Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Jake Beckman

Much of the debris left in Irene’s wake was loaded into Dumpsters and hauled away. In Poultney, it has become a work of art. Sculptor Jake Beckman, in residence at Green Mountain College last fall, worked with student volunteers to collect lumber from the banks of the Poultney River, with which they built the façade of a large, wooden boat — 30 feet across and six feet high — in the campus’ flood-buffer zone. From the front, it looks like a battered but resilient ark run aground. Step around to the back, however, and it’s clear the structure offers false security. Catch the boat, as well as an exhibit of Beckman’s recent work in the Feick Arts Center, at Green Mountain College through January 20. Pictured: the boat project.