The Moving Aesthetics of George Rickey

An Alumni of the Chicago Institute of Design and the New York Institute of Fine Arts, George Rickey Began his path into sculpture during the 1950’s. His sculptures exude a sense of dynamism that can be considered to be kinetic in genre.In 1985, Rickey had a retrospective of more than a hundred of his personal works located in South Bend Indiana. He told compelling stories of his curious life before and during his artistic path. Rickey lived to a ripe old age (95) and today many of his pieces are remembered as symbols of his long legacy in the art world.Many of his works have had residence in prestigious universities like the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

Inspired by the work of Alexander Calder, the famous mobile sculptor, Rickey combined his passion for engineering with his artistic enthusiasm. His mechanical ideas made use of large, often incredibly heavy materials that were made to move at the slightest current of wind. Kinetic sculpture grew on him more and more each day he was alive. His appreciation for motion created the beauties he so often shared with the rest of the artistic community.

Constantin Brâncuşi – Bird in Space Sculpture Series

Have any of you ever encountered Constantin Brâncuşi’s Romanian pieces of modern art? Two days ago while going about my daily rounds about the worldwide artweb, I saw this picture of a remarkably stunning minimalistic sculpture. Clad in a golden hue and oriented like a vertical spire, it was an attention-grabbing artwork I just had to blog about. In the early 1920’s, I believe the original first work, “Pasărea în văzduh” was created. That very same sculpture came up at auction last 2005 and demanded the high selling price of over twenty million dollars. Today his series of sculptures under the known name “Bird in Space” is well spread out across the globe. Australia’s National Gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Italy) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are just some of the places that house his works of bronze and marble.

What’s amazing about this series of works is how movement is visually captured in a static field of presence. Brâncuşi ‘s unique depiction of his subjects allowed for their artistic beauty to be derived from an alternate source rather than mere physical beauty or symmetry. He posed the notion of dynamic life in his body of works. To showcase this, he made people see a different side of the subjects, encompassing their existence as a visual purpose. Flight, movement, speed and distance can all be felt from one look at his majestic creations. Aside from being a colleague of the famous Marcel Duchamp (The Fountain), Brâncuşi was able to even change the outlook on fine art in the United states customs department when an late 1920’s issue regarding customs inhibited the dignity of his art pieces momentarily. A lot of people supported Brâncuşi  and he eventually won out the favor of society after an appeal. This was the very first non-representational abstract sculpture to be considered as a type of art by the government bodies involved.

Photography credited to Dennis Irrgang
Sculpture by Constantin Brâncuşi

An Abstract Sculptor known as Woody van Amen

Dutch artist Woody van Amen studied at the Rotterdam Academy and taught there from 1970 onwards. He was a pioneer of abstract assemblage sculpture and pop art in its materialized concrete form. In 1961, he spent the entire year and the following year residing in America. Van Amen was able to draw inspiration from the legendary pop artist Andy Warhol during his stay in the United States. This gave him the thrust he needed to manifest his pursuit for pop art in sculpture. He came to the Netherlands after this trip and began working on his own style of assemblage sculpture. Despite his current popularity, he started out as humble as artists go by. One of his first works; Electric Chair (1964) wasn’t considered as art by the public and instead was seen as a medium whose intention was merely to mock.

In the 1970’s he traveled to both Southeast Asia and Switzerland to gain an oriental pull of influence for his sculptures. In 1993, he received the Chabot Prize from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds or Prince Bernhard Culture Fund). In 2003, he also visited Singapore after recovering from a grave illness. It was there where he came across some Chinese flashcards signifying specific characters like Shuangxi or “doube happiness”. This observance directly influenced his style as well and played an important role in his development as an abstract artist.

Norbert Kricke’s Usage of Pin Metal Composition

A native of Düsseldorf, Norbert Kricke is a fine example of abstract sculpture in the non-figurist sense. Abstract sculpture can be classified into several sub-categories, but mainly fall into two types; representational and non-representational. Despite his works being frequently described as non-reresentational abstract sculpture, Kricke’s various organic forms are inspired by the subject matter of water and nature. His pin-like metal wires are a popular twist to the standardized wire armature pieces one may see in many artist studios. Kricke’s famous sculpture, “Water Forest” lies outside of the Gelsenkirchen Opera House.

Kricke has created several grand pieces for famous people and locales, but among his roster of projects, his fountain art sculptures in the University of Baghdad stand out as prime examples of his undying passion for the abstract arts. Throughout his lifetime, his works have circled around continents, being displayed at various galleries such as the Galerie Rothe in Frankfurt and the Neues Museum Weimar. The Daimler Chrysler Contemporary Museum in Berlin also carries a permanent collection of his.

Chunghi Choo – The Artistry of Metal Manipulation

Among the many talented metalsmiths around the world, several of them are descendants of Asian regions. Chunghi Choo who studied in Ewha Women’s University in Seoul eventually became a very famous abstract modernist who takes pride in her manipulated metal jewelry and sculpture. Choo also studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan where she completed he Masters degree in Art. Combining the traditional techniques of weaving, metalsmithing and ceramics, Choo has an upper edge in the hybrid creation of her contemporary artworks. Much of her creative output centers on an inspiration from fashion and utility design in my opinion. Her silver and chrome plated compositions seem to be rooted in some elements of industrial design, yet contain a special deviance of curvatures and links.

Sculpture by Ching Hi Choo – Photography by Piers Bertrand

Choo became a teacher at the University of Iowa’s School of Art in 1968 and was recognized as the F.Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Art there as well. Her exhibition venues include the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Danish Museum of Art and Design and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has grown as both an instructor and an artist who not only receives praise for her own works of abstract modernism, but also finds the satisfaction of having several of her students win in nationwide competitions. Choo is a role-model in the practice of modern art and is one of the pioneering contemporary sculptors of the media.

The House of Fabergé

Have you ever come across a Fabergé egg? Most people who’ve traveled to Russia and other places around the world have at least heard of the famous egg jewelry sculptures. Fabergé was actually the name of a person who founded the jewelry firm The House of Fabergé, although many describe their works as sculptural forms over wearable jewelry. Gustav Fabergé was the founder of this design company and was followed by his son Peter Carl Fabergé. They were famous for designing the well-known jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs for Russian Tsars and were nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1918. To the disdain of many art followers, the name Fabergé was eventually sold off and re-sold again to various people and companies who expanded into cosmetics, clothing lines and colognes.

Moscow Kremlin Egg – Photography by Stan Shebs

The historical beauty of the Fabergé egg remains as a landmark artifact in Russian and international society today. The imperial eggs actually started when the Tsar Alexander III commissioned the house of Fabergé to create an Easter egg masterpiece for his wife. The original Fabergé egg that was made back then in 1885 was encrusted in gold with miniature pieces of jewelry inside, such as a gold yolk with a gold chicken that opens to reveal a replica of the imperial crown with a  ruby egg. Carl Fabergé was commissioned over and over again as a tradition each year with the noble family. A total of fifty two eggs were made for Alexander III and Nicholas II’s gifts.

 

Espace Dalí : a Place for Surrealist Appreciation

Everyone is familiar with the surrealist Salvador Dali and his famous artworks, but not as many people know about his permanent exhibition in France called the Espace Dalí. The entire complex holds over three hundred original art pieces made by Dali himself. It’s located near the Place du Terte in Montmarte. Creations like the Space Elephant are housed in this museum along with several other Dalinian sculptures. Dali’s conquest for surrealism is a widespread conveyance of its curiosity through the different artistic media. He made use of everything from paperwork to painting to sculpture.

Espace Dalí – Photography by Florian75018

Within the museum, there are many chambers for the various types of visitors. There are workshops for children to learn about art, as well as temporary exhibitions at specific halls. The two galleries that make up the museum are the Galerie Dali and the Galerie Montmarte. The later is for several contemporary artists’ exhibition usage. The Espace Dalí is a wonderful place to visit for art enthusiasts, historians, professors, students and even families. It showcases the biggest group of artworks made by the master and is open to visitors young and old.

 

Marcel Duchamp and the Found Art Movement

The term Found Art was coined by the famous artist Marcel Duchamp. It referred to art whose subject composition was that of everyday objects who retained their form but were changed just a bit. These objects were among the things that were not usually considered to be classified as art or art media. Other names for Found Art are Readymade Art or Trash Art. The purpose behind the invention of found art is to challenge the notions of what constitute fine art in the first place. Just because an everyday object has a routinized or boring purpose doe not mean that it cannot be seen as art in one way or another. Every artwork made and categorized as Found Art must have an input though from the artist- such as a narration or explanation to clarify its meaning. The object becomes such art because of the artist’s direct designation of the object as art, therefore he or she must defend the idea behind it.

Sculpture by Marcel Duchamp – Photography by Alfred Stieglitz

Found Art quickly spread after the time of Duchamp and made its way into popular society. Dadaism quickly sprung from it and several artists such as Man Ray and Francis Picabia used it in combination with traditional art as well. Its roots can be traced to several more artists in history such as famous surrealists like André Breton and historical geniuses like Pablo Picasso.

Earlier, we mentioned that Trash art or junk art is another name for found art. This is because many people in the modern world have attributed the two to be one and the same (though this was not true during the earlier times.) Trash art is actually a sub-genre and is usually made up of assemblage sculptor who make use of discarded materials like old computers and microwave ovens. This type of contemporary art is a more modern way of looking at the journey of Found Art into the present time.

Wire Sculpture, Both A Component and a Stand Alone Artwork

Wire sculpture isn’t a new technological development or anything, it’s been around for hunreds of years. With so many various applications in technology, fashion and other fields, the manipulation of wire contours vastly outnumbers its applications singularly for art. Today though, many new designers seek to create a new way of representing this media within the world of sculpture. One vividly illustrative way is the application of wire sculpture into jewelry. Jewelry based on wire mesh, string-type or flat-type is a fairly common sight at trade fairs, competitions and even exhibitions. Modern styles dictate that the usage of stand-alone wire designs are much more accepted today than they were in the previous decades. These days, the trends go for a highly metal or silvery tone, bypassing the absolute rule of traditional gem and gold-based jewelers.

At this point, wire sculpture has also made its way into original figurative art pieces. Several personalities create wire figures by coiling or meshing a group of wires into the silhouette or exact shape of a subject. In the past, this may have been referred to a building an armature. Armatures are traditionally made to support cast sculptures when in their final phase of completion. Armature were also used as support units for clay modeling (especially with oil based clay.) Wire has outgrown these component functions and evolved into its own artistic media, allowing it to stand alone against a sea of rival materials. The growing number of wire artists just proves even more that any media despite its history, can still rise up and create something truly breathtaking and beautiful.

Han Sai Por : Singapore’s Organic Sculpture Artist

Singapore’s recent fame with the art world isn’t just because of its status as a prestigious place to attend art auctions. The country’s own sculptors have a big impact on the global community as well. Now, let’s delve into the artistic life of Singapore’s Han Sai Por.

Han Sai Por is one of Singapore’ treasured artists. She studied at several notable art schools such as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, East Ham College of Art, the Wolverhampton College of Art and the Lincoln University in New Zealand. Her sculptures reflect upon the eyes as very organic and natural in shape. She plays with the theme of life and the role that natural design plays in our world. Han’s very first exhibition; Four Dimensions was held at the National Museum Gallery in the early 1990’s.

Sculpture by Han Sai Por – Photography by Stefano Sartor

Han founded the Sculpture Society of Singapore at the turn of the millennium, and was the very first resident sculptor of the organization’s sculpture Pavillion at Fort Canning Park. It was there that she leaned on her taste for organic sculpture even more and created masterpieces from the trunks of Tembusu trees. Despite this, she is known much more for the stone sculptures that she creates to portray natural wonders like the birth of seeds and the spirit of nature. Han is a sculptor who has achieved more in her lifetime than most artists could ever dream of. She was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Art in 1995 among several other recognitions that were given to her during the course of her career.