Townships within Wyoming County are the most prolific regions for milk and maple production in New York State. It would be a challenge to drive down a road in these towns and not see a herd of iconic black-and-white cows, sprawling milking parlors, sap buckets tapped in maple trees along with telltale light blue sap lines weaving down the hillsides. Capturing those components as a rural snapshot was J. Brian Pfeiffer’s inspiration for this project: a full-size concrete sculpture of a Holstein cow and a chicken, standing next to a tapped maple tree. The six-ton installation found its home at Merle’s Maple Farm, six generational maple producers in the Town of Attica, believed to be where Holsteins were introduced to New York. The local community helped build the sculpture and the project received the enthusiastic blessing of DJ Barry, founder of the World Cow Project, to use his world design on the cow sculpture.
J. Brian Pfeiffer is a sculptor, creating small and multi-ton figuratively abstract pieces in concrete and stone; using minimalistic features to capture an emotion or a moment of contemplation.
Photo credits: The photos of Brian sanding, on a ladder behind the cow, painting the cow, and his biography portrait are by Jill Borland.
Return to 2023 AWARDEES page
New York State Rural & Traditional Arts Fellowship 