Artspace 111 report the the artist that Hilde selected 59 artist out of 1300. Man! I feel lucky to be included.
Score #39 one sculpture, one room filled to the rafters with sculpted sound.
I had a studio visit recently with an art critic. We talked for two hours about all of my work, my long term goals, short term plans and my artist statement for score. Regarding score she suggested I rent a storage unit for all my work except score. Move score to my new studio and fill the studio to the rafters with with the sweet sound of delicious violin music
artist statement - revised.
”Score” is a sculpture of energy, sound and the physical act of playing contemporary classical music, and its primal impact on emotions. I was inspired by a long exposure photograph of my cousin, Arkansas Symphony Concert Master Andrew Irvin, that captured multiple images as he played his violin. I was struck by the simple back and forth movements of a bow, composed of horse hair, drawn across strings that create emotionally charged sounds. In this piece, the music radiates off the musician as he plays, as well as off the strings of the violin, sometimes like a painfully slow waltz, and sometimes with the sharpness of a quickstep. Working on the piece during the last weeks of my father’s life I examined each movement of the bow and the wire/sound that comes off the violin. Some warble and then end sharply like a tear running down a cheek. Others gently twist into a whisper that fades into a broken heart, and some linger and then pivot like a murmuration of birds and is set free, each movement triggering a unique emotion. I applied the concept of seeing multiple images, and seeing music as emotional energy in three dimensions. The piece is built on a steel armature covered in plaster, recycled wire cloth, and baling wire.
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just a quick phone sketch
“Score” big day of pruning #38
Monday, I had a meeting with the artist, Brian Portman. Brian speaks wire and teaches drawings no and painting at Glassell. I asked him to stop in my work space to look at the piece with fresh and wise eyes. I find his suggestions are dead on. He had no trouble seeing the movement of the hands, and understood my vision of seeing the music. He felt the music that wrapped around the back of the figure and worked its way into the movement of the right arm was burdensome. He felt it looked like he was carrying something on his back. So today it pruned away.
After the pruning.
Side view after the pruning.
Before the pruning.
I might need to do to do some more pruning.
“score” - #25 marching on
I was able to get another full day of work in. I was primarily focused on integrating the large piece of welded wire that makes up the movement created by his right arm with the steel and plaster figure’s arm and head. I am integrating the two by adding small broken pieces of wire cloth within the welded wire.
Shoulder and neck attaching to the head
Shoulder view from the front
I also added some tiny delicate wires to the movement of the bows. The delicate sounds coming off the strings.
the top back of the head
One of my artist friends Vincent Blair stopped in and took a quick pic as I worked.
My wire stash is on the pedestal.
“Score” #20 lath - what to cover and what not to cover
I will not cover the entire armature in lath as some of the armature will be used to support additional materials to express the energy of the music. I will add these materials after the lath and some after the concrete. Deciding what does and what does not get covered, is crucial in creating the right movement and energy of the piece.
Detail of the chest covered in lath
“Score” #18 the lath
I know have supports on the ground and I am comfortable that the piece is not going to fall on me. In the end I may cut them off. Right now they stabilize the piece and they are not visually distracting to me.
Now to start adding the lath.
I started with the right arm and hand.
Jumping around I next added his right coat tail then his left arm.
Left arm
Left back of his jacket
1/16/2018
working on the folds in the fabric of the left pant leg.
“ Score” #13 armature/tails
11/14/2017
The figure is wearing a tux with tails.
View from the backside of the piece- I added the back of the pants leg and jacket tail on the left side of the figure.
full body view
Both jacket tails welded in.