Sculpture and Michelangelo's David

So much contemporary art is appropriation, i.e. theft.
Is nothing sacred? Or original?

At least these versions of Michelangelo's David makes you see the original art in a new light.

Does the concept, altering one of the world's most famous sculptures to reflect increasing obesity, count as art? Or it simply clever advertising for Deutscher Olympische, McDonalds, etc?

Your thoughts?

Sculpture and Aganetha Dyck

Humans are not the only species to make sculpture.
What about an art collaboration with another species?

Aganetha Dyck has been working with bees to combine the sculptural talents of bees and humans.


Aganetha Dyck: Guest Workers from Confederation Centre of the Arts on Vimeo.

Sculpture and the last of the garden shows this year.

Another Garden Show?

You've got to be kidding.

After all the careful planning and hard work getting ready for a big show, and the show itself,
there is the work of take down.

It's a bit like to sack of Rome.

 Everyone hurries to break down their display booths as fast as possible, load up, and go home to dinner and a hot bath! Forklifts, hand carts, people carrying stacks of boxes all going towards the same exit. Only good humor keeps it from turning into a riot.

After two weeks of back to back garden shows, I'm going to take this next week slowly.

Sculpture and Fairy Tales

It looks like a modern fairy tale, a still enchanted figure under a canopy.

But am I dreaming her into being? 

Or is she dreaming of me setting her free from the log.

After 75 years as a tree, I counted the rings, she emerges not as a young beauty, but as an old woman.

It's funny, the thoughts you think when you work outside on a beautiful day

Sculpture and Travel - Drawing Lunch Out

September was a month of travel. 

Four separate vacations jam packed into one very LONG vacation.

A wedding in New Hampshire. 

A week in New York City. 

Travels in Normandy and Brittany in France.

A week in Paris.

What does a sculptor do while away from the studio?

How well does sculpture travel?

 ....and translate into other languages?

Read along and find out!

Drawing lunch out in the Luxembourg Gardens

Sculpture and Siting Art - Saint Gaudens Studio, President Lincoln Portrait

Saint Gaudens monumental portrait of Lincoln is sited off off main courtyard.

The bust is tightly framed by a clipped hedge, that creates a tension in the space.

The tight approach feels as if you are having a private interview with President Lincoln.

(Who chose that bright blue paint for the pedestal though? Bad idea.)

The narrow space limits the number of people and creates a greater feeling of intimacy.

Sculpture and Models #4 Models and Meanings

Having to lay on the floor to best see the work is informative.
Looking at the model let me realize how many different threads are woven into this piece....

I'm laughing that the model is a Cubist interpretation of a Sacred Grove!
Who knew this would happen?

The shelter had to be both Tree and House. Not one or the other, but both equally.
The geometric bent steel sheets = house, but the cut outs are organic tree shapes.
From this low viewpoint the tree is simultaneously growing vertically while it's actually horizontal.
That's a neat trick to accomplish.

I've spent my life studying birds and trees, caring for and drawing them.

These cut out shapes are a flock of birds in flight, settling into the tree for evening.

 The little cut outs add a sense of motion, and mimic dots of light coming through leaves.

Is it odd to be obsessed with making a physical object that is all about the play of light?

Is sun light the greatest story ever told?

Within the grove is a short stout old woman. She is a portrait of Babette,  she also represents Woman in Nature. Mother Nature, or any Oracle you'd care to name.

It may be a private joke, but this modern mash up of folk art paper cutting, Cubism, CorTen steel and wood carving is all about honoring the strength of women. That goes all the way back to
the Venus figurines. It doesn't get any more archetypal than that.

Threads.......

Sculpture and Siting Art - Saint Gaudens Studio #3

This gold leafed bronze Mercury is in the cutting gardens near Saint Gaudens house.

This statue looks good year round because of that dark green hedge. The summer's flowers are in bloom, giving the siting an intimacy that disappears when the perennials die away. 

That's ok because current visitors don't linger in the garden the New Hampshire winter.

The make- do pedestal for Mercury is curious. A brick, a stone square, a concrete column.
Wonder if Saint Gaudens assembled it in a summer moment, and it's stayed that way for decades?

Sculpture and Talent

A friend recently passed her CPA boards. She told me that she had tripled her income and cut her work hours in half. I was happy for her because I knew how hard she had worked.

Assyrian relief at LA County Museum of Art

That got me thinking about Talent. 

Talent is the willingness to do whatever it takes to learn your craft. 

Talent isn't a lightning bolt gift from the gods.

Talent is the willingness to put up with the constant learning and practice of your art.

       Remember the hours you've invested the next time someone tells you, "You're so talented!"

Winged Assyrian Angel

Sculpture and Painting

The year 1642 meets 2013. In a shopping mall.
This video is funny, exciting, superbly executed and very clever.

Why does it fill me with despair?

Holland's Rijksmuseum staged this elaborate tableau vivant of Rembrandt's "Guards of the Night
in a busy shopping mall. As marketing for the museum, it demands your attention.
If Art doesn't sell, entertainment certainly does.



Is making a spectacle the only way to get an already distracted public to notice art at all?

One of my problems with this approach is the enforced mash-up of spectacle and private life.
I hate being a captive audience. I don't know about life in Holland, but here in the USA,
if I saw people with guns and spears coming towards me while shopping, I'm not shopping anymore.

I'm gone.
Too many real crazies for me to stay around to see if it's really just an advertisement.
Is art supposed to ambush you?

Looking at art depends upon your active engagement with seeing what the artist intended.
Art about the art is a hallway of mirrors, endless commentary but no dialog of you and the art.

After the excitement of this enactment, who is going to be satisfied with spending 30 minutes quietly looking at this or any other static work of art?

What do you think?

Sculpture and Taxidermy

In the Middle Ages, sculpture was an educational tool. The illiterate could see narrative Biblical stories carved into church facades. We'd like to think we've come so far from then.

We haven't. Not really.
Sculpture still tells us stories of meaning, of Eden's lost.

Photography by Michael Kirby Smith for the NYTimes

Lonesome George, the last surviving member of the Pinta Island subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, died last year.  His body is being preserved, a combination of his actual shell and castings taken from his body, so that he can go on display at the research station in the Galapagos Islands where he lived for forty years.
Giant tortoises can live to be 200 years old. Sculpture, even taxidermy, can last even longer.

Alginate casts of Lonesome George's head

The giant tortoise is a symbol for conservation of the Galapagos Islands.  "George was a reminder of what we as a species are capable of doing out of ignorance." said Johanna E. Barry the Galapagos Conservancy 's Founder and president.  Read the article in the NY Times here.

Sculpture and Promotion

When do you realize that your definition of art isn't big enough?
Administration and Promotion are required.

I decided to make a video showing the inspiration and process of creating a public art sculpture.

Artist meet your Producer, Creative Director, Writer, Storyboard Artist, Chief Financial Officer, Accountant, Wardrobe and Hair, and talent. Here's your Actor. ("Oh, god, not him again!")

I'm looking in the mirror at a full board meeting of ONE. 
Panic or Excitement?

I hired an excellent videographer who took care of the actual filming and editing.
But to make his work efficient, I had to do my job.  JOBS.

Making this video took several months. Not of actual work. That took three days.
What took so long was being able to define and perform all those different tasks.

Q: Do I like seeing myself on camera? 
A:"No. Get over it. This isn't about you, it's about your work."

That was the understanding that made the video possible, and eventually, fun.
Believing in my work allowed me and the art to grow in many ways.
Isn't that what Art is really about?

"To Grandmother's House," a new public art sculpture by Patrick Gracewood. from patrick gracewood on Vimeo.

Anyone not make the original meeting?
Fact Checker, Public Relations, and Damage Control came on board later.

When I sent the completed video to my client, they suggested several changes.
In making those changes, I made a larger error, miss-peaking the number of artists and art involved.
When you put yourself out there, it's possible to make mistakes on a much larger scale.

After all the good work, I felt so stupid.
"Get over it. This isn't about you, it's about your art. Correct it and make it work."

Re-record voice, re-re-edit the work. And call it Done with a Capital D and in writing.

Then other errors were pointed out,  like misspelling of the City of Milwaukie.
That's a big one.
This episode seemed like an endless loop of errors, large and small. Blame doesn't matter. Responsibility does. I'm responsible for this whole production.
More feeling stupid, but a faster recovery to being functional again.
"Get over it. This isn't about you, it's about your art. Correct it. Make it work."

Call my client, Apologize with a Capital A
Call my videographer, tell him the necessary changes.
Follow call immediately with email to videographer with written cut and paste correction.
(He's dyslexic, I'm half way there myself..            .....or is that apoplectic?)

Re-post re-re-re-re-edited video to Vimeo and social media sites.
I think it's finally done. Hope so.

I really want to go back to my day job: Artist carving in my studio.
Except that my definition of what it means to be an artist keeps expanding.
Isn't that what Art's about?

Sculpture and Time

There’s whatever story the sculpture is about......

But under that, there’s an intense stillness that is encoded within the object.
Obviously that stillness is made up of the physical material: wood, stone bronze.
But there is also something else....

St Francis by Patrick Gracewood ©2013

Carving sculpture is a long slow process.
I believe that all the time of its creation is contained within the finished art.

That energy can be released by a viewer willing to invest being with the art. Looking.
Being patient, looking out at the art and at the world, the sculpture can trigger thoughts or simply observations of the day: "It's begun to rain." or "Those shadows have moved."

Sculpture can be a mirror of a particular moment, as the world is constantly changing.
Its stillness can contain a great deal.

That’s why my sculpture is best in gardens.
There’s a greater chance of that engagement happening in a garden than anywhere else.

Sculpture and Office Work

Everyone wants a fresh start for a new year.
What do you actually do to start anew?

I'm giving up multi-tasking in 2013.

In fact, I want to give up tasking altogether and focus on doing one thing at a time.

When making art, I recognize that panic at the beginning. I think "hurry and make things happen." The truth is, nothing good happens until all thoughts of speed or accomplishment die away into whatever rhythm the work demands.

"When you start working
everybody is in your studio - the past, your friends, enemies,
the art world, and above all, your own ideas - all are there.
But as you continue painting, they start leaving,
one by one,
and you are left completely alone.
Then, if you are lucky, even you leave."
        John Cage

Read a good article on the perils of busy, The Busy Trap by Tim Kreider

Sculpture and Ritual

What is Art? Is it the object? Or is that an artifact?
Is Art really seeing and seeking relationships, and making them visible and meaningful to others?
Does Art = Connection?

"Shane at Sauvie's Island" by Patrick Gracewood ©2012

I feel like I've been operating in Shaman mode for the last couple of weeks since my friend's son's death. A painting seemed necessary for his memorial.

I'm not a painter, and a portrait needs to be right on. No time for excuses, just begin!
Luckily there was a 34" x 48" wooden frame and extra canvas in the studio.

Working from a blurry photo on the large portrait felt like a conjuring act, a dialog with the dead.
I'd known him from his early twenties. "Why, why, why this?" Alcohol drinks a man.

Early laying out of the painting.

Unlike clay, the paint moves over and past my drawing. Painting isn't about exactitude, it's about layering. Time was limited, so was my palette. Titanium white, paynes grey, umber, ocher, pthalo green, and sienna.

His mother came into the studio many times while I was painting. Sometimes it was too painful for her to stay, other times we'd just sit with tears and talk. One day I asked her to leave so I could concentrate.

Another day she gave valuable criticism, "His ears are too big! The hairline isn't right."
It's amazing that a blurry photo still has exactly the right information of just this person.
That was painful in a funny way as I tried to get my ego OUT of the picture and really see him.

Oh, and pay attention to brush strokes, how is the paint applied?
Painting is not easy. It just has to look that way.

The last brush strokes went on hours before people arrived. No time to get flowers, so I staged   studio plants, green and alive, around the easel, and hung clip lights from the rafters.

Next to a life time of photos, the painting gave focus to the room and the evening. The family gathered around the painting to remember and be photographed with their son, father, brother.....

Don't be afraid to offer your work in service to others. Art really is about making connections.

Sculpture and Life and Death

Art doesn't change a damn thing in this world.

Making art, though, requires you to give your full attention.      So does viewing art.

Weath by Patrick Gracewood ©2012

Careful awareness of minute details and their relationships to everything else can change the world.
Paying attention changes the world by allowing us to be present with what is, exactly as it is.
Vulnerable, willing to NOT have an answer, just living in our questions.

This practice teaches us to be kinder, less reactive, slower to judge and more willing to listen.

Art allows us our questions, our emotions, and sometimes give us new answers to old questions.

Like, "How do we live?"

My good friend's son died unexpectedly. He was 42 years old. I've known him since he was 20.

These cones are so many subtle shades of brown and grey, alike yet so different from each other. Slowly fitting one next to the other gave me a measure of peace and acceptance of this difficult situation. I needed a place to stop and hide from the pain. Making this wreath gave me a focus.

An unbroken circle -with a hole in the center.
A wreath seems a physical metaphor for these emotions. A hole in a whole.

The last thing I'm feeling is festive. But I can practice being present- for myself and those I love.

 

The cones that have been inside the studio the longest easily release their seeds all over the floor.
.... life begins again.

I used this square of plastic grass. coaxing each separate tuft into the spaces between cones.
(Use a chopstick!) A touch of artifice that makes the wreath snap with texture.
And not a touch of Christmas red.

On the mantle. 
"God bless us each and every one" cried Tiny Tim.

Sculpture and Criticism

Continuing Monday's theme of sculpture criticism...

Robert Hughes on the work of Jeff Koons:    
 
"So overexposed that it loses nothing in reproduction and gains nothing in the original".

Rest in peace, Robert Hughes.



 
 

Sculpture and the Muse'e d'Orsay

Ahh, the things that last are Art, fragments of Poetry, and snarky put-downs.

I'm reading the book Orsay Sculpture by Anne Pingeot.
Pingeot, a curator of sculpture at the Louvre, was instrumental in creating the d'Orsay Museum.

She's also a good writer.

In the chapter on Neoclassicism, she's explains that the style was important in the Second Empire because it flattered the current regime with the reflected glory of ancient Rome.  She admits that this grand style representing moral virtues often ran out of steam.

"This was true in the case of James Pradier who 'sets out every morning for Athens and arrives every evening in the Breda District'" (a district of Paris famous for prostitution) as the sculptor August Preault mockingly put it.

That line took my breath away.
I wonder what 21st Century art smack-downs will be remembered in 150 years?

 

Photos are not permitted in the d'Orsay, but I broke the rule for this sculpture.

This isn't Pradier's work, and it's not NeoClassical. It might be Jules Coutan's work.

I turned the corner and burst out laughing and then felt guilty. 

The craftsmanship is superb, it's beautifully executed, but it's so over the top hysterical.

This sculpture demonstrates two things clearly. 

1. That peaks of action and high drama are not the best subjects for sculpture.

2. How much tastes change. This sculpture is it's own 90 minute jungle movie.

Sculpture and Birthdays

My 58th birthday was this Sunday. 

I've been cleaning the studio, reorganizing and throwing things out!

Feels good to acknowledge what isn't working and clear space for new sculpture.

A calm and clean space lets me see signs and omens.....

In the grey days my sunflower panel reminds me of the Camus quote:

 "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

That is good to remember when I feel overwhelmed by ideas and inspirations 
and underwhelmed by my stamina and ability to prioritize. 

I was at the computer when this rainbow swung by the lovely Japanese sketch.
A reminder to stay present and notice ephemeral beauty.
This is what I think my sculpture offers people: its own narrative beauty,
but the art is also a back drop for people to notice the changing quality of the light.

For reasons yet unkown I'm studying smoke and steam.
That's going to be a challenge for a sculptor!
Here's to a new year of creativity.

Sculpture and Blogging

The unexpected benefits of Blogging.....
To share anything with you, I must document and photograph my work and process.
 
That's #1 Benefit.  Documentation helps me think things through.
Is it clear? Is it interesting? What does it offer to you, the reader?
Talking about your art concisely only works if you've thought long and hard about your art.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm making a presentation of my sculpture proposal to the TriMet Committee.
That means packing my models and related artwork efficiently for safe transport and quick display once I'm there.

I practice packing and unpacking. That means I know my material and have it all in order. Nothing left behind, and I know the important things to discuss. Benefit #2.

In making a presentation, assume nothing. The protective box becomes pedestal. (Turns out there was no table space.)



Here's everything unpacked: images of my model and background research images are taped to box.

2nd generation model is on top of the box.

3rd model, a 3D sketch is on the floor, with 4th model of shelter with design sketch of laser cut leaves for metal shelter.

Example of paper cut pattern of crow feathers on easel at far right.

Nice to discover that blogging has calming, real life benefits.

Dry runs are much better than the dry heaves of nervousness.....