How James Florio Turned Patrick Dougherty’s Ephemeral Sculptures Into a Lasting Photographic Legacy
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'Sticks,' by James Florio (published by Radius Books). We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
What happens when art is built to disappear?
Photographer James Florio spent years chasing sculptures that were never meant to last. Made from twigs, branches, and movement itself, Patrick Dougherty’s installations are temporary by design, fragile structures that sway, crack, and eventually return to the earth. But through Florio’s lens, they’ve been transformed into something enduring. Sticks, their collaborative book is a meditation on time, nature, and the act of holding on.
This interview explores how one photographer preserved what was never meant to be permanent.
We talk about photographing light and shadow, working against weather and decay, and the quiet emotional challenge of documenting beauty that’s already slipping away. James shares the process behind the book, the impact of black-and-white film, and the lessons learned from watching art disappear.
The result is a body of work that captures the spirit of something fleeting and makes it last.
The Book
Patrick Dougherty | James Florio: Sticks - is a photographic collaboration between sculptor Patrick Dougherty and photographer James Florio. Published by Radius Books, the book documents Dougherty’s ephemeral outdoor sculptures—large-scale works made from woven branches and twigs that are intentionally temporary. Florio spent years traveling to photograph these site-specific installations across the United States, capturing their transformation through light, weather, and time. Presented in black and white, the images emphasize the movement, texture, and emotional presence of the sculptures, preserving them long after they’ve disappeared. (Radius, Amazon)
Photos of the book by Inga Hendrickson
Genesis of the project: How did your collaboration with Patrick Dougherty on Sticks begin, and what drew you to the idea of photographing his natural sculptures?
Daydreams, Patrick's original work at Tippet Rise, has always been one of my favourite sculptures at the art centre and since my first visit in 2017, I have spent a lot of time with it. In July of 2022, Patrick returned to create a second sculpture (Cursive Takes A Holiday) that complements and continues outward from Daydreams. During that summer, I ventured out very early to capture the soft light that is typically available only – and very briefly – at that time of day. I would often stop on my way back to see his progress and watch him work with his small team. I would listen to the sounds of the twigs as they worked into place, moving, breaking, creating. I began making some medium-format photographs mainly to document this beautiful process, and I soon fell in love with the very tactile yet seemingly magical aspects of his sculptures. I began to look closer. As Patrick neared completion, Cathy and Peter Halstead, the co-founders of Tippet Rise Art Centre, suggested that we should document his last remaining works in a beautiful way. They asked if I would be interested in working on a book of his work, and of course, I was very interested. I was eager to see more of his sculptures in diverse landscapes and different lighting conditions.
Translating sculpture into photography: Patrick’s work is highly physical, immersive, and site-specific. What were the main challenges you faced in capturing the texture, scale, and spirit of his sculptures through a two-dimensional medium?
The works are so incredibly detailed, and the more you explore, the more mysterious they actually become. Initially, I would arrive at a sculpture site and not know where to begin, feeling overwhelmed by the scale and the complexity. Over time, I learned to approach each project very slowly, knowing that I would need to encounter it many times. There would be a moment you only barely caught out of the corner of your eye that would force you to turn back and start again, look again. I wanted to capture much more than just the basic designs of his work; I wanted to convey the way his work made me feel. I wanted to capture the sound of the sticks breaking as he worked to form them together.
Working with ephemeral art: Dougherty’s installations are intentionally temporary. How did the fleeting nature of these works influence your photographic approach and your mindset as a documentarian?
I love that his work is so ephemeral, but I sometimes struggle with this concept in my own practice. I often find it challenging to invest everything I have into a project — to suffer for it, to love it, to dream about it, to obsess over it — and then to let it go. This struggle feels like it could be an inherent part of the creative process. At some point, you do have to stop making more images, then later, you have to stop editing, and eventually, you have to accept that the work is done and will become something totally new and of itself. This ephemeral aspect of his work also had some practical constraints, as with my visit to the United States Botanical Gardens to photograph Oh Say Can you See, they were scheduled to dismantle his sculpture the following day. There was more than the normal eagerness to see the film developed on that one!
Black-and-white as a visual language: The decision to present the photographs in black-and-white adds a timeless, almost mythic quality to the sculptures. What was behind this stylistic choice, and how do you think it changes the viewer’s perception?
Thank you. I'm glad to hear that the images conveyed that feeling. We hoped that using black and white film would emphasise the movement and flow of the sticks in all of his work. It was very important to us to unite each of his sculptures, regardless of their backgrounds; to not focus on any single sculpture but to highlight Patrick's incredible body of work as a whole. I think the black and white proved effective on that count.
Light, shadow, and structure: Natural light plays a key role in your images, especially in how it interacts with the intricate layers of twigs and branches. How did you work with light and time of day to bring out the character of each sculpture?
Light is everything. The way it interacts and changes each sculpture is truly incredible. I find myself particularly drawn to softer, gentler light, and this type of lighting seemed to work especially well with Patrick's intricate and layered sculptures. They can be very complex visually, so I often chose to visit locations when there would be a good chance of clouds or rain and then wait for the perfect shadow to pass. For me, this kind of light makes the form of the sculptures much clearer. It allows me to see and understand them better.
Was there ever a time when the environment completely transformed the way you saw the piece, or revealed something you hadn’t noticed before?
Every time! The works were constantly being transformed by the surrounding environment. One project in Florida I photographed right after a big hurricane had caused significant damage. Much of the sculpture was cracking and becoming brittle due to the salt water. There was beauty in those cracks,and this caused me to look much closer. At Alnoba in New Hampshire, hurricane-force rains (again!) and the actual darkness of the forest where Wildwood was built -- underneath huge birch trees -- created a unique environment and required very long exposures. This experience forced me to explore new ways of working and reckoning with what was even possible to capture. The natural environment of Tippet Rise Art Center is truly incredible; the landscape around Daydreams/Cursive Takes a Holiday is constantly changing. The way light interacts with the work transforms from the deep snow of February to the greening of spring to the tall, dry grasses of August. It's an amazing, ever-changing journey.
Capturing movement in stillness: Though static, Dougherty’s sculptures often appear as if caught mid-movement, leaning, twisting, swaying. How did you go about translating this sense of gesture and energy into your compositions?
I view his works as very dynamic, the flow of sticks and the remnants of the incredible amount of energy he and his team put into each section. By spending as much time as possible with each sculpture, I was able to follow this energy and immerse myself more deeply in the artwork. The moments where the sculptures connected with the sky or the ground felt particularly fluid to me, and I dedicated a lot of time to trying to capture that. I wanted to understand how they moved into and out of the landscape and the surrounding world. Later, he shared with me how crucial these earth and sky sections were to him and how he often spent the most time working on them.
How did your understanding of that energy change the more time you spent with each piece?
This feels much harder for me to explain. I felt it as a sort of growing closeness, of getting to know the work and being able to connect deeply to the underlying energy of the work, and then using this heightened sense to guide me as I explored with my camera.
Working at Tippet Rise and beyond: Two of the works in the book were photographed at Tippet Rise Art Center. What made this location special to photograph, and how did the setting influence your imagery compared to the other sites?
A significant part of my photographic practice involves returning to the same location(s) over many days, through various seasons, and, if possible, over several years. This allows me to explore in depth and witness the endless changes that occur. Tippet Rise is an incredible place, and I feel very fortunate to be able to visit it so often as part of my long-term artist residency there. Having two of Patrick's works located there has also provided me with valuable learning experiences. Spending a substantial amount of time with his art and observing it under different conditions really prepared me for my travels and for documenting his other works.
Photography as preservation: Since many of Patrick’s works are no longer standing, your photographs now serve as one of the only lasting records. How do you approach the responsibility of turning temporary installations into enduring visual artefacts?
Documentation is such an important part of photography for me; it allows us to remember, to reflect, and to witness change over time. It is also a serious responsibility, and this was a constant thought as I worked on this book. I have a profound respect for Patrick's work, and I think the pressure of knowing that my images would be the last substantial record of many of these works drove me to go even further. To use all of the time and all of the light possible, to waste nothing in the process.
How do you personally hold on to the work after it’s gone, once both the sculpture and the act of photographing it are complete?
This is a great question, and it made me think for a while—thank you for that. I have so many memories tied to planning and working on this project, each filled with many layers of meaning. The images, the book, and the physical negatives all help me to recall the special feeling of being present in that exact moment. I can vividly remember seeing each work through the camera, framed by the ground glass, while listening to the surrounding sounds—the rain, the birds, the wind... or perhaps it is the joyous laughter of my son echoing through the Hopscotch as he ran and played with pure delight.
Advice for photographers documenting sculpture or site-specific art: What insights or technical advice would you offer to photographers seeking to document sculpture, particularly work that lives in and responds to the natural environment?
I believe that being open and ready for the unexpected secrets that can be revealed by the weather, the landscape, and everything else interacting with the sculpture, is important. Keep looking; there is endless and infinite change around us! Making a book is also a long and complicated process, and having a great team to work with is perhaps the most important part. I received so much love and support from my family (Caroline and Wilder), Peter and Cathy Halstead for their bold inception of this project and for entrusting me with the task, Patrick Dougherty who so generously shared his world with me, an incredible team of support at Tippet Rise Art Center (especially Amy Holmes and Pete Hinmon), and of course, David Chickey and all the unbelievably talented people at Radius Books who worked so hard to bring the images alive and onto (such beautiful) paper.
Patrick Dougherty
Patrick Dougherty is an American environmental artist renowned for his large-scale, site-specific sculptures crafted from tree saplings and branches. Born in Oklahoma in 1945 and raised in North Carolina, Dougherty earned a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 and an M.A. in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa in 1969. He later returned to UNC to study art history and sculpture, combining his carpentry skills with a deep appreciation for nature to develop his unique artistic approach.
Since his first installation, “Maple Body Wrap,” in 1982, Dougherty has created over 300 sculptures worldwide, including works in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His installations are intentionally temporary, designed to decompose naturally over time, reflecting the ephemeral nature of the materials and the environments they inhabit.
Dougherty’s work has garnered international acclaim and numerous awards, such as the 2011 Factor Prize for Southern Art, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and fellowships from the Henry Moore Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. (Website)
Tippet Rise Art Center
Tippet Rise Art Center is located in Fishtail, Montana against the backdrop of the Beartooth Mountains, roughly midway between Billings and Bozeman and just north of Yellowstone National Park. Set on a 12,500-acre working sheep and cattle ranch, Tippet Rise presents performances by internationally acclaimed musicians during its annual summer concert season, at venues indoors and out, and through virtual performances and other online events. From June through September, visitors can experience large-scale outdoor sculptures installed throughout the landscape by some of the world’s foremost artists and architects. Tippet Rise is anchored in the belief that art, music, architecture, and nature are intrinsic to the human experience, each making the others more powerful. (Website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube)
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