Hannah Dobek stands motionless as people hurry past, many not even noticing her, until someone—maybe a small child—finally stops to take a closer look at the statue that looks remarkably real.
Gracefully poised, Dobek connects with strangers in a way that she feels our quick-paced, over-stimulated lifestyles do not always allow. The mystery and unusualness of her living sculpture art allow people to stop for a minute, step out of their heads and have a real connection with her, even though at first glance she appears to be a permanent fixture.
Dobek’s self-taught live statue performances have been receiving much attention in Newport, where she lives with her two children, 8-year-old Ivy and 6-year-old Johnny. In October, the 35-year-old artist—who goes by the performing moniker “Highway Hannah”—awed attendees of the Little Buffalo Festival, leaving many people wondering what exactly they were looking at. Oftentimes, people do not realize Dobek is a statue until she breaks character to shift her position or perform a friendly gesture upon receiving a tip.
“People’s reactions are the best part,” she explains. “Everyone reacts differently. Some people will be three-quarters of the way past me until they realize I’m a statue. Connecting with strangers in that way is very interesting. It throws people a curve ball, and they usually really like it. It draws people in where they would normally stay away. I especially like connecting with kids because that is a memory they will always have. And you never know who will become inspired to be an artist.”
Dobek entered the statue performance world in 2011, after a friend asked her to take part in the Harrisburg Millennium Music Conference as a living statue. Although she had never performed as a statue, she had been struck by the art form when she was in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
“It was the most amazing thing to see people as artwork while other people were walking around,” she reflects.
She loved the thought of interacting with people in this way and immediately got to work researching techniques online. After that initial gig as a steam punk angel statue, she began perfecting her craft, picking up performances at other events. Highway Hannah has appeared at a wedding, Newport’s Canal Day and a Perry County Council of the Arts’ (PCCA) anniversary party. She also performs at concerts for the Lancaster-based progressive rock band Hiding Scarlet.
Standing still as a statue for a long event is no easy feat, and Dobek seemingly pulls it off with minimal effort. In reality, she puts a good amount of work into a successful performance. To prepare, she spends time clearing her mind, meditating and listening to Philip Glass compositions. She gets into character by entering a somewhat hypnotic state, through steady concentration and Zen meditation.
“At first, it was a little frightening, but I learned how I can relax. I sort of enter a state of hypnosis, where I try not to notice people. A lot of it has to do with being able to relax and elevate your focus to what is going on above everything else. It’s a serious discipline,” she explains.
While life’s social niceties and expectations can create anxiety, Dobek finds sculpture performance to be liberating. “You don’t have to greet people if you don’t want to. You have much more of a say, and your interactions are on your terms,” she says. “I feel that it can be difficult to connect with people, because of social anxieties. It’s probably kind of the same as other performers. People who are extroverted or comfortable on stage can be shy in real life.”
As a one-woman show, Dobek plans every aspect of her performances, first by creating an artistic vision. She finds an arsenal of inspiration through old folk tales and children’s illustrations, Art Nouveau and painters like Salvadore Dali and Rene Magritte.
“I also draw a lot of inspiration from what Björk does,” explains Dobek, referring to the Icelandic musician and performer. “Her husband does a lot of productions in which he uses a lot of white or lack of color. I went through a black stage, or black and red, but I’ve found a lot of space/spiritualness in white, which can also be creepy in its own way.”
Dobek also serves as her own personal costume designer. At last month’s Little Buffalo Festival, Dobek showcased her Four Queens: four different characters wearing white head to toe, interpreting the four seasons. “I am really into symbolism,” she says. “The four seasons are like the seasons of life.”
For each queen, Dobek handcrafted headpieces by adorning crowns with natural materials like branches and leaves, odds and ends from thrift and junk shops, spray paint and glitter.
Also a mixed media and collage artist, Dobek has made a habit of collecting odd items that pique her curiosity, finding these art material treasures at thrift stores, junk shops and even in the trash. Some of her favorite items, like puzzle pieces and dolls, add symbolic emphasis to her surrealist artwork, which was on display last month at Metropolis Collective’s all-woman “Whimsy” exhibition. Even though it may seem daunting to stand still in front of people, Dobek says that she feels much more vulnerable through her other artwork.
“[My sculptures] have become pretty easy, because it’s not really me [performing], it’s an alter ego,” she explains. “My visual art is much more personal.”
Dobek has received a lot of attention recently. She has made her rounds as various statue characters at local gigs. She was named the PCCA’s 2012 Breakout Artist of the Year, an honor that was created specifically for her. A handful of local newspapers have featured stories on Dobek’s live sculpture work. And, most recently, she landed a job at Metropolis Collective in Mechanicsburg after previously working at Espresso Yourself Cafe, where she had become a favorite barista with Newport locals. Positive things are happening for Dobek—and quickly.
“[The attention] makes me want to hole up in my apartment,” she laughs. “It makes me more nervous than fulfilled, but that goes along with it.”
For Dobek, her art embodies imagination and enchantment that we don’t often experience in our daily lives. It’s important to her that people enjoy the whimsy in her sculpture work, which she then senses.
“There’s a wonderment missing from our world. To see someone doing something weird or unconventional gives people a sense of hope. Being fun and whimsical in general is important to get through life,” she explains. “If people are inspired at all in any way to feel something through my art, that is a big deal.”
