By snoadmin
The galleries step into the third dimension this week with an exhibition by the sculpture department. From ceramics to wearable sculpture, the show is more tangible as the pieces of art interact from all sides.
The artwork of children treads a fine line between inspiring and disturbing. Others may use it as a window to the emotional and mental condition of a child such is as the art by sculptor Amber Smith, whose work is on display in the Werby Gallery.
Smith’s artist statement, and many of the pieces in the show, is based on Joseph H. DiLeo’s book, “Children’s Drawings as Diagnostic Aids.”
Smith has brought the drawings of children to life through the use of scale and simplicity. The artist renders the simple line drawings of children into over-scale but equally simple ceramic characters. With a loose and informal display format, including many small prop items, Smith’s sculptures take the place of a group of children in the room, milling about with their toys underfoot.
Finally, a “fort” as is common for many children to build, is mimicked on one side of the room, complete with flashlights for explorers at its entrance. The fort is an integral part of the exhibition. It forces the audience to literally get down to the child’s level to view the smaller sculptural pieces hidden inside.
Another engaging highlight of this week’s sculptural show is the “wearable sculpture” exhibition in the Dutzi Gallery. Ten striking pieces vary greatly in style and practicality is displayed. Instead of the piece serving as an adornment to the body, the model instead acts as a living canvas for a sculpture piece.
A particularly intimidating and aggressive piece of wearable sculpture is a set of industrial, metallic and somehow beautifully fragile wings created by Zenith Quinn Drake. Titled “Vindication,” the wings hang in smooth semi-circular lines on their leading edge. Attached to the smooth leading edge and their tiny well-placed dorsal joint are dozens of metal quills that look like an H.R. Giger interpretation of angel wings.
Diagonally hung facing the room, “Vindication” covers the corner of the room in lines with its shadow, hanging still and austere above a miasma of intersecting lines.
An oddly fascinating piece in the wearable sculpture gallery is the work of Masako Onodera. By using bulbous and hollow lobes that are semi-transparent, combined with fibrous components, the artist has created an amalgamation that is both attractive if taken aesthetically, and disgusting if examined. Although the colors and textures of Onodera’s work are beautiful, imagining the work hung on a persons body, adds a connotation of malignance and overgrowth that is signature to his style.
The weekly student art galleries run Monday through Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. between the FA2 and FA3 buildings.
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