News of the Arroyo


Title:

`Arroyo Horse' back on its feet

Subtitle:

Date:

2009-03-16

Summary:

March 16, 2009 - A wonderful unique sculpture of a horse that has graced the Arroyo for at least eight years has been rehabilitated by the artist Alix Reeves.

Author:

By Sharon Hardwick, Correspondent

Publication:

Pasadena Star-News

Content:

A before photo of the Pasadena \"Arroyo Horse.\" The sculpture was anonymously created and has been a fixture for at least ten years in the Arroyo Seco. (Courtesy Photo)



PASADENA - No one remembers who originally built it or when, but a life-size equine sculpture made of bark and branches and known locally as the \"Arroyo Horse\" had withered against a tree in the Arroyo Seco for years.

Tucked away in a clearing just south of the La Loma bridge, the deteriorating sculpture caught the attention of Pasadena resident and sculpture artist Alix Reeves, who decided this mare needed some tender loving care.

\"The `Arroyo Horse\' - that\'s just my name for it,\" said Reeves. \"It\'s just a horse someone made out of branches, left out there for people to enjoy. You could hardly tell it was a horse anymore, though.\"

Reeves regretted not restoring it before she left for Milwaukee a few years ago. Now back in Pasadena, she decided it was time.

\"I thought, `Here I am, it\'s too apropos.\' I thought, `I\'ll fix it, because nobody else will.\"\'

With her neighbors, San Marino League volunteers Cindy Dupon and Ann Allen, the three spent an afternoon in February getting the horse back on its feet. Literally.

\"It was sad that she was laying up against the tree there,\" said Allen. \"But it\'s kind of this public art. It\'s unexpected that something like that would be in that location. We just decided to go and do it one afternoon. Alix brought her wire and we just cleaned her up - she\'s female of course - and added just a couple of things to fill her out.\"

The horse sculpture, which has graced this part of the Arroyo path since at least 2000, said Reeves, has become an integral part of the Arroyo experience. Both Dupon and Allen recall Christmases when they found the horse bedecked in berries and wreaths.



An after photo of the Pasadena \"Arroyo Horse\", which was recently restored by a local artist and friends. They were sad that the horse was falling apart and recently embarked on an adventure to restore it. (Courtesy Photo)



\"It\'s like a real person,\" said Dupon. \"People pass and they want to make this a special thing, so they give it a little more. I just think it makes people happy. Plus, there are stables at the end; it\'s kind of a fitting thing.\"

Yet no one has ever come forward claiming to be the
An after photo of the Pasadena \"Arroyo Horse\", which was recently restored by a local artist and friends. They were sad that the horse was falling apart and recently embarked on an adventure to restore it. (Courtesy Photo)
horse\'s creator. Reeves felt it resembled the work of sculptor Deborah Butterfield. But an inquiry into the horse\'s authorship has led nowhere.

But perhaps that\'s the point. Sometimes art is neither about the artist nor the work itself. It\'s about people\'s reactions to it.

\"We just don\'t know whether the person would want us to restore it or let it go,\" said Dupon. \"But because it brings so much joy to people, hopefully, whomever made it would be happy that it was restored.\"


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