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Sculptures and Installations Volume 25 July/August 2020 www.artdictionmagazine.com
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Fellows Invitational
WHEN August 24 - October 30, 2020 WHERE NSS Gallery - National Sculpture Society - New York, NY
ArtDiction is a platform for artists to display their work and a resource for the habitual art lover.
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Devika A. Strother, Editor-in-Chief devika@artdictionmagazine.com Isabella Chow, Associate Editor bella@artdictionmagazine.com Phillip Utterback, Staff Writer phillip@artdictionmagazine.com David Frankel, Senior Account Executive dfrankel@webtv.net
Contributing Writers Johjoh Oh Rose Rankin Elisabeth Cook
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FEATURES 12 Art’s Mental Space
Alan Parkinson is the founder and lead designer of Architects of Air that specializes in creating luminaria. These inflatable sculptures create an experience that is both simple and complex.
20 The Art of Sculpting
Sculpting is a three-dimensional art form making it different than other art mediums. Traditional sculpting, materials, and famous sculptors are discussed.
24 In the Hands of a Sculptor
A sculptor with a depth of experience, Barbara Nanning approaches her art with fluidity allowing each piece of work to build from the one proceeding.
32 Neon, Nature and White Space
Gun Gordillo confronts materials and uses them in unexpected ways in her art while balancing neon lights, nature and white space.
Cover photo courtesy of Alan Parkinsn; photographed by John Owens.
40 Leaks of Light aka_chang grew up using MTV as his main source of visual art education. Now, he constructs stunning installations set to music that guides your visual experience. 50 Sculpting with Narratives Using objects and accessories, narratives, Elizabeth Denneau creates sculptures that draw attention to historical narratives.
In Each Issue 6 news 8 books 10 exhibits 50 small talk 51 artist & ad index
Photo courtesy of Barbara Nanning.
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news Sacha Jafri’s Attempts World Recordl Artist Sacha Jafri is attempting to create the largest painting ever created on canvas. His inspired project, which has a goal of raising $30 million for charitable causes within health and education and connecting a billion people around the world, involves creating a painting 160 meters long (larger than two soccer pitches laid end-to-end). He’s been working on his painting, The Journey of Humanity, in Dubai since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Jafri has invited children around the world to send in drawings themed around isolation and connection that he’ll paste into circular portals inside his mammoth painting. They’ll act as windows intended to lead us to a better tomorrow, as seen through the eyes of our children. “My initiative, Humanity Inspired, aims to be a catalyst for true societal change through the hearts, minds, and souls of the children of the world – a springboard for a better future for all humanity. I aim to connect the world and re-connect humanity to ourselves, each other and ultimately the soul of the Earth,” says Jafri. His efforts are being supported by Dubai Cares, UNICEF, UNESCO, the Global Gift Foundation, and the UAE government. Once the work is completed, the canvas will be split into 60 individually framed, numbered, signed and catalogued artwork pieces and sold via an online charity auction. Loring Randolph Steps Down as Director of Frieze New York Loring Randolph, who has worked as director of Frieze New York since 2019 and previously served as
Sacha Jafri has been working on his painting, The Journey of Humanity, in Dubai since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
artistic director of the Americas for Frieze Art Fairs from 2017, has announced that she will depart from her role at the art fair to direct the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger collection of art starting in September. Randolph will continue her involvement with the fair as program director for its 2021 edition in New York, and she will direct Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center, which opens next month. She will also assist and consult with the transition of new leadership upon her departure. “I have known Nancy and David for over 10 years, and it was very natural for us to work together in this capacity,” Randolph stated. “The COVID isolation has made me acutely aware of how much I miss
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being around art, so I am really excited to get closer to the works in the collection and to go more in-depth with my research into artists’ practices.” In her new position, Randolph will assess and manage works in the collection, conduct research related to the holdings, and identify acquisitions for it. In an email to colleagues, Randolph wrote, “I have had a fantastic experience with Frieze, and I could not be more proud of all the accomplishments made these last few years, including the conception and launch of Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center in 2019 and Frieze viewing room earlier this year,” adding, “Frieze New York is positioned to have a great year in 2021!” The career move comes in a year
where Frieze has called off most of its fairs, holding online viewing rooms in their stead. The in-person editions of Frieze New York, Frieze London, and Frieze Masters have all been canceled due to safety concerns related to the ongoing pandemic. Phillips to Sell $12.5 M. Basquiat Painting at New Southampton Location Phillips has opened a new space in Southampton. The auction house, which joins Sotheby’s and Christie’s in expanding to the Hamptons, hosted a curated exhibition of 20th-century and contemporary art, as well as design pieces, jewelry, and watches. Phillips has taken up residence in a two-story, 6,000-square-foot space at 1 Hampton Road, which once served as Southampton Town Hall and has been redesigned by studio MDA. The inaugural show at the space will featured 70 works previewing some of the auction house’s forthcoming sales, including the 20th-century and contemporary art evening and day sales set for November and its online-only “Phillips x Artsy: Endless Summer” sale. Among the major lots on view in Southampton is Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 painting Portrait of A-One A.K.A King, which is estimated to sell for $10 million to $15 million at the November evening sale of 20th-century and contemporary art, along with works by Ruth Asawa, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Matthew Wong, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Nicolas Party, and others. Portrait of A-One A.K.A King, which serves as a tribute to the famed
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Portrait of A-One A.K.A King, 1982. COURTESY PHILLIPS
New York graffiti artist A-One, who was also a close friend and collaborator of Basquiat, is an example of the artist’s “mark-making” and the “abstract language he creates,” Robert Manley, co-head of 20th-century and contemporary art and global chairman at Phillips stated in an interview. The work was included in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne’s “Keith Haring | JeanMichel Basquiat: Crossing Lines” exhibition, which opened last year and ran through March 15. The six-foot-by-six-foot work was last sold for just $18,150 more than three decades ago in a Sotheby’s New York sale, where it was acquired by the Mugrabi family. It changed hands once again to the current anonymous seller. Phillips sold a monumental Basquiat paper on canvas work in its July 2
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evening sale for $9.3 million. The piece, titled Victor 25448 (1987), was among the leading lots in that sale, second to a painting by Joan Mitchell. Basquiat’s works have cropped up at recent sales by other entities, too: Untitled (Head), 1982, achieved a new record for a work on paper by the artist at Sotheby’s in June, where it sold for $15.2 million, and former Christie’s executive Loïc Gouzer sold a $10.8 million Basquiat work on paper through his app Fair Warning in July.
books God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World Alan Mikhail Liveright Publishing Corporation August 2020 The one piece of information that American students routinely hear about the Ottoman Empire is Tsar Nicholas I’s sobriquet calling it “the sick man of Europe.” This dismissive remark was leveled at the Ottomans in their waning years in the mid-19th century, but it obscures the rich history of a former glob-al superpower. In God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World, Alan Mikhail works assiduously to dispel this misconception and to place the Ottomans where they belong— squarely in the middle of world history. God’s Shadow chronicles Selim I, who became sultan in 1512. The book begins with his upbringing in Istanbul and his time as a provincial leader in the backwater Anatolian city of Trabzon. There, his fre-quent battles with Shiites and various other powerful groups earned him the respect and loyalty of the Janissaries, the elite military force whose support every sultan relied upon. As was the Ottoman custom, Selim knew he would have to kill his halfbrothers to take the throne after his father, and in 1512 he took the unprecedented step of removing his still-living father from the throne. He then captured and murdered his father’s sons by other concubines (see Beyond the Book), which ensured his accession to the throne. Support from the Janissaries and Ottoman military struc-ture allowed Selim to succeed in his brazen deposition of his father, who died shortly thereafter en route to his “retirement.” Mikhail succeeds in capturing the tension and power struggles that marked Selim’s accession, but he
pauses to present a revisionist yet vital depiction of the Ottomans’ larger role in European politics. He describes how fear of the growing Ottoman Empire—and its stranglehold on EastWest trade routes—drove Christopher Columbus to seek a western path to the New World. Americans are taught that after the Reconquista of Spain in 1492, Columbus and his Spanish crew sough “God, glory and gold,” which again obscures the role of the Ottomans. Mikhail deftly shows that a virulent desire to expel Muslims from Jerusalem and desperate tactics to avoid Ottoman trade blockades were the true drivers of Spanish colonial exploration. The violent Reconquista did not sud-denly pivot to an innocent search for India via the western route—it was a starting point for Spain’s worldwide crusade against the most powerful empire at the time. This is an eye-opening interpretation that also helps explain Europeans’ interactions with Native Americans. Indigenous people’s culture and appearance were described as “Moorish” (i.e., Muslim), and fears were stoked regarding the possibility of Muslim African slaves converting Native Americans to Islam. Mikhail expertly ties together disparate threads showing that fear of the Ottomans was reflect-ed in conquistadors’ experiences in the New World. From there, the author shifts his focus back eastward and relates in detail Selim’s vast territorial con-quests, defeating the Safavid empire in Iran and the Mamluks in Egypt, thus extending the Ottoman Empire across three continents. Selim’s reign was relatively short, however, and when he died unex-pectedly in 1520 at age 50, he bequeathed his massive empire to his only son, Suleyman, who was the first Ottoman sultan to avoid a bloody fratricidal struggle for the throne. Mikhail also analyzes the Ottoman ArtDiction | 8| July/August 2020
role in the Reformation, which is traditionally viewed as a Christianonly phenomenon. But as the global hegemon at the time, the Ottomans were held up both as a threat and a punishment for the corrupt Catholicism that Luther decried. The Ottomans represented the possibility of crushing defeat in battle, to be sure, but Luther also called them the “lash of iniquity” that God used “to punish Christendom for its sins— sins that Church leaders willfully ignored, even en-couraged by allowing absolution to be so cheaply bought.” In this way, the author ties the sale of in-dulgences (i.e., absolution), one of the driving forces of Luther’s work, to crusades against Ottoman Muslims. This becomes a springboard to examine persistent ideas of “otherness” in European discourse about Muslims, as enemies, adversaries and the objects of fascination to Westerners. Mikhail traces this characterization all the way to the contemporary United States and hysteria over banning sharia law and blocking Muslims from entering the county, thus providing a searing relevance between the early modern world and today. This is an excellent way to conclude the legacy of the Ottomans and the fear they engendered in Euro-pean observers, yet Mikhail unfortunately misses the opportunity to explain how Orientalism, with its depictions of Muslims and “the East” as inherently illogical, exotic and sinful, was directly related to the existential fears of the Ottomans that he otherwise skillfully describes. It was during the Empire’s later years that the very differences Columbus, Luther and other Europeans decried solidified into the sociological idea that Muslims were uncivilized compared to Europeans and “the West.” Nevertheless, God’s Shadow is a refreshing corrective to the literary and historical traditions that portray the Ottomans as weak and
inconsequential. Mikhail presents an in-depth, detailed account of this little-understood yet extremely important part of the history of Europe, and the larger world. Book reviewed by Rose Rankin . The Son of Good Fortune Lysley Tenorio Harper Collins July 2020 “Excel is not a child. The man behind the ticket counter says he looks like one.” So begins the first chapter of Lysley Tenorio’s The Son of Good Fortune, in which 19-year-old Excel is asked to provide legal identification at a Greyhound station, but has none. When the man suggests a license, Excel replies, “If I had a driver’s license, why would I take a bus?” He risks offering an extra five dollars for the ticket without ID, and the man grudgingly accepts, but not before remarking, “Kid, if you’re going to bribe someone, especially at five a.m., aim higher.” Taking the ticket, Excel says, “Thanks, but please don’t call me kid.” This early scene shows Tenorio’s main character both in his element and out of it. As a TNT (short for “tago ng tago,” meaning “hiding and hiding”), Excel has grown up in fear of being identified as undocumented, but he is protective enough of his own worth to politely demand respect. Along with his lack of citizenship, Excel’s relationship with his mother, Maxima, has closely informed his disposition and decisions. Maxima gave birth to him on a plane traveling from the Philippines to the United States, rendering him neither exactly Filipino nor American. A former B-film action star, Maxima makes a living scamming men she meets online, who seem to generally be white Americans interested in dating or marrying Filipina women. Excel, whose options for stable employment are as limited as his mother’s but
who is just as independent and stubborn as Maxima, is at the story’s opening returning from a Southern California desert settlement known as Hello City where he was living with his girlfriend, Sab — a bold experiment in off-the-grid existence that ended in disaster. As the narrative moves forward, it sifts through both main characters’ histories, uncovering Excel’s experiences in Hello City and Maxima’s reasons for leaving the Philippines. In the present moment, the plot is driven forward by Excel’s urgent need for money, which leads him to beg for his old job back at The Pie Who Loved Me, a spy-themed pizza parlor owned by a former strip club bouncer named Gunter whom Excel insulted upon quitting in an illadvised fit of bravado. While colorful details like the above may seem to suggest that Tenorio’s novel is primarily meant to entertain (and it is a smooth, pleasurable read) they also paint a sobering picture of working-class existence in the U.S. The trials Excel endures at the pizza parlor, including dressing up as “Sloth the Sleuth” in a show of good faith to Gunter, only to pass out from dehydration inside the sweltering costume and be denied pay as a result, are funny on the surface but also representative of the exploitation endured by many undocumented and otherwise vulnerable workers in a capitalist society. Excel’s job and Maxima’s online schemes are brimming with an absurdity that contradicts the romance of the American dream, showing a reality where the only viable options beyond superhuman achievement are illegal or questionable according to social mores. This reality has been acknowledged under a romantic spotlight in American crime dramas such as the TV series Breaking Bad, which follows a middle-aged science ArtDiction | 9 | July/August 2020
teacher who begins dealing methamphetamine in a desperate bid to pay for his cancer treatments. However, society’s most marginalized, including undocumented immigrants more predisposed to desperate circumstances, are not often depicted with such a charming combination of relatability and guile when undertaking understandable criminal actions. In The Son of Good Fortune, Maxima’s cons are not significantly romanticized, but neither is the reader denied the delight of watching her and her son building step by step towards a big joint scam in which they try to take advantage of a wealthy man’s condescending preconceptions about their ethnicity. Tenorio does not give the impression that Excel and Maxima are neatly justified in their actions, but rather that precise questions of right and wrong must come second to the autonomy they have learned to exercise within a broken world, a legacy passed from mother to son. The novel shows their willingness to make questionable choices that they nevertheless stand behind, stressing that moral purity is a luxury in a system that puts a price on all aspects of humanity. At the same time, it challenges the pervasive popular narrative that encourages racialized immigrants to always “aim higher” and to display exceptional, self-sacrificing behavior. Through sensitive and skillful portrayal of its characters, The Son of Good Fortune puts a joyful spin on their grim circumstances, celebrating their ability to know their value in a society that attempts to erase them. Reviewed By Elisabeth Cook
exhibits King Nyani Bella Abzug Park NYC The largest bronze gorilla statue in the world is making its way to NYC, allowing the people of New York to save him and all of the endangered gorillas of the world, changing the narrative and becoming the champions of all gorillas. Gillie and Marc Schattner the world-renowned public artists are working alongside the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to bring another version of King Kong’s story to the streets of New York. With the creation of a monumental bronze public sculpture entitled King Nyani, Swahili for gorilla, the artists are bringing the gigantic gorilla back to the city, but this time with love. Gillie and Marc have dedicated their lives to saving endangered species through their love of public art, bringing the hard facts about conservation and, most importantly, the love of these animals into the thoughts and hearts of the public. During a trip to Uganda, the artists were able to see a family of mountain gorillas in the wild and were moved to tears at the loving family unit. Their sculpture is based on the head of the family, a dominant silverback gorilla. The artists were blown away by the level of empathy and kindness he had, a very different image of the scary gorilla that is so often portrayed in media. “It was beautiful watching the silverback interacting with his family. He was so gentle and loving and clearly cared deeply for his family,” Marc recalls. “We knew we had to let the world know about this loving and gentle side of gorillas. They are often so misunderstood and thought of as scary and dangerous animals. But if they were able to see the silverback, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared”, remarks Gillie. “We couldn’t sit back and do nothing when these amazing creatures that are genetically so similar to us are in danger”, said Marc. All gorillas are critically endangered and desperately need help. Now NYC will become
King Nyani | Courtesy of Love the Last
the city to save them. King Nyani is bringing the call for all New Yorkers to save the new King Kong.
into his gentle face we hope they will fall in love and join the movement to save the gorillas” says Gillie.
King Nyani is the largest bronze
King Nyani is the artist’s interpretation to represent all gorillas and is part of the broader ‘Love The Last’ project, a social movement driven by public art to raise awareness, funds and support for endangered animals across the world, encouraging people to take action before we lose these animals forever. Partnered with WWF, the installation will be using its platform to raise much-needed funds for the charity. from the gallery system, from rising street artists to legendary photographers who’ve captured the hip-hop community.
Black Salad Bowl; ceramics by Barbara Brown, Pottery on Clay - 3.5 x 13 x 13
Escape from Covid19 Gallery House
gorilla sculpture in the world and provides a uniqueinteractive experience. His hand large enough to fit 2 to 3 people, and visitors can get up close and personal with this gentle giant and fall in love with him. In the movie, Kong grabs the woman in his hand to possess her. Now all of NY is invited to sit in his hand and be a true friend. “We wanted to create a sculpture where the public could really get close to the silverback, both physically and emotionally. Being able to sit in his hand and look up to
Presenting its first show since the Shelter in Place, Gallery House is presenting Escape from Covid19 that features work from a wide range of artists. The work of Barbara Brown is featured. She says: “As a woman who entered the art field at age 35, my work reflects my life experiences. I’ve traveled to many countries and participated in World Craft conferences, NCECA’s and International Ceramics Symposiums. There is an interaction of the other cultures in the creation of my rural
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objects of porcelain and buff stoneware. My love of clay, water and stone translate into water sculpture, vase forms and food presentation pieces. My goal as a Clay Artist is to add a touch of beauty to our lives.” True to Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870 National Gallery of Art, West Building, Ground Floor, Inner Tier Open-air painting was a core practice for emerging artists in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Artsts such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Constable, Simon Denis, Jules Coignet, and André Giroux were skilled at quickly capturing effects of light and
Repose, 1920 C. Paul Jennewein (German-American, 1890-1978). Bronze. H. 10 inches. Tampa Museum of Art, Bequest of . Paul Jennewine, 1983.300.004.
in which enraptured artists recorded their moments in nature. Sketches and Sculptures: A Study of C. Paul Jennewein Tampa Museum of Art
Léon-François-Antoine Fleury, The Tomb of Caecilia Metella, c. 1830, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Frank Anderson Trapp, 2004.166.16
atmosphere and made sometimes arduous journeys to paint their landscapes in person at breathtaking sites, ranging from the Baltic coast and Swiss Alps to the ruins of Rome. This exhibition of some 100 oil sketches made outdoors across Europe during that time includes several recently discovered works and explores the variety of inventive ways
C. Paul Jennewein’s (German-American, 1890-1978) artwork reveals the inspiration of the ancient world and engages with the new sculptural styles of his time, merging Art Deco with the neo-classical tradition. In 1978, the Tampa Bay Art Center, predecessor of the Tampa Museum of Art, received a bequest of 2,600 objects including finished artworks, as well as preparatory drawings, plaster casts, and molds for the numerous commissions Jennewein received during his prolific career. Sketches and Sculptures: A Study of C. Paul Jennewein highlights this extensive archive. The presentation includes an overview of the artist’s early sculptures and four major commissions executed between 1925 and 1940 that defined Jennewein as one of the most significant sculptors of his day. Sketches and Sculpture: A Study of C. Paul Jennewein is part of the Tampa Museum of Art’s centennial exhibition series Celebrating 100 Years.
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Alien vs. Citizen Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago C. Paul Jennewein’s (German-AmerInspired by immigration policies, Alien vs. Citizen considers how an individual’s value is understood in relationship to its community. We are forced to think about the way a person’s value is determined in the United States, through mechanisms including citizenship, work, and personal relationships. The artworks are organized around these three ways of estimating worth, inviting us to consider the cultural biases embedded in each. The exhibition is organized by Interim Senior Curator January Parkos Arnall with Line Ajan, Barjeel Global Fellow. It is presented in the Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel Galleries on the museum’s second floor.
Art’s Mental Space
A
rchitects of Air, founded by Alan Parkinson, is a company that designs pneumatic sculptures where visitor can tour the designs and share a space drenched in color and endless shapes. As artistic director, Alan has given this type of sculpture the generic name of “luminarium”—and just as a fish moves through water in an aquarium so visitors to luminaria journey in light. Recalling how the company came about, Alan says: “Prior to 1992, I had been working as the leader of a project that built inflatable structures. It was a social project with charitable status that was designed to serve people with special needs and disadvantaged communities, and its workforce was offenders who had been sentenced to do community service.” The project folded in 1992, but Alan was determined to
continue. “I settled on the name ‘Architects of Air’ as a way to signify the scale of what I wanted to do, and I also wanted to remove the stigma (at least one that existed in my eyes) of inflatables as being trivial things for kids.” Alan describes entering a luminarium as a simple experience, where you are enveloped and cut off from the outside world, maybe a bit lost as you encounter elements of radiant light and color. They’re all elements that can be experienced elsewhere—going camping, in a forest, looking at the clouds lit in the sky. “Some visitors my go in not knowing what they will find and will leave having found nothing. Others may go in having found consolation, inspiration, and peace,” Alan says. “Fortunately, the overwhelming response is that people will come out with a smile on their faces for whatever reason.”
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Exxopolis Cupola Photography by Alan Parkinson
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Mirazozo Photography by Ian Allan
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Daedalum Photography by Alan Parkinson
One of Alan’s most memorable designs is the Exxopolis which was in celebration of Architects of Air’s 20th year. “The Main Dome, in particular, combined elements that visually grab me, that pushed my own technical boundaries in terms of forms I could create, and which also involved community participation in the creation of some elements,” he says. “It shows a muqarnas-style ceiling where I used a net of webbing to define the form and windows of a Penrose tiling that were made by different community groups in Nottingham. The dome reflected my dual inspirations of Gothic cathedrals and Islamic architecture.” Alan says he’s inspired by structures and being caught by the light on surfaces in the luminaria. “I’m drawn in by a kind of oscillation, the indeterminacy of what is light and what is material. I like the ambiguity as I think it leads to some kind of mental state—in the same way that Islamic
patterns can work with their shifting figures and grounds.” Alan feels fortunate that he stumbled on inflatables as something that would interest him and something he could do. “It’s great that it turned out to be something that people liked and that I was able to make a living doing it. That was lucky. That was success, and I appreciate my fortune.” As with many business, COVID-19 has had an impact on Architects of Air, causing the workshop to be shut down. “We don’t know if we’ll exist next year. We’ll re-start part-time [in September] at a very low-level to minimize the drain on our remaining resources,” Alan says. “We’re half-way through building our latest luminarium design, and I would like to see it completed. We have just completed an application to the Arts Council of England for a grant—our first ever grant application. If we get it then that will extend our life till hopefully the touring work that is our lifeblood comes in.”
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Daedalum Photography by Alan Parkinson
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Katena Photography by John Owens
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Katena Photography by John Owens
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Daedalum Photography by Alan Parkinson
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The Art of Sculpting By Johjoh Oh
S
culpture is an art that stands proudly side-by-side with other expressive forms like painting and photography to convey the emotions and yearnings of humankind. The human body has been one of its favorite subjects to recreate. Sculpting the Human Body Ideas, representations, and obsessions about the human body have been depicted by sculpting artists throughout the centuries. These sculptors were and are ardent observers of the human anatomy as they see it on the surface. The concepts of symmetry, balance, harmony, and movement are conveyed through these human body sculptures according to the impression of the artists. These pieces of art, chiseled in various materials like clay, wood, marble, bronze, steel, concrete, and many others are either executed in realistic, life-like form or in abstract depictions. It is quite important that these artists are keen observers of the distinctive differences between the male and female anatomy because
they uniquely and elaborately sculpt their separate uniqueness into their sculptures. Well-Known Sculptors and Their Works There are several prominent names in the sculpting world, but here are some prominent artists worth mentioning because of their trailblazing work: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Michelangelo dominated art in the European enclave for centuries until Picasso made an impact. He was not only a sculptor but a painter and an architect. Michelangelo is the typical artist who is temperamental, moody, and melancholic. You won’t expect what his emotion is next. He had an obsession with the male human body form, which he conveyed as his expression of human beauty, sensibility, and spirituality. He also portrayed the male physique as the ultimate standard for all things: perfect symmetry, muscular, confident, and near divine and godly. But he also made works of art that portrayed the flaws, imperfections and weaknesses of the human image. He
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constantly borrowed from Greek and Roman ideals, being a Renaissance man. David is one of his famous sculptures. It is made out of marble and depicts the prominent Biblical personality of the same name. Michelangelo completed David in three long years. It was a commissioned work that was supposed to be lined up with other sculptures in a different location. Instead, it was prominently displayed solo in a public square in Florence, Italy. It came to represent the protection of civil rights for the then city state of Florence, and its stern gaze was directed towards the adversary which was Rome.
of energy and meaning and looked as if they could come to life at any moment. Donatello’s life-sized Magdalene Penitent sculpture is an amazing work of the depiction of the imperfect Mary Magdalene as a disheveled and starving woman who the masses can relate to as well as a character with a divine level due to her relationship with Christ. Donatello’s understanding of body anatomy was evident with the realistic depiction of the effects of food deprivation on the face and body of the sculpture.
Donatello di Niccolò di Betto Bardi. Donatello perfected his sculpting on several materials like stone, bronze, wood, and terra cotta. Other famous artists in his heyday of the early Renaissance were reinventing other art forms while he was trailblazing sculpture. He created works that combined reality and emotion and were aesthetically beautiful. But at the same time, these sculptures were full
Sculpture is three-dimensional art, having length, width, and height. Sculpture can be performed on just about any material that can be chiseled bit by bit. In comparison, painting expresses art through a surface. An artist can also paint on any surface that he desires like a canvas or even a wall. It is two-dimensional and doesn’t interject into space.
Sculpture in Comparison to Other Art Forms
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Photography is an art form somewhat like painting because it is also two-dimensional. You can walk around a sculpture and still see parts of it, but you can only walk in front of a painting or photograph to be able to appreciate its art. But both sculpture and painting take a much longer time to accomplish (hours, days, months, or even years) than photography. With the advent of digital photography, it only takes minutes or even seconds to take a picture that is art worthy. In this time and age of modernity, it still takes days to accomplish an art-worthy sculpture or painting. Materials Used in Sculpting Any material that can be chiseled into a three-dimensional form can be used for sculpture. The sculpture that we are used to seeing lasts for decades and centuries like those sculpted in marble, stone, bronze or steel. But there are also sculptures that only lasts for hours like ice sculptures,
which ultimately melt after being appreciated for a couple of hours. Classical vs Modern Sculptures from earlier centuries were fixated on mythology and Biblical personalities and events. The depiction of the human anatomy was realistic, whether they emitted a positive or negative emotional portrayal. They were almost lifelike in representation. Modern sculptures also have realistic aspects to their form, but increasingly, most present-day sculptures are in abstract form. They don’t always follow traditional sculpting of bodies with one head, two arms, two legs, one torso. Rather, artists distort this conservative human anatomy concept into portrayals according to what these sculptors perceive in their subconscious and dreams. All these makes sculpture as an art form more exciting as this art form continues to evolve.
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In the Hands of a Sculptor
B
arbara Nanning can be described as an artist that never ceases to surprise with the ability to combine contradictory elements in a manner to present a seamless artform. Her artistic skillset started at an early age. By the time she was 12 years old, Barbara already had her own potter’s wheel and kiln for making pots. “At craft fairs I gave demonstrations at craft markets, and people thought that was beautiful,” she recalls. From 1974 to 1979, she attended Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Ceramic department, in Amsterdam (NL)
and later studied at Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Monumental department. One of Barbara’s early artistic influences was Dutch artist Harm Kamerlingh Onnes. “Harm Kamerlingh Onnes is best known for the small, humorous character sketches of everyday life in the form of painted tiles, animal, and human figures. The narrative element of his work really appealed to me. I also wanted to visualize my story in plastics and in spatial forms,” she says. Barbara’s sculpting gained momentum in 1988 when she began constructing composting forms out of cut-up cylinders. “Worthy of note
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is that my desire to work in monumental formats grew apace. The first sculptures for public spaces date from this period. With the Fossil forms, I added no colour and left the beige fired stoneware clay for what it was. I found the inspiration for these works during a study trip to Cappadocia, a chalk-white Turkish landscape with dwellings hewn from the cliffs and weather-eroded masses of rock.” Barbara states that the barrenness, the monochrome quality, and the purity appealed to her
enormously. “These impressions led to unglazed, turned pots and vases, which were circumvented with rope, causing bulges to arise between the constrictions. This was the beginning of the series of Fossil forms, which emerged from a sort of spiral shape,” she says. Since 1990, This signature method of working from a circle gives her art a unique and distinct look. “First [I took] the cylinder of wet clay, wrapping a rope around it and then turning the clay outward through the pressure of my hands.
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Ceci nest pas lart ELLE
In a subsequent phase, I cut out the bottoms and laid these turned forms on their sides, so that a pot or vase became a free object.”
pletely different skills are necessary, and one would be dependent on the assistance of glassblowers, cutters, and finishers.”
In 1994, Barbara began adding glass to her repertoire―the material in which she would eventually come to focus exclusively. “Glass demands an entirely different attitude to design than using clay in your own studio, thoroughly conversant with its potential and limitations. With clay, design and execution are in your own hands,” she explains. “With glass, com-
Barbara adds that glass enables one to go completely wild with color. “Colours don’t run together. To achieve sharp grooves that both relieve and emphasize the globular shapes, metal profiles are pressed into the mass of hot glass during the blowing process.” Barbara’s work with glass and ceramics reflect the same balance
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Calm Calamity Tyrone Webb
and simplicity. “Sometimes there is an almost literal translation from clay to glass. Thematically, the nature-based formal idioms of ceramics are expanded into motifs that show off the plastic qualities of glass so well. However, with glass, you have the fascination of transparency, optical effects, and reflectivity,” she explains. Barbara’s portfolio has a wide range of sculptures where her new objects follow the preceding ones. “Ideas often continue to have an effect for a long period of time, but never in a strictly linear way. Sometimes the forms are hybrid, emerging like some caprice of nature in an entirely new guise – and in isolated cases, via a large detour after much searching and deadend experiments,” she says. Her work is exhibited at art fairs such as Art Basel/Miami, SOFA Chicago, and TEFAF Maastricht and can be found in museums worldwide―Museum for Fine Arts Boston, Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Design Museum Gent, Metropolitan Museum Seoul and private collections worldwide―and in private collections, including Air-
bus, Fundación Picasso and Mimi, and Bill Gates Sr. Barbara concludes: “My aim is to unite tradition with innovation, Oriental luxury with Dutch soberness, freedom with structure, and reason with emotion. My work is a fascinating mix of unequal quantities resulting in simplicity rather than complexity. A fusion of carefully chosen and sometimes seemingly conflicting elements that ultimately appear so obvious that no-one can be surprised by the unconventional combination of elements.” For more information, please visit the following: http://www.barbarananning.nl https://www.accartbooks.com/ us/book/barbara-nanning-eternal-movement/ https://www.kunstmuseum.nl/en/ exhibitions/barbara-nanning For more detailed information about the artist, read Barbara Nanning – Eternal Movement. Ceramics, Installations and Glass Art written by Titus M. Eliëns ― ISBN 978 94 6262 256 2.
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Neon, Nature and White Space
G
un Gordillo has been surrounded by art and literature since her childhood. She studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen. “During my time at the academy, I was fascinated by different materials and how it would be possible to use the daily materials such as light, lead, concrete etc. in an unexpected way, e.g., light and glass to create new spaces and change the common understanding of neon as a media for advertisement to a more poetic output with a different energy.” Gun began using neon lights as part of her installations and public space artwork dating back to 1974 after a journey to Cairo where she discovered a society filled with billboards and neon advertisements that were in direct contrast to their beautiful surroundings. “This confrontation of, for me nonverbal, messages and the placement of all these advertising signs fascinated me so much that it has followed me since,” she recounts. Gun adds that neon can allow one to play and create new spaces in dialogue
with different materials or with the day/night light. “I like the idea of the transitory,” she says. Even though Gun has a large portfolio of work—all inspired by daily life, movement, nature, music, and the unexpected—she says her favorite pieces are ones where she has worked with nature as a confrontation between the expected and unexpected. Some of these include La Forêt Imaginaire, 1988 where she placed neon sculptures between trees in a forest, and Le Pont Imaginaire, 1987 where her art was designed on a lake in the middle of Copenhagen as an imaginary reflection of the openings in a bridge close by. She also names her work at Hötorget metro station at Stockholm (1994) as a favorite. “The colourful advertisements above ground are in deep contrast to my white shapes underground. It is a reflection on my experiences with nature, light from the sea, and the ice in Stockholm,” she says. To view more of Gun’s work, please visit http://www.gordillo.dk/ or Last Resort gallery at www.lastresortgallery,com.
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Mouvement Horizontal, 2019 Last Resort Gallery - Copenhagen, Denmark Photography by David Stjernholm
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Le Pont Imaginaire, 1987 Copenhagen Denmark
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KBB Project, 2018 Copenhagen Denmark Photography by David Stjernholm
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INFINI, 2019 Last Gallery - Copenhagen, Denmark Photography by David Stjernholm
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Metro station Hรถtorget, 1997 Stockholm, Sweden
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Plan Albea, 2016 Munkeruphus Denmark Photography by David Stjernholm
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Virtual Edition October 1 - 15, 2020
Leaks of Light
T
he visual artist that goes by the name aka_chang can create a mood and an experience simply by his choice in lights, graphics, and music, He first became interested in art in the mid-80s and 90s. As an aspiring artist, however, it was not as an easy to learn and gather information about art as it is today. “For the younger me, the best way for me learn about visual artwork was through the MTV channel (especially in the mid-night session),” he says. “So many alternative sounds and visual effects were feeding my eyes and planted the seed for me to develop VJ and the audiovisual creations.” He went on to attend a well-known design school in Taipei, Taiwan― Shih Chien University, Department of Fashion Design. “Except for the sewing, I spent all of my school time focusing on graphic design and the
post visual effects, especially the VJ technique.” aka_chang has a creative process that generally includes first analyzing the venue space, whether he will be working in person, through the 3D simulation, etc. “Then I will think about the light structures that need to be designed and placed and how people interplay with lights, and what they might experience in both sensual or emotional ways.” Although he approaches the light installation process in a logical way, aka_chang knows more must be involved when choosing the sound to pair with the installation. “The audience might have a cold response when just looking at the imagery. So, I need music to help raise the temperature a bit,” he says. “I love that sound adds warmness just like silky light leaks into a dark space.”
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Sculpting with Narratives
L
ike most artists, Elizabeth Denneau began creating at a very young age. “I was alone a lot as a kid, and so I tended to create a lot of worlds around me to keep me company. We also didn’t have a lot so that artistic creativity lended itself to resourcefulness,” she says. She went on to earn an associate degree in fashion design and developed her own label, CandyStrike. “I went to school solely to learn how to sew and make patterns,” she admits. “I didn’t care too much about the degree,
so I never did a four-year stint in Fashion Ed.” Elizabeth recalls that after she was tired of running a small business, she went back to school for Art and Visual Culture Education at the University School of Art. “I had been making and selling artwork my whole life, but I have to say, going to art school really helped motivate me to make more complex art.” Elizabeth’s background in fashion proved to be a foundation for sculpting. “I consider what I did with fashion design to be a form of sculpting or at least 3D work, and
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I have always been interested in assemblage,” she says. “It wasn’t until the past two years that I started falling in love with actual sculpture and combining all those things.” Generally working with apoxie clay, Elizabeth sculpts on top of found objects creating figurative art that involves assemblage, redesigning, or both. “Almost all of my work deals with social commentary and research. The work I’ve been doing lately deals with the hidden narratives of the antebellum south and peeling them back to reveal greater truths in hopes of exposing people to the deception we’ve been living under here in the United States. A lot of my work also has to do with myself and my experiences as a biracial black woman,” she explains. Elizabeth is also an educator at Art 21 ― a professional development initiative and learning community. “They take 11-12 educators each year who are interested in learning more about teaching contemporary art practices in their classroom,” she says. “The institute and the community have been transformative for me as an educator and as an artist.” Follow Elizabeth on Instagram: @lizz_denneau_art.
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small talk
S
ummer is wrapping, and we’re on the backend of 2020—a year that, for some, has felt like a million of them strung together (I’m in that number.) I keep wondering what 2021 will bring, then I realize that I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m trying, instead, to focus on what’s right in front of me, asking myself how best to finish off THIS year. Are there end-of-year goals that are within reach if I just work a little harder to attain them? With chaos ringing so loudly, sometimes we have to be our own best motivators. I think of it as a time to reset, peel away layers, situations or people that are no longer serving you or preventing you from reaching your goals. Work hard. Reset. Perhaps that's why I admire the sculptor, Barbara Nanning. Her detailed explanation of how she came to work from a circular concept increased my
appreciation for another set of skills an artist must have. There’s some science and engineering involved. It’s more than what just looks pretty. It’s hard work. Artist Gun Gordillo told me during her interview that she didn’t believe in inspiration. She believes in hard work and an open mind. A respectable statement, I thought, with a lot of truth within it. Hard work. The recent passing of Chadwick Boseman--a cultural icon and a superhero in the eyes of many children was painful to hear. Learning that his passion for his art and his awareness of what it would mean to others outweighed the pain and discomfort of an illness he knew he may not defeat makes him my hero. I will remain in awe of a man that chose every day to reset and fight a little harder while he still had the chance.
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artist & ad index
Page 40 aka_chang https://www.instagram.com/aka_chang/ Page 50 Elizabeth Denneau https://www.instagram.com/lizz_denneau_art Page 32 Gun Gordillo www.gordillo.dk/ Page C2 Jackson’s Art Supply https://www.jacksonsart.com/ Page 24 Barbara Nanning http://www.barbarananning.nl Page C3 National Sculpture Society https://www.nationalsculpture.org Page 12 Alan Parkinson https://www.architects-of-air.com/ C4 Pro Tapes & Specialties https://www.protapes.com/products/artist-tape 39 Swab Barcelona Art Fair https://swab.es/
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Pro® Premium Black Mask pH Neutral
Pro® Artist Tape 11 Colors White is pH Neutral
Paint Straight Lines - Professionally! Whether you’re masking, hinging, adhering artwork, working on a mural or canvas, Pro Tapes® offers a comprehensive selection of premium adhesive tapes for your medium. To find a distributor near you or to become a distributor, please email Steve Espinal, Graphic Arts Market Manager: sespinal@protapes.com
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800-345-0234 ext. 133
