Artwork copyright Barry Gunderson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Artwork copyright Barry Gunderson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Artwork copyright Barry Gunderson. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Parapodia, 1984

Barry Gunderson
(American, born 1945)

Location: Jemtegaard Middle School and Columbia River Gorge Elementary, Washougal

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Parapodia is a whimsical sculpture created by artist Barry Gunderson for Jemtegaard Middle School in Washougal, on the Columbia River, in Southwestern Washington. He based elements and patterns in this "fantasy critter" on his collection of photos of fish, plants, insects, and artifacts. The title refers to types of appendages found in worms and sea creatures. He notes, "My art of the last couple of years has been an extension of a childhood delight of lying on the grass with one eye at ground level, there waiting for some fantastic creature to emerge out of this grass jungle. As an adult, I enjoy doing this with my children. As an artist I enjoy imagining what these creatures might be if I lived somewhere else, then making them as imaginatively as I can."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washougal School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Barry Gunderson is an Ohio-based artist and professor. He has taught sculpture at Kenyon College since 1974. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis in 1967. He pursued graduate work at the University of North Dakota before serving in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture and Painting from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1973.