Artist puts faith in her sculptures

Creating life-sized sculptures of horses out of Hudson River driftwood is a form of prayer for artist Rita Dee.

"My faith is a motivating factor in my art," she said. "It's the reason I do it. I think of it as an act of prayer."

Her sculpture, "True Patriot," is part of "Horsing Around," a new exhibition at the Albany Institute of History and Art. It opens Feb. 1 with a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Equine art

Mrs. Dee describes her sculpture as a walk through history. It features the Pledge of Allegiance written in calligraphy as well as passages from the Constitution and pictures that depict events in American history.

Until recent times, she said, American society had God at its center, and she pointed out that the idea of separation of church and state is a Christian idea. Early Americans wanted a country where people could be free to practice the religion of their choice, not one imposed by the government.

"I remember my third-grade teacher, Sister Henry, said that what made Americans different from the Communists was that we had God as our head, not the state," Mrs. Dee said. Those words stuck with her and are reflected in her art.

Deca-log

One of Mrs. Dee's sculptures, "Atticus," brought her national attention in 2005. It features the Ten Commandments in calligraphy on the driftwood.

The title refers to Atticus Finch, the lawyer in Harper Lee's novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." The Ten Commandments are a part of the piece since many of our country's laws are based on them, she said.

The artwork, part of the city of Kingston's Sculpture Biennial, was placed on the grounds of the Ulster County courthouse, but city officials objected because of the Decalogue. A public debate garnered national attention.

Church and state

The city viewed the sculpture as a violation of separation of church and state, and asked Mrs. Dee to move it. She responded that the issue wasn't separation of church and state but freedom of speech.

"I'm a private individual on public property," she said. "I'm protected by the Constitution."

In the end, she moved "Atticus" because the curator of the exhibition asked her to. It was moved across the street to the grounds of the Old Dutch Church. The sculpture stood on grounds where soldiers who had fought for America's independence are buried.

Faith and art

The controversy served as Mrs. Dee's outing to the arts community as a Christian. Although she never hid the fact that she was a Catholic, and people knew that her husband Tom was president and CEO of the Catholic Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, the fight over the sculpture showed people how passionate she can be about her faith.

On the same night that "True Patriot" makes its debut at the Albany Institute of History and Art, Mrs. Dee will be inducted into the Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons Hall of Fame in Schenectady. Mrs. Dee graduated from the former Notre Dame High in 1974.

When she was a student there, she never pictured herself as a full-time artist.

"I thought I'd be a veterinarian," she said. "Notre Dame gave me a love for art and the desire to seek a career that I love to do."

("Horsing Around" at the Albany Institute of History and Art runs through May 25.)

(01/31/08) [[In-content Ad]]