MAC brings Arty to the town party

Murphy – The First Friday Art Walk event last week offered a bit of icing to the cake with the unveiling of a 10-foot-tall, 700-pound, chainsaw-carved Bigfoot.
    Commissioned by the Valley River Arts Guild, “Arty MacMurphy” was uncovered at the Murphy Art Center with much anticipation. Cameras were poised and ready to capture the first viewing moments of the mythical creature, which was given to the MAC by a private donor and placed on private property without a penny of taxpayer’s money.
    Cherokee Scout Publisher David Brown announced the unveiling of the friendly Harry and the Hendersons-style Bigfoot. Founding member Steve Riedel and Dave Vanderlaan, along with Donna and Todd Duval, had the privilege of uncovering the large wooden creation, which towered over the humans, just before rain started falling.
    Arty MacMurphy was painstakingly carved by Chris Gagnon, who spent months creating the largest Bigfoot in western North Carolina. The carving was done at Gagnon’s local studio, The Bear Factory.
    Gagnon’s challenges in creating the chainsaw carving included finding a piece of wood big enough to be Bigfoot. He used white pine for the sculpture.
    Gagnon, who is entirely self-taught, has been chainsaw carving for almost nine years, three of those being his full-time job. He said the annual “Dueling Chainsaw Artists” event in downtown Murphy every September is his busiest; mark your calendars for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5-6, at The MAC.
    Arty took some muscle to get transported and placed at the MAC. His new home is in the corner garden area of the building, for all to see from all directions downtown.
    The “Party With Arty” event Friday brought out lots of people to enjoy good art, food, drinks and music.
    “Murphy is about the arts. It’s about introducing the artists and giving them exposure,” Art Walk Director Donna Duval said.
    The sculpture is dedicated in honor of Vera Reante.
    “Chris Gagnon is the best carver in this area and way beyond this area. All the carvers think he’s the best if you interview them. We are happy, and we just want people to have fun with it,” said Debra Vanderlaan, a community board member at The MAC.
    The large blow-up Frankenstein that is usually seen around the holidays may need to be relocated, as Arty is here to stay. Bigfoot today is a little less elusive, as he is firmly bolted to the concrete.  
    Details: The Murphy Art Center is at 12 Peachtree St. downtown. Visit ValleyRiverArts.com and thebearfactorychainsawcarving.com.