Olson, Jessica - Sculpture II: Presentations of Artists

Artist Presentation

Lost Kelpie · Artist presentation

 Modern: David Smith

For my modernist artist I chose David Smith, and his work I was most focused on is figure 314, the one on the right in the first image. It was made in 1953, which was the year Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, the USA developed the hydrogen bomb and got their 34^th president, Disney’s Peter Pan is released, the DNA structure was discovered, Joseph Stalin has a stroke and dies, there was the Short Creek Raid on a polygamist Mormon cult, the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement, and JBS (the global meat packing company) is founded in Brazil (this may not be monumental to most, but the packing plant back home (in Brooks) is owned by JBS, and is a major company/job-provider in town). 

In the 50s, people were still reeling from the second world war, and it was the time of cold wars, since countries were wary and suspicious of one another, but could not afford more war. Humanity had fallen into depression and disillusionment. The Art world reflected this with art that took on aggressive, non-sense forms, as they attempted to express the distorted world through fragmented representations.

My first thought when I saw this sculpture was “dream-catcher.” This impression is most likely related to the way it is presented, suspended, hanging in the air. And that it has a ring, some hanging particles, and interlocking, organic looking, strands. But it is also reminiscent of a human figure with outstretched arms.

The ring appears machined, that is, it has a smooth and consistent line, in contrast to the jagged/lumpy looking lines that make up the bits hanging off the bottom. The object is, or was, displayed outdoors at Smith’s residence, and it appears to be winter, so I imagine that it is quite cold to the touch since it is made of metal. You certainly wouldn’t want to lick it.

I’m not sure these works are important. It doesn’t seem as if they were actively displayed for the public, they look a little rough (as if little care or effort was put into making them), and the artist didn’t even bother to name them (the 2nd image I included shows the more detailed catalog entries, and it really didn't help for these ones, or apparently for the others close to them on the list). It doesn’t seem like many, or any, people cared much for the works here, and it seems to me that Smith might have been going through a mid-life crisis at the time (the 3rd image I shared is a segment from the biographical section of the book I looked at about Smith, and it includes a quote where he seems to be troubled by an anxious belief that he has done nothing with his life and is running out of time). But, while looking through the black and white photos in that particular book about David Smith, it (the dream-catcher-ish one) was the one I liked. 

Maybe I was suckered by the theory of “anything hanging in mid air is instantly more interesting,” but I wasn’t particularly intrigued by his shiny Cubis series (that is said by Wikipedia to be one of his most popular), and his paintings weren’t sculpture. Plus, his paintings, often of women, seemed violent to me; parts of the ladies appear to be stretched and twisted, or made to be seemingly part machine… they made me uncomfortable. And so did reading about Smith in general, but I chose him because He had such a bland(?) sounding name amongst the other artists that I didn't care what he or his work were really like, I had made my choice and I was going to run with it. Although I did find the story of him just walking into a metal-working shop and announcing to the owners, “I’m David Smith, I’m and Artist, I have my own tools, can I have space to work here?” to be an inspirational story. Like “they” say, you never know unless you try or ask.

Post-Modern: Tony Cragg

I chose Tony Cragg as my post-modern artist because of his work that was titled New Stones: Newton's Tones on page 233 of Sculpture Since 1945 (Andrew Causey). It is an assortment of colourful found objects arranged according to colour on the floor of the gallery space to create a smooth gradient through the rainbow. When I first saw this photo, I didn't immediately equate it to being on the floor, since I was experiencing it through a single dimension picture in a book and not in person. So, because of this distance, I, at first glance decided it was similar to one of those colourful rock-climbing walls, like the U of L has in the PE building. 

When I noticed that the "rocks" were random items, I thought about how difficult it might be to climb a wall with such small and precarious looking hand and foot holds. They do not look sturdy, and there is very little to actually grab hold of, and some things look sharp. I eventually realized that this arrangement was spread out on the floor, not mounted on the wall, which was a bit of a disappointment for me.

New Stones was created in 1978. The Vietnam war had "ended" three years prior, but then Vietnam started attacking Cambodia in 1978. There were also many serial killers running around and causing fear and pandemonium, there probably still are, but at least 3 had been stopped by unknown means, or were stopped by law enforcement (e.g., Ted Bundy and "Son of Sam" were caught). Two popes died, so it was a year of 3 popes. St. Paul, Minnesota repeals the gay rights ordinance. Someone dug up Charlie Chapman's remains and hauled-off with them. The first test-tube baby is born. The Jonestown mass-murder-suicide incident occurs. Bob Crane was murdered, which is probably why Hogan's Heroes just ended the way that it did.

Anyway, the world was still in chaos, just a new style. As a new war had traumatized a new generation and activism for various causes was on the rise, activism which sometimes acted out violently. there was also the fact that production had become cheaper, and things were being made for mass production, consumption, and disposal. Everything seemed less valuable and more disposable, maybe this was why serial killers were on the rise. If the government could throw away the lives of many soldiers, only to fail at achieving the peace they claimed was their goal, why couldn't anyone dispose of other people like they were a worn-out rag? Then again, the increase in a variety of hard drugs that were being used recreationally, or untested medicines and procedures, might have also played a factor.

But moving on, art had taken on a more blatantly activist flair to match the times, and Cragg's New Stones is a good representation of a critique of the disposable consumerism that was creating a mess of the world by deeming some things more valuable than others. As for the rainbow pattern, this was also a time when concerns for the gay and lesbian community’s access to rights and freedoms was of major political interest, so New Stones could be interpreted as a comment on how gay and lesbian individuals were being treated as disposable, or less valuable.

It was suggested that we try to relate our own work for project two to the artists we researched. This is going to be rough, because I chose my artists while we were still working on project one. And yes, I could have changed my artists, but I didn’t want to. So, I came up with the concept for my second project, and I just stuck with it stubbornly, which I feel is similar to how David Smith practiced his art, this idea of “I wanna, so I’m gonna.” That particular Dream-catcher-like piece has some rough qualities that make it seem more hand-made and comfortable, which is how I feel about my crochet thing (Yeah, I wasn’t able to get it to tent size, I crochet far too slow, and it doesn’t help that the tape can sometimes be too sticky, or too stiff, or too soft, or grossly crumbly, or will break easily. Although the variety made the process an adventure *heart emoji*). Meanwhile, I used what is essentially junk to make something that I might just keep working on and making bigger even though this particular project has ended. And Tony Cragg made use of garbage too. But I did pay for mine, Cragg retrieved his materials for New Stones by dumpster diving and gathering litter. All the same, the cassettes were no longer particularly valuable and other second-hand stores were throwing their stock away. So, it is almost similar. Almost.