Spirit Yard: The Sculptures
of
Harold Rittenberry, )r.
Crowing up in Athens, Ceorgia, where his father worked as a stone
with the labor-intensive industry of cotton production and how that era
mason and carpenter, Harold Rittenberry remembers retrieving a ball
molded and proscribed the Iives of so many black and white tenant
that was hit out of the schoolyard and had landed in Dilmus Hall's
farmers in this region still reverberate, even in their new role as
bacl<yard." lt was the firs! time he saw the legendary Hall's foll<-art
protectors and guardians. Cast-off metal has been given a new meaning
creations. When Rittenberry tells you of that experience you can see the
by an artist who tal<es both pleasure and inspiracion in its conversion.
wonder of the impressionable boy still present in the bright eyes of this
Rictenberry, one of four children, was born on Christmas Day in
now mature artist, who credits this meeting with having a lasting
1938. He left Athens in 1956 to join the army. His tour of duty tool< him
influence on him. He l<new that someday he roo would lil<e to be an
to Cermany where he convinced his superior officers through sheer tenacity into letting him become
artr st-
Rittenberry is a visionary
of
part of the motor pool, a rare
sorts. What else can explain his
position. then, lor a blacl<
ability to take the parts and
soldier. lt was there chat he
pieces
that others have discarded
received his introduction to
and transform them into mythic)
worl<ing
poetic, and even heroic
metal. When he was discharged
sculpture? He enjoys his lorays
three years later, he returned to
into junl< yards, second-hand
Achens, tal<ing on an assortment
stores, and flea marl<ets to find
ofjobs
the hidden treasures ofanother
cool<ing ac a drive-in and
time and place. He brings them
landscape work. His job at the
home and considers their form
L.
and possible future use. Sometimes there is immediate
with machines and
over the years, including
M. Leathers Meta I Fa bricat ion
plant gave hrm an opporruniry ro Horse,1990-91
investigate the possibilities
recognition as to what new role they will cake on; ocher times the wait is longer. Rittenberry seems both amazed and perplexed when he describes
of
welded metal. ln the mid-1980s,
finding half-century old
Rittenberry's mother became ill and he decided to stay home and care
for her ar the house his lather built at 268 Colima Avenue. lt was during
electrical meters) now obsolete, still in their original box. lt is as if chey
that time that he began to experiment with welding to
were abandoned prematurely, and he now has a responsibility to find a
1994 he was invited to participate in the Foll< Fest Art Show in Atlanta.
new purpose for them.
Other exhibitions and commissions have followed.
More than practicing good ecology through recycling, Rittenberry's
mal<e
art, and by
Rictenberry's sheer delight in learning fuels his powerful
process is almost metaphysical in the way he discovers a new function
imagination. He is fascinated bythe world in all of its complexities: how
for otherwise unwanted items. ln che pair Ritcenberry calls the
an airplane flies, the egotistical countenance
Catekeepers
(1992-93) we have two scalwarc sentinels. They are essentially
ofa barnyard rooster, how
the elegance of a heron is never more apcly depicted than it is in
untouched found objects, originally part of a riveted metal frame that
Japanese
held the wood of an old cotton pallet together. Their original association
as
art, or how
Pegasus
ofclassical mythology was so cleverly used
the logo for Mobilgas in the early twentiech century. The sheer volume
of source material inside his home competes with the materials he has
him symbolizes freedom of thought or the proliferation of ideas
amassed in the bacl<yard studio area for future sculptures. Through his
expanding throughout the world, reveals an artist who is truly enamored
work Rittenberry blends different cultures and ideologies creating
of the liberating self-expression through sculpture. His metal worl< offers
a
spiritual vision that is both intuitive and life affirming. lt is this ability to
a challenging way to create unique and "wonderful" chings, rruly objects
intermingle and unift divergent ideas that inspired the creation of the
of wonder and enchantment. His vivid imagination turns rows of small
bench he calls Freedom
Corner (2000). Shaped into a right angle, the
chains into the curly beard of AncientWise Man (1995), while his welding
pattern of rattan on the seat of his bench,
bench was intended to keep apart cwo people who might be courting,
sl<ills suggest the woven
much like early Victorian furniture. lt is also adorned with heartfelt
entitled Moonchaser (2000). Ulcimately, his inventive constructions
sentiments like "Be Not Angry" and "Care for All." Rittenberry may be
delight, intrigue, and evol<e thoughcful contemplation on the ways of the
suggesting
that whenever we eliminate that which
l<eeps us
isolated-in
world as perceived by this resourceful artist.
the case ofyoung nineteenth-century lovers, the
Buc
the ideas and expressions of Harold
chaperone, and in the case ofracial segregation,
Rittenberry are not limited to what he has discovered
bigotry, and prejudice-we find ourselves a "little
in the myriad bool<s, magazines. manuals, and
corner of freedom." lt is as simple yet as
newspapers he has gathered. They are more than his
complicated as that.
daily encounters with the popular culture repositories of celevision and radio. They are the accumulalion of
ln the sculpture entitled Ode to Work (1995)
his personal experience, ofthe legend and lore, and
Rittenberry has cut the steel base for a two-part screen in the shape
of
the wit and the wisdom he has gathered from his
of his home state of Ceorgia.
From this symbolic foundation of place, the cut
lamily and friends in his sixty-five years. ln all of his
metal screens rise at right angles, depicting the
art is evidence of his gentle spirit, his colerance of
simultaneous kinds of worl< most of us
human frailty, his deep respect for history, tradition,
experience in our lifetime. One screen reveals the
and dreams, and his deep faith in Cod and humanity.
worl<
These are things
of parents literally raising their offspring to
that he has learned from
compassionate people and he has lived by cheir
a higher Ievel by way of ladders. For Rittenberry
nurturing and education are represented as important aspects of
lessons all
bringing up a family. ln the other screen, the artist acknowledges
sculptures provide his audience with new ways of seeing and more of[en
che
world of labor in the form of cotton picking and through references to
of his life. Harold Rittenberry is a remarl<able artist whose
than not, touches the spiritual being within all of us.
transportation (train, trucl<, and tractor). An angel appears among all chese symbols, perhaps suggesting
that good worl< is blessed and that
Marilyn Laufer
the Almighty is ever present. Crowning all is an image of a farmer
plowing. Rittenberry acl<nowledges the farmer's task as the most noble because
without his toil, we would all go hungry.
"My appreciation of Harold Ritcenberry's memories and thoughts are the result of a conversation with the artist on "June 13, 2002.
Rittenberry is a self-caught artist only as it applies to his technigue, style, and compositions, for if we are to consider the meaning and
Cover: The Spirit Yard at Harold Rittenberry's home.
intentions expressed through his art, we would acknowledge that he is a
lnside flap: 7 3
student of the world in its broadest sense. lt is in ideas that he finds
Barh:
strength and meaning. The recurring theme of birds in flight, which for
The
artist
Muffi-"
Checklist of the Exhibition All sculptures arefrom the collection ofthe arcist unless otherwise stated.
1. 2.
Totem Pole, 1992 Steel and wood
ThreeMasl<s,1992-95 Aatekeepers,
1992-93
Steel
3.
The Colden Door,
1998
Sreel
4.
Ode to Work,
1995
Steel
Horse,lggL-g1 Steel 6.
Orign of Life. 1995 Steel
7.
Origin of Life ll, 2OO0 Steel with ceramic base
B.
Ancient Wise Man. 1995
s...1,"a r"r"l'"bi..r. 9.
Summer's Dream Passed,
2002
Steel
10.
Freedom Corner,2OOO Steel
11.
Moonchaser,20OO Steel
12.
The Visitor, 1996 Steel and found objeccs
13.
Scatteringof the Flock, 1995 Steel
14.
Migration
ll, 2002
Steel
15.
Escape, 20OO
and found wire cage Collection of Mrs. Michael Erlanger, Athens, CA.
Sceel
Spirit Yard: The Sculptures of Harold Rittenberry,Jr. was organized by guest curator,
Marilyn Laufer; in-house curator was Creg Benson. Spirit Yard will be on view on the grounds of the Ceorgia Museum of Art and is sponsored by the Richard Florsheim Art Fund, the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation, and the Friends of lhe Museum.
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Ceorgia Museum of Art is
provided by the
W
Newton Morris Charitable Foundation and the Ceorgia
Council for the Arts chrough the appropriations of the Ceorgia Ceneral Assembly. The Council is a partner agency of the Narional Endowment for the Arts.
lndividuals. foundations, and corporations provide additional support r hrough their gifts to the University of Ceorgia Foundation.
Ceorgia Museum of Art Performing and Visual Arcs Complex U n
iversity of Ceorgia
706 542 CMOA www. uga.edu/gamuseu m
Hours Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; 10 a.m.
Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
to 5 p.m