Tag: sculpture

Charles Simonds

Charles Simonds: Sculpture with Clay

Charles Simonds majored in art at the University of California at Berkeley and after graduation, taught college art in New Jersey. There he discovered an area of clay pits that had once provided the raw material for some of Manhattan’s older buildings. He literally immersed himself in the subject, burying himself naked in a pool of wet clay to get a feel for the material. Back in New York, where he still lives, he experimented with clay and sand, learning to capture the look of the American Southwest or an African savanna.

Simonds’s sculptures are mostly enchanting miniature architecture and landscapes with small chambers and towers; some are abstract organic shapes, bulbous or phallic in form. Indoors, his sculptures are protected from immediate destruction, but permanence is not what his work is about.

The enduring value of his work – the art of it – comes across in the stories he tells and in the stories others tell about him. Like Robert Smithson, a friend and artist he respected, he embraces entropy. He builds his objects (at least his early work) for destruction, and he takes no measures to insure their survival. He said in the 1980s, “Their effect is enhanced by their destruction and disappearance.”

Mike Fudge

Mike Fudge, “Kuba Dunny”, Dark Version, New Release by KidRobot

“I think of Kuba as a sculpted figure created by a member of this imaginary tribe”, says Fudge of his totemically styled Dunnydecoration. Noting that the piece’s title “comes from the human-like bear characters I often name Kub”, Fudge explains that the “story of Kuba relays that the figure has been uncovered in ancient sites all over the world, suggesting there is a connection and contact [between these cultures] that we knew nothing of previously”. And if “all these cultures had previous contact amongst each other”, the artist ponders of his piece’s fictional backstory, “then maybe there is something we have yet to find out about their ability to communicate or travel”.

As a potential answer to his own hypothetical question, Fudge muses that maybe “it was Kuba who allowed these ancients to transcend the laws of the universe and spread what seemed like impossible knowledge to every corner of the earth”. But the powers accredited to Kuba don’t end there, according to its creator. The “dark version of Kuba“, which is limited to 1300 pieces worldwide, “can bring upon its owner the ability to see into the future and peer into the past”, says the artist.

https://www.kidrobot.com/collections

Tribal Ritual Eshu

Tribal Ritual Eshu, Date Unknown, Wood and Seeds, Yoruba Tribe, Nigeria

An Orisha is a spirit who reflects one of the subordinate manifestations of the supreme deity. The Orisha are said to have previously existed in the spirit world or as human beings, recognized as deities upon their deaths due to extraordinary feats on Earth.

Eshu partially serves as an alternate name for Eleggua, the messenger for all Orishas. There are 256 paths to Eleggua—each one of which is an Eshu. It is believed that Eshu is an Orisha similar to Elugga, but there are only 101 paths to Eshu according to ocha, rather than the 256 paths to Eleggua according to Ifá. Eshu is known as the “Father who gave birth to Ogboni”, and is also thought to be agile and always willing to rise to a challenge.

David Nash

David Nash, “Ash Dome”, 1977, Circle of Ash Trees, Wales

In 1977, sculptor David Nash cleared an area of land near his home in Wales where he trained a circle of 22 ash trees to grow in a vortex-like shape for an artwork titled “Ash Dome”. Over 40 years later, the trees still grow today. The artist has long worked with wood and natural elements in his art practice, often incorporating live trees or even animals into pieces. The exact site of “Ash Dome” in the Snowdonia region of northwest Wales is a closely guarded secret,

“When I first planted the ring of trees for Ash Dome, the Cold War was still a threat. There was serious economic gloom, very high unemployment in our country, and nuclear war was a real possibility… To make a gesture by planting something for the 21st century, which was what Ash Dome was about, was a long-term commitment, an act of faith.“ – David Nash, 2001

The Glass Insulator

Blue Colored Hemingray CD257 “Mickey Mouse Ears” Glass Insulator

The Hemingray Glass Company operated between 1848-1972 and was the largest manufacturer of glass insulators in the world. This five inch high cable-style insulator by Hemingray was produced from 1910 to 1940. It was used in secondary power distribution and had a voltage rating of  6,600 volts. They were produced in two versions: a regular saddle groove (as shown) and a wide saddle groove for heavier gauge wire. It was patented on June 17, 1890.

Sigrid Fridman

Sigrid Fridman, “Kentauren”, 1930, Bronze,  Observatorielunden, Stockholm

Considered one of her most famous works, “Kentauren” by Sigrid Fridman was placed on a hill in 1939 at the northeast corner of the observatory. It depicts the centaur Keiron, son of Chronos, tightening his bow.

In 1927, Fridman created a sculpture of Fredrika Bremer, the Swedish writer and feminist reformer.  This sculpture caused controversy about whether a woman should be engaged as a serious sculptor. When Fridman proposed her Centaur statue in 1928, his debate continued, with many male colleagues taking the position that women should only sculpt children’s portraits or small pieces that depicted femininity.

Completed in 1939, angry controversy surrounded the bronze centaur as well, with many complaining that the figure was not culturally sensitive as centaurs were not part of the national folklore. However, Sigrid Fridman continued her work; her sculptures are in many public spaces in Sweden. Her last work, “The Dripping Tree” was installed in 1963 near the city library of Odengatan the year after her death at the age of eighty four.

Art Deco Radio

Addison 2 “Waterfall” Catalin Art Deco Radio, 1940, Dark Green and Butterscotch

The Addison 2 was made circa 1940 by Addison Industries Limited in Canada. It had an Art Deco unique styling and bold use of color; in this model it featured a marbleized dark green-black case and butterscotch trim.  This streamlined radio design featured the famous “waterfall” speaker grill trim and surround “bumpers” at the base with speed-lines.  A fairly small radio for the period, it measures 10.25 inches x 6 inches high x 5 inches deep.

Marshall Fredericks

Marshall Fredericks, “Fountain of Eternal Life (Cleveland War Memorial)”, 1964, Bronze, 10.5 meters, Civic Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Marshall Fredericks, born of Scandinavian descent, settled in Cleveland, Ohio, with his family early in life. He graduated fromthe Cleveland School of art in 1930 and journeyed abroad on a fellowship to study with Swedish sculptor Carl Miller. After World War II, he worked continuously on his numerous commissions for fountains, memorials, free-standing sculptures, reliefs, and portraits in bronze and other materials. Fredericks worked on this monument for a period of nineteen years.

The fountain is composed of a large granite basin in which water will continually move and spray. Centered within is the 10 ½ foot sculptured bronze sphere representing the Universe as man has imagined it. Its design contains symbols of Eternal Life and Spirit derived from ancient myths. Set in the basin rim are polished bronze plaques containing the names of over five thousand men and women who gave their lives for their country. Carved in the basin is the biblical  inscription from Psalm 36:9, “For with Thee is the Fountain of Life; In Thy Light shall we see light.”

Four monolithic Norwegian emerald pearl granite carvings, each 4 by 12 feet and weighing approximately ten tons each, are set at four points and depict the four corners of the earth from which come the major religions. The monumental bronze central figure, cast in Norway, towers 43 feet above the basin. This figure expresses the main theme of the Fountain, namely, the spirit of mankind rising out of the encircling flames of war, pestilence, and the destructive elements of life, reaching and ascending to a new understanding of life.

The monument was commissioned in 1945 at the end of World War II. The Cleveland Press promoted the project, raising $250,000 in donations from private citizens and various organizations. The groundbreaking at the site of the Civic Center Mall in Cleveland, Ohio, occurred in 1955. The initial dedication was on Memorial Day of 1964. The monument had two more rededications in 2004 and 2014, at which time additinal names of fallen soldiers were added.

Source: marshallfredericks-blog-blog

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

Twisted Bamboo Sculptures by Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV earned a degree in sculpture from Tokyo University of the Arts and trained in bamboo crafts at a school in Beppu on the island of Kyushu, Japan.

Chikuunsai IV produces twisting installations of woven bamboo that meld into their environment’s floor and ceiling. To bend the durable material he first moistens each piece to achieve the perfect curve, and often recycles the same pieces of bamboo for future installations. In 2017 the artist constructed a site-specific piece titled “The Gate” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work used tiger bamboo that had been used ten times, including in a piece shown at the Guimet Mueseum in Paris.

“Technique and skill and spirit are important, My parents taught me that this spirit is more important than technique. Using bamboo, I try to keep the spirit and tradition in my heart as I create new work.” -Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

The Wood Dragon

Chinese Carved and Painted Wooden Dragon, 1880, Wood, 11 x 34 x 13 Inches

This Chinese sea dragon is from the late 19th century, most likely being a temple carving for above a doorway. It portrays an undulating movement in its form, with the head turned back to the scaled, serpentine body. The mouth is open in a smile and the eyes are large with eyelashes. It is painted in strong reds and greens with gilt highlights.

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen, “Jason and the Golden Fleece”, 1828, Marble, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bertel Thorvaldsen created a life-size clay version of this statue in 1803 for the Copenhagen Academy to demonstrate his progress at sculpture. It is considered to be his first great work. This marble version of “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was commissioned by Thomas Hope, a wealthy English art patron. The marble statue, at a height of ninety five inches, was completed in 1828.

Expressing both physical and mental calm, Jason is the prototype of the classical hero. The sculpture is fully balanced: no matter where your eyes fall, you can find a corresponding element. For example, the lance is reflected in the chest strap, the fleece in tree stump. and the curled tip of the helmet in the horns of the ram.

In 1917, Thomas Hope’s  heirs dispersed the holding of his estate at Deepdene, Surrey. “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was acquired by Copenhagen’s Thorvaldsen Museum at the auction.