time the Earth's own plate-tectonic forces will crack the block into two

golden rectangle In geometry, a golden rectangle is a rectangle with side lengths in golden ratio \tfrac :1, or with approximately equal to or Golden rectangles exhibit a special form of self-similarity: if a square is added to the long side, or removed from ...

s that will continue to move past each other in opposite directions. The artist's intent would be to use "the Earth itself, as a tool to make the movement of massive continents visible on a scale that can be understood in human terms".

Paintings

Consistent with the artist's " Actual Art" philosophy, Fugate-Wilcox's abstract paintings often include in their creation, certain natural processes like weathering, rainfall evidence, or oxidation over time; sometimes the natural processes will (on purpose) cause additional colors to appear upon a once-monochromatic surface. A notable example seen by millions of

motorists (during the decade or so it was installed) was the outdoor mural titled ''Holland Tunnel Wall'' —a painting larger than the entire facade of the neighboring national parish church ''Our Lady of Vilnius''. located on the multistory parking tower on the northwest corner of Varick and Broome directly in view of vehicles entering the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects Hudson Square and Lower Manhattan in New York City in the east to Jersey City, New Jersey, in the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Authority of New York an ...

. This mural (formerly the site of a megabillboard now gone because the whole building was demolished in November 2015) at first appeared all white until, over time, it became ever more colorful as layers of water-soluble paint weathered away by rain revealed the artist's pigmented underlayers. The artist's intention was to use paints that were incompatible with each other, so that as the work weathered, different colors would emerge. arker, Kevin. "Wall Art, Bridge Art", Place Magazine, September 1981/ref> The first layer was red epoxy paint; the second layer, yellow latex; the third layer was blue oil-based alkyd; the fourth layer was green-pigmented shellac, and the fifth (final) layer was whitewash of white water-soluble casein paint. (The

of the former site of the ''Holland Tunnel Wall'' mural are: 40.724455, -74.006305.)

Performance art

In an art prank which " Art in America" called "the conceptual artwork that ended conceptual art", in 1970 Fugate-Wilcox and wife picked a nonexistent address on 57th Street (then the center of the New York art world) and created the fictitious Jean Freeman Gallery.''Fine Art Publicity: The Complete Guide for Galleries and Artists'', Susan Abbott, Allworth Communications, Inc., 2005,
Google Books
- citing How to Succeed (By Really Trying), Paul Gardner, ARTnews Like other significant galleries, the (secretly non-existent) Jean Freeman Gallery advertised in " Art in America"—but the advertising bills, mailed to the fake address, went unpaid. At the end of the 1970 art season, Fugate-Wilcox published an announcement from the Jean Freeman Gallery saying: "26 West 57th Street does not exist". An early 1971 ''

'' article by Grace Glueck called "The Non Gallery of No Art" announced in public the story of Jean Freeman Gallery. In a televised appearance with Fugate-Wilcox on the "

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

" show, "Art in America"'s

Brian O'Doherty Brian O'Doherty (4 May 1928 – 7 November 2022) was an Irish-American art critic, writer, visual artist, and academic. He lived in New York City for over 50 years, serving as an art critic for ''The New York Times'' and NBC, as well as an edito ...

announced that the magazine would "donate" the costs of the unpaid advertising bills, and then discussed on-air the non-gallery as a conceptual artwork with Fugate-Wilcox and the show host. In 1971, Terry Fugate-Wilcox donated a "surplus letter ''R''" from his first name during a fundraiser for the Irish independence cause, thus going from ''Terry'' to ''Tery'' (still pronounced like "Terry"). Shortly afterward, "Art in America"'s

changed his name to " Patrick Ireland" in support of the same cause. Also in 1971, Tery and his wife, Valerie submitted nude passport photos. Although the photos were taken from the shoulders up, the couple was refused passports and sparked an investigation by the

's new investigative branch called the Internal Security Commission. At one point, Fugate-Wilcox and his wife, Valerie, found a lawyer willing to help them file for a "Conceptual Divorce" in which Mrs. Fugate-Wilcox would reclaim her maiden name to become Valerie Shakespeare; thereafter, couple would continue as before. mith, Howard. Scenes: "Terry Fugate-Wilcox: the Art of Divorce”, The Village Voice, Sep 17,1970/ref>

Gallery

File:"Weathering Wall" at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel (montage of various stages, by Tery Fugate-Wilcox).jpg, In-process photos of the application of various paint-layers on the ''Holland Tunnel Wall'' weathering mural. File:Villagepce.jpg, Artist's conception image of the ''Weathering Triangle'' showing color changes caused by weather-induced

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

of metal powders embedded in the sculpture's cement surface. File:Tery_triangle_posterized-2.jpg, Smithsonian archive photo shows the unintended reality of ''Weathering Triangle'' as installed in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

– covered over with unauthorized event posters and graffiti tags. File:Tery_triangle_posterized.jpg, Another Smithsonian archive photo of Fugate-Wilcox's ''Weathering Triangle''. File:Tery fugate wilcox si.png, Smithsonian archive photo of the artist's monumental ''3000 A.D. Diffusion Piece'' covered with graffiti in New York City. File:Tery fugate wilcox si detail.png, Detail view showing the extent at one time of the graffiti vandalism. File:Tery_Fugate-Wilcox_art_01.jpg, The same sculpture, after

graffiti abatement Graffiti abatement is a joint effort between a given community; its public works division; police department; community development; and parks, recreation, and community services to eliminate graffiti vandalism. In an effective graffiti abatement p ...

care. (Photo by

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

) File:PruPce.jpg, Artist's conception of the Prudential lobby fountain, ''Self-watering Tetrahedrons''. File:Notxt.jpg, Artist's conception of the planned ''

Sculpture Project'' showing the one-acre slab as it might look after having been (purposefully) cracked into two offset halves by

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

forces.

References

External links

NYC Bridge and Tunnel Club's photo page for J. Hood Wright Park with two recent color photos of ''3000 A.D. Diffusion Piece''.

National Gallery of Australia photo/info page of a small Fugate-Wilcox piece in their collection.

National Gallery of Australia photo/info page of a larger Fugate-Wilcox piece in their collection.

* at Fvlcrvm Gallery explaining Actual Art (Content note: has nudity and vulgar language ).
Mp3 audio of a WGXC radio two-hour talk with the artist recalling the old SoHo art scene (intro "music" plays until 5:15 into the piece)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugate-Wilcox 1946 births Living people 21st-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Minimalist artists American performance artists 20th-century American painters 21st-century American sculptors