STRENGTH OF THE OIL FIELD MONUMENT

The Western Heritage Museum, seeking to educate and inform about the role of oil exploration and industry in the west, contacted Tracy to execute a life-size sculpture of oil field work for the entry of the museum.  Working closely with the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas, Tracy chose to sculpt an image common to the oil industry—two roughnecks working on the derrick floor.  Choosing to sculpt the men and tools from around the 1960’s, with the advent of new methods and materials, Tracy captured the essence of traditional oil field work with a nod to the industry’s past as well as a look to the future of oil work in the west.