Popular Stickwork art sculpture comes down Jan. 6 after highly successful 3½-year run

Stickwork — also named "Lean on Me" — passed away Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The piece of art, constructed by hand with saplings (mostly willow) harvested from Saint John's Abbey Arboretum, died in a flash of a controlled fire.

"Lean on Me" was designed to last only two years, but survived for nearly 3½ years. During its life, tens of thousands of visitors walked around and through the sculpture.

"It's nothing sort of amazing, and by every measure it has been a resounding success as a public work of art," said Br. David Paul Lange, OSB, associate professor of art at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and one of the coordinators of the project. "We should all be very proud and gratified that it has lasted this long and delighted so many thousands and thousands of visitors." 

The sculpture was designed by artist Patrick Dougherty in September 2012, and was based on the Stella Maris Chapel on Lake Sagatagan. It consisted of five small chapels built in a cluster, with a courtyard in the middle.

"There's a bit of community here, and people kind of lean into each other," Dougherty said at the time. "So, these little chapelettes are personalities - they lean into each other."

A crew of volunteers from CSB, SJU, Saint John's Preparatory School and the general public spent nearly three weeks building the structure.

Earlier, we spoke to Stickwork about the legacy of its life.

Q: Are you disappointed about your life coming to an end?

A: Of course I am! I was designed by Patrick Dougherty from the beginning to be temporary. Remember, I was supposed to last just two years. And, I was supposed to come down in March 2015, but was given a nine-month extension. Those extra months were a gift to the public!

My passing reminds people about the fragility of life, of the reality of constant change and the illusion of permanence. Many people have told me that they will miss seeing me alongside the highway. It will remind them of absence and loss, of something having gone away.

I hope my loss might remind everyone to stop taking life for granted - the people we care about, the land we steward and our own bodies. Life on Earth involves constant change, and living in the moment is critical.

Q: What will you remember most about your life?

A: The people admiring me and taking photos of me. The children laughing and wondering how a structure made of tree branches held up. I'm also grateful for the students who were inspired to create such works at CSB.

Q: Any negatives?

A: The hard-working people who received cuts and nicks making me. I was also worried when a couple of pranksters from the University of St. Thomas visited me one night, but everything worked out just fine.

Q: You were designed to last two years, but nearly doubled your life. How did you do that?

A: Good genes, I guess. You know, I was in the process of decay from the moment I was built. But being constructed in a northern climate did help prolong my life, because there was no decay during the frozen months. My "woven basket" nature of the work also meant that I was not susceptible to sudden failure. As a result, I survived high winds and hail storms.

Q: Why did so many people visit you?

A: As my realtor friends would say, "Location, location, location." Being on Stearns County Road 159 - the main entrance to SJU - I was in a prime spot with a gorgeous background behind me. And, I was visible from I-94.

I was also quite unique - I mean, you just don't see art like me all the time. A structure made by hand of wood branches? Really? I was the cool thing to visit on the edge of the prairie.

Q: Any final words?

A: To paraphrase the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur, old sculptures like me don't die, we just fade away.

Rest in peace, Stickwork. You lived a great life.