Shadetree Studio Other Art section

Other Art

Horsemania Farmer has been involved in a lot of art projects that don't fit into the other three sections of this site. Lexington, Kentucky's Horsemania project was one very interesting one. 78 juried artists were paid to decorate lifesize fiberglass horses, which were on display for the summer of 2000, then sold at auction just like actual thoroughbreds. His horse, Stonewall, brought the highest bid at the auction, selling for $53,000. All proceeds from the Horsemania auction were donated to various charities. Below is a photo of it as it was being auctioned at the famous Keeneland thoroughbred sales arena.

Keeneland Horse Auction

Show of Hands

This was a public art project produced by the Berea (KY) Arts Counil in 2003. Twelve artists, whose designs were selected by jury, were each provided with six foot tall fiberglass hands, to turn into unique works of art. Damon's design is called Tin Man. It combines the look of old rusted riveted steel plates with the organic shape of the hand and suggests that the hand is possibly the only remaining part of some giant mechanical man. Below is a shot of Tin Man on display in front of the Berea National Bank, Farmer's sponsor.

Tin Man

Dynamic Doors

In 2003 the Lexington, Kentucky Arts and Cultural Council produced a public art project called Dynamic Doors in which artists transformed the salvaged doors of an old housing project into works of art. 120 designs were selected by a jury and provided with a sponsor. Below is a shot of Damon with his completed door, before it was installed inside Victorian Square in downtown Lexington. Farmer's door was one of 30 selected to be auctioned live in Lexington's Victorian Square on January, 2004.

Infinity Peeker

His goal for this project was to create a piece that utilized some aspect of the door. That is, a design that necessarily needed the door as the basic element, instead of just treating the door as a painting surface. He focused on the peephole and decided to make the door into the ultimate super-mega-peephole. An interactive device that not only permited a peek into infinity, but also had an audio aspect. Those cylinders and pipes on each side of the eyepiece amplify and alter ambient sounds in the same way that a seashell does. The result is that when your head is in the viewing position, you are hearing a sort of 'music of the sheres'. A cosmic sound effect to accompany the view into 'deepest space'. It's called Infinity Peeker Note that there's a little fold down step at the bottom, so kids can reach the peephole.

Visit the Dynamic Doors website for more information on the project and a map to all the doors.

Costumes
This is a costume Farmer has been refining for many years, The weaponry is all props, being made from everything from a christmas tree stand and car floor mats to old motorcycle parts and even an electric peeler. The costume does have working parts though. Lights, sound effects and a Darth Vader style breathing effect. Although originally a Halloween costume, it's appeared in several TV spots, and
"I've often been told that it's extremely intimidating, but I've only seen it from the inside out, so I can't say."-Damon
Trick or Treat

These moonsuits were originally made (with assistance from seamstress Ginger Cornett) to be used in a fashion show presentation. In this photo they are being used in a special 'Weather From The Moon' segment of an actual TV weather report. The 'Lunar Forecast ' was part of the grand opening festivities for a children's museum.

Moonsuit Costumes