Blue Light Holds the Distance
review by Kaylynn
Lum
March 3,
2014
Distance was breathtaking. It seemed to fill the room
with its glory. The room was full of
paintings
showing patterns and designs. However, this sculpture portrayed texture, rather
than
patterns.
It would seem like the sculpture would feel out of place. However, it did the
opposite
and
completed the room.
The materials used to make this
sculpture are charred wood with polyurethane, Tanzanian
steel-wire
rat traps, cast aqua resin double gilded with 23-karat gold leaf, agate,
computer-
generated
vacuum-formed translucent Plexiglas, wood, wood putty, paper-mache, aqua resin,
and
acrylic paint. The three legs show a balance and calmness that isn’t offered in
the other
pieces.
The artist John Newman, used the materials to symbolize different aspects of
his life. One
of the
legs was a piece of charred wood which Newman symbolizes as “a very troubling
and
difficult
time in my personal life.” The other two legs are made from the rat traps and
agate with
gold at
the top and bottom. The legs are all connected by a computer generated piece of
Plexiglas
with an
aqua design.
The calmness and simplicity of the
sculpture helps balance out the patterns and designs of
the other
pieces. It shows elegance and complexity. The charred wood gave the piece a
sense of
tragedy.
It makes the viewer think about what the piece of wood could have been.
However, it
still
remains elegant like the other legs of the sculpture. The design is simple
enough that the
piece
doesn’t seem busy, but it complex enough to make it unique. It holds the
distance close, so
you can
see what it has to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment