Sky Hook, Wayne Vaughn
Downtown Cleveland, Mississippi
With a venerable career in construction preceding his foray into welding and public art installations, Wayne Vaughn knows what it takes to work ”big” both in form and space. “It’s a very pleasing scale to me; I like to work big,” Vaughn admits. “I have the equipment and I know how to do it, so it’s the right decision for me.” His construction background also provides muse for Vaughn’s latest installation in Mississippi. “It’s a classic joke to all the new guys on a construction site, ‘Hey Newbie, go get me the sky hooks.’ The joke being there is no such thing, but sometimes when you just can’t reach something or get to something comfortably, you sure wish there was such a thing,” Vaughn laughs. “It’s a fun piece, whimsical. I’m pleased with how it turned out.”
FERMATA, WAYNE VAUGHN
The GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi
As defined in its musical context, a fermata is a pause of unspecified length on a note or rest. As defined by the sculpture of the same name, Wayne Vaughn explains, “My sister passed away while I was working on this piece and it ended up taking on a whole new meaning and significance. Just like in a musical composition, you have pauses in life, and in this case, it was a death in our family we had to overcome. We paused and grieved, and then we moved on; and in the business of getting on, this piece was created.” A classically trained musician and founding member of the over 30-year-old Triangle Brass Band, Vaughn is thrilled to have a piece of his work placed at the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi, even joking, “I text all my music buddies and told them I made it at the GRAMMY® Museum before they did.”
