Holy cow! CowParade comes to Old Sturbridge Village
'It's a summer of cows,' said Jim Donahue, president and CEO of Old Sturbridge Village, in an interview with The Republican.
The sculptures — more than two dozen in total — are on display as part of CowParade, an internationally renowned public art experience that has previously been on display as far away as London, Tokyo and Istanbul.
'It's an opportunity for us to display public art from the region,' Donahue said. 'We reinterpret New England history from the early 1800s, and we're excited to be able to bring some 21st century artists to the Village.'
CowParade originated out of a workshop in West Hartford, Connecticut more than 20 years ago — its inaugural event was staged in Chicago in 1999. Since that time, more than 250 million people across six continents and 32 countries have seen CowParade, according to its website.
In March, more than 130 artists from New England submitted 261 one-of-a-kind cow designs for consideration in CowParade. The cows chosen to go 'on parade' at Old Sturbridge Village aren't all necessarily designed by professional artists, but all the artists do come from New England.
'These are folks who might have had other jobs. These are folks who weren't necessarily always professional artists. I think the opportunity for us has been to have community members — some who are professional artists, some are not — come up with these really interesting designs,' Donahue said.
Some of the cow sculptures are inspired by the Village, Donahue explained. Jenessa Burks, a mural artist from Worcester, took patterns from the Village's wallpaper collection and reproduced them onto her cow, 'Small House, Big Hooves.' Employees of Sturbridge Town Hall designed another cow, 'Mootilda,' that documents the history of Sturbridge.
Peter O. Zierlein, of Northampton, an art professor at Springfield Technical Community College, is bringing his design, 'Holy Cow,' to the parade.
'I named it 'Holy Cow' because at first, I was going to have the colors on the cow reversed,' Zierlein said. 'I was going to have the flames be black and the top of the cow be gold to symbolize a biblical story about a golden calf.'
While the organizers liked his design, they asked if he'd be willing to swap the colors — making the cow black and the flames gold.
'All around Sturbridge Village, there's fire. Every hearth has fire in it, and the blacksmith shop, so I thought that it would be a good thing,' he said. 'So now the 'Holy Cow' is for the fire that is all around Old Sturbridge Village.'
Zierlein worked on his cow in a studio at STCC, where he was able to get his students involved with the process. 'I made an event out of it where students could learn how to score public art projects,' he said. 'The cow was a nice prop in the studio there, and they could see every day how progress grows.'
'Holy Cow' is now on display near the blacksmith's shop, where it will remain for the entirety of the exhibition.
'We've tried to position each cow in the right location based on the design that the artist chose,' Donahue said. 'And our costumed historians are going to be able to connect for folks why that cow is in that location and what its connection is to the village.'
Cows have long played an important role in New England. Back in 1855, more than 148,000 dairy cows called Massachusetts home, according Old Sturbridge Village.
Today, Massachusetts dairy farms maintain 113,600 acres of land in the state and produces 200 million pounds of milk annually, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
Old Sturbridge Village, which aims to educate guests about life in New England in the 1800s, is home to several heritage breeds of cows and oxen. The CowParade event will provide an additional opportunity for guests to learn more about the role cattle played in early 19th century New England.
'We tell the story of that period in New England history when we were transitioning from an agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy,' Donahue said. 'The farm program is a centerpiece of the museum, and cows in particular were integral to life in the 1830s.'
Old Sturbridge Village will invite guests to 'churn back time' this summer on July 19 and 20 for Dairy Discovery Days. There, guests can learn about some of the historical significance behind cattle — including cheese-making and milking demonstrations. Dairy Days will also offer guests the opportunity to visit heritage breed cattle and their calves up close in the barn, and chat with costumed artisans about some of the tools necessary for dairying, like buckets and milk pans.
Dairy Discovery Days is included with standard daytime admission or Village membership.
CowParade will wind down in September before officially ending on Sept. 28. As the exhibit nears its end, the cows on display will be put up for auction, with proceeds to benefit Old Sturbridge Village and its educational programming.
'Since the cows started to arrive and some of the designs have gone up, there are people saying, 'I want that cow.' And it's funny that the designs speak to people,' Donahue said.
Donahue has already been asked several times if he has a favorite cow, and the answer, he said, is complicated. 'These cows are so unique from one another that it's hard for me to pick one favorite cow because each of them has characteristics and a flavor and a design that is just so cool,' he said.
CowParade is included with standard daytime admission or OSV membership. One-day tickets start at $30 for adults, $28 for seniors 55 and older, $15 for ages 4 to 17 and college students with valid ID, and free for children 3 and under. While tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of your visit, online ticket purchases receive a $3 discount per person.
Old Sturbridge Village is open Wednesday through Sunday, plus Labor Day, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the most up-to-date information, visit the Village's website, email visitorcenter@osv.org, or call 508-347-0290.
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