Look through the list of modern and contemporary sculptors on the right of the blog.
Find an artist whose work you'd like to know more about. Find out more about the artist's work on the Internet. In the comments section of the blog, write a description of a sculpture by the artist that you especially like. Describe it in a lot of detail, tell us how it was made, and why you like it. Copy and paste the url of the website where we can look at the piece you described. Minimum 150 words.
25 comments:
Danielle Snitzer
I really like Yoshitomo Nara’s work. My favorite sculpture of his is called “The Little Pilgrims (Night Walking).” There are 5 human-like things wearing something that looks like robes with their arms spread out which makes them look like they’re praying or reaching out to get something. The first sculpture is blue with lines across the robe. The second is yellow with lines that are less noticeable. The third is white, the fourth red, and the fifth black. They are each 28 x 10 x19 inches. Each one of them has four lines coming down from the top of their faces onto the middle of their forehead. It is suppose to represent hair. All of their mouths are frowning. Their ears stick out from the side of their heads and turn upwards. All of their faces and hands are white. They are made out of fiberglass, acrylic, and cotton. They are all simple but complicated at the same time. They look graceful, clean, and cute. They all look amazingly similar and all have the same dimensions which shows that the artist paid close attention to detail and took his time to make them look right. In general I really like Japanese art and how a lot of it looks like paintings or sculptures of modern dolls. The Little Pilgrims look like dolls from the future.
http://www.blumandpoe.com/yoshitomonara/index.htm
Devin Fernandez
I really enjoyed Jack Shainman’s work and one installation piece in particular. Shainman sets up this one installation in which he has five stands and each is vividly pleasing to the eye. It’s design and concept is very simple but the details are incredibly accurate, especially on the medieval style ship, which looks like an actual shrunken down version of a ship. Each stand gets taller as you progress through the installation with the exception of the 4th to 5th one. I’m assuming that the tallest stand is around 9-10 feet. In the installation I see a particular message which is what I enjoy also about this artist’s work. I see how on the 1st stand its only a tree but as you progress, a man appears and as the man becomes more modernized, the bigger that tree becomes, which I say as a message of development from out primitive state to what we are now. When you get to the 4th stand, there is an interesting swirling stick which I’m not clear on what the message is but I think it has to do with the great technological breakthrough we’ve had in such little time, particularly from 1945-present day. I believe that the ship on the last stand shows that with the technology we have, we can construct such massive and incredible things, crucial to our advancement as a people. I believe that the sculpture is made out of mostly wood and cloth and I just really enjoy the composition of the piece.
http://www.jackshainman.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=1358
Alyssa Walker
The work of Yoshitomo Nara was the most interesting to me. The sculpture that was the most eye catching to me is titled Nothing Ever Happens, as part of a 2004 instillation project. The sculpture’s are of to over sized heads. In both, the forehead is extremely large in the cheeks are extended outward. Both eyes are designed in a way that is intimidating to the viewer, the color of the eyes in both pieces, and the way the eyes are designed in a slanted fashion convey an eerie type of feeling. The face's come out ward toward you which adds to that eerie feeling. Tying into the title nothing ever happens, the heads look bored with there surroundings, and angry with the fact that they have to be there. The fact that Yoshitomo Nara's sculptures are so simple and yet so beautiful provides you with a different understanding of sculpture. You can see how something not so elaborate can draw as much if not more attention then something 10ft tall and extremely intricate.
http://www.icaphila.org/exhibitions/past/nara.php
Ashley Valentin
After looking through the list of modern and contemporary sculptors, I haven taken a special interest in Jeff Koons. I especially enjoy his inflatable works. My favorite one is Inflatable Flower (Tall Yellow, Tall Orange). It’s of two flowers, one yellow and the other orange, made out of vinyl and placed on a mirror. I’m not sure on how it was made; I couldn’t find anything on the internet. I think it was made with different pieces on vinyl, that were cut out into the shapes need to make the flower. Then the pieces were either sown together or they were glue together. I particularly like this piece of work because it has a very playful feel to it. I like that the flower were set on mirrors, it adds a bit of unexpectedness to the pieces. The flowers look like they belong in a field, and having them placed on a mirror is not something one would think of doing with flowers. Also, the reflections of the flowers allow you to see the flower at different angles and it added to the playfulness of the piece, the reflections have a way of playing with your eyes.
http://www.jeffkoons.com/site/inf_4_1.html
Lauren Levering
I really liked Anish Kapoor's reflective and colorful sculptures. The sculpture IU liked most was "Cloud Gate", which is currently located in Millennium Park, Chicago. It is really interesting how he used steel to make a seemingly impossible sculpture with the material used. Personally, I would have thought it very difficult to make something so round and jellybean-like out of any kind of metal. The reasons why I liked "Cloud Gate" so much was because of the reflections and the pure magnitude of this sculpture. I have seen this piece in person and was awed by just the size of it and interested by the way that the buildings behind this sculpture were reflected. I also thought that it was truely amazing that the sculpture weighed 110 tons and thought it was really cool that it was inspired by liquid mercury, something that you might not think much about at first glance, but after you look at "The Bean" for a while it does have mercury-like qualities to it. I think Anish Kapoor is a really cool sculpter and I really enjoy his unique ideas and his ambition to do such high-scale projects.
http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/anish_kapoor.html
Yann Herry
The sculpture I chose is “untitled” by Tom Friedman made in the year 2000. This one sculpture grasped my attention the first time I took a glance at it. The sculpture is composed of body pieces lying on the floor surrounded in a pool of blood. The person who appears to be a man is wearing brown boots, a green long sleeved shirt and purple. One can see one leg twisted to one side, and the other to the other side. The image looks disturbing with the amount of blood surrounding the body. One of his arms also appears broken by the way that it is placed on the floor. I never imagined that sculptures could be this dramatic with such vivid colors. However, what interested me the most about this sculpture is that the whole thing is made with construction paper! All Friedman used were scissors, glue, and paper to make such a unique piece of sculpture. Something that continued to make the artwork more fascinating was when I read the actual caption that explains the sculpture indicating this as a self portrait of Friedman after a motorcycle accident. Friedman is an artist that I believe is extremely talented and creative of portraying a self portrait in that manner.
http://www.designboom.com/portrait/friedman.html
Angelica Yudasto
Kiki Smith is known for her astounding and elegant sculptures with subtle messages depicting humanity’s role in the world. One sculpture that caught my eye is called “Born”. This bronze artwork involved a small deer with erect ears giving birth to a life size woman while still retaining a graceful composure. The woman’s feet are elevated and meet the deer’s genitals to illustrate a suspended moment in time in which the woman is born. The woman appears hairless and delicately folds her arms to touch her lips, in a worried gesture, as if she herself was astonished at the startling event, “Oh deer”. The sculpture was made realistically but is combined with an unexpected image. “Born” has a black, shining and elegant color to it that keeps a viewer focused on merely the shape of it as well as its compelling message. Kiki Smith used the image of a woman and deer to show a complex and universal aspect of the relationship between humanity and nature itself. Her sculpture successfully captured a brilliant form of elegance through her use of realistic, organic forms incorporated to the work.
http://www.albrightknox.org/acquisitions/acq_2002/images/Smith.jpg
Sabrina Granados
Rebecca Horn a contemporary German artist combines media, installation, performance, and sculpture in most of her works. Horn is renowned for her body extension pieces such as Pencil Mask. The Pencil Mask transforms the wearers head into an instrument for drawing. The pencils directing away from the face can be used on paper and there markings correspond to ones movements. The mask is made up of six leather strips running horizontally and three going vertically. The pencils which are two inches long are placed were each leather strip intersects. The interesting aspect of the mask is it gives the impression of a torturing device. The twenty-one sharpened pencils following the profile of the wearers face is slightly unsettling at first glance. As well as the jet back color that is given to both the pencils and strips of the mask. After enjoying Pencil Mask because of its creative value and artistic quality it became my most favored of Rebecca Horn's sculptures.
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/bleistiftmaske/images/1/
Megan Perritt
When looking at the various artists, Sarah Sze’s work highly interested me. One sculpture of hers that I thought is exceptional is Triple Point of Water. The sculpture consists of a primarily blue palette and next to blue incorporates a lot of orange objects. Triple Point of Water was made of interconnected pipes carefully pieced together and held merely by the walls surrounding it and ropes, most likely placed to stabilize the piece. Strategically fitted in the network of pipes are various tanks. Inside the tanks are white objects which projections create unique negative spaces. These objects look like they would be skeletons of some sort. An assortment of items representing vegetation is also placed in the array of pipes and tanks. Grass rises from layers of what appears to be layers of Styrofoam with a whitish-blue tint with sharp, crisp edges and corners. Orange objects shaped as leafless trees also project up some branches extended outside the top barrier created by the flat layers of Styrofoam. As well as branches extending up, an entire tree is above this barrier. I liked Triple Point of Water because of all the movement of it. There seemed like so much was going on yet everything centered on one main idea. I feel like it represents how water affects many things we do in our everyday lives and how necessary it is for us.
http://www.sarahsze.com/projects/Whitney_2003/Whitney.html
I like the work of Tom Friedman.Tom uses different material in most of his work but there is this one special piece that i like which is untitled.It was created in the year 2000. The piece is a fragmentation of a motorcycle accident and it is made of paper.I like this piece because it shows a view of comedy and horror.The source of colors he uses makes it looks like a real person splat dead in an accident.Im a big fan of this piece because I like to see scenes like this which really facinates me.And although it is described that his only source of material was paper it looks as if he used more than just paper because it looks to realistic.He used construction paper to make the splattered effect in the piece,which took him hours because he cut scraps of paper.I believe that the piece is currently on display at the SITE Santa Fe biennial.{ www.thecityreview.com/f06pcon1.html}
Spikie
Yoshimoto Nara's sculpture “ Pilgrims (Night Walking)” was a piece I found to be very interesting. Its 5 figures done in fiberglass and painted on with acrylic with accents of cotton. The figures are of androgynous (and cute) children wearing what looks like sheep-inspired robes. They have pale skin and only hints of hair over their faces, which are child-like and have a dreaming expression. The colors of their robes are of the most basic colors; red,blue,yellow,black, and white. They are all wandering aimlessly, as if sleep walking (and thus the title). Everything is uniform except for their colors and direction, but this doesn't seem to matter to them because they can't see that. What I like most about this piece is it's cleanliness and simplicity. Because they can't see each other, they have no prejudice towards each other. Also, the sheep-inspired clothing along with their pale skin radiates their innocence, and makes the image feel as though these lambs are being herded by some unseen force to wherever it bids, despite who they are. So, in a way, they are like pilgrims following their god. I also especially how Nara uses only the primary colors,black, and white because it shows a kind of originality, like these children are new and unstained by other influences of the world that they have yet to see. They may also be unaware of each other's existence. I think Nara, to make these pieces first cast them in fiberglass. Afterwards, those figures were painted and the cotton added to the inside of the robes for the finished individual sculptures. They were then placed in possibly random order, or perhaps on purpose facing in certain directions. If you notice, they are all somewhat facing the viewer.
Overall, I think this piece was very successful.
http://www.blumandpoe.com/yoshitomonara/newworks.htm?index=4
the artist that impressed me the most was gabriel orozco. i examines his paintings and came accross one called "papalotes negros" or (black kites). the piece contins a skull and desingns with graphite. the patters consist of black squares and diamonds that in contrast with the white skull make the piece mysterious, but yet again a divine beauty. the contrast between the colors is an ingenious though and if put in a black backround it gives u the sense that the piece blends in with its dark sorrounding. the piece is 8.5 x 5 x 6.25. the other why i believe this painting 2 be succesful is the way that he repeats this same pattern all across the skull covering and beautyfying every inch of a macabre and "unjoeyable" presence of a skull. orozco having a mexican backroung makes the piece far more understandable and accesible to the public. it reminds me of being a decorative piece for the day of the dead or (el dia de los muertos) a holiday celebrated annualy in mexico
http://mariangoodman.com/Orozco/6.htm
Jessica Suhr,
Nick Cave's famous installations of wearable sculptures caught my eye while I was looking through the artists posted on this blog. Called soundsuits by the artist, these sculptures are made from an alarming collection of mixed media ranging from woven hair to lavishly decorated fabrics. One type of soundsuit in particular was specially fascinating to me. This soundsuit included tightly fitting leggings decorated with a festively bright colored floral pattern. At the feet of the sculpture stems sock like striped and rainbow colored garmets. The torso is encased in a cylindrical metal cage containing large pastel hued flowers. While studying this sculpture I was interested in how the encased and nonhuman nature of the torso was contrasted against the humanoid and organic form of the lower body. What I most enjoyed about this piece is the contrast given off by the pastel hued and realistic flowers of the torso and the fantastical flower pattern of the legs and feet. http://www.wearableartblog.com/.a/6a00e54fd5676f8834010536bc82a9970b-300wi
Carlos M. Ortiz did gabriel orozco
sry for not writing name on it.
Ryan Henderson.
Zhang Huan is a modern performance artist based in New York City. Zhang Huan was born in 1965, in a small city in Eastern China. Zhang Huan began persuing his own interests as a performance artist at a young age, and was often reprimanded for some of the things he did in his performances, they were often considered inappropriot. Zhang Huan always involved his own body in his art work in some creative way, a prime example is the performance piece called "To Raise the Water Level in a Fishpond", this performance was done in Beijing in 1997, and its an example of how he would use his body as a method of expressing himself. Zhang Huan has admited that alot of his art is inspired from his interest in Tibetan Buddhism, Many of his sculptures and paintings depict Buddhist related themes. However, I view Zhang Huan as almost a radical performance artist. Alot of his art is very original and generally interesting in one way or another, whether its the way he uses ashes and dust from temples to make sculptures or how he performs public performances with masochistic themes to shock society. I myself have an interest in Buddhism, So, when I saw some of Zhang Huans art, I decided to use his art as an inspiration for my next piece, which was the buddha I chisled out of a plaster block. in conclusion, Zhang Huan is an incredible modern Sculptor, performance artist and painter based in New York. to learn more about Zhang Huan, refer to the following sites : http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/zhang_huan.htm-------- or-------http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Huan.
Isamar cardentey
Looking through the list of modern and contemporary scupltors I caught myself going back more than once to Nick Caves sculptures “soundsuits”2009. They are bold and intriguing and they made me want to learn more about his work. They are made out of a variety of materials, each one is unique in its own way. Some made with beads, others with feathers and cloth with no shape to them and others formfitting with metal branching out of them. They are displayed on a blank white runway and this makes them pop out even more.They all have one thing in common though, they all have unique patters and their colors are vibrant and that is what I like most about them. The colors in this sulpture are very similar to the colors I like to use in my own works so that is why I think I was attracted to these pieces the most. They also made me think in a different way. When I first herd the name “soundsuits” I thought that they were soundproof suits. Suits that were for hiding and camoflauge.It sort of creepy thinking that someone could be camoflauged in these suits and that is anothother thing that intrigued me. But in reality when I learned more about the sculptures I figured out that they are a twist on African and Religious ceremonial costumes. That their name was given to them because of the noise they made when worn. I chose these sculptures and not just one of them because I felt that each and everyone of them were special. Nick cave is definitely an impresive and inspiring artist.
isamar cardentey...
sorry i forgot the link
http://www.jackshainman.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=1360&ExhibitID=107
Erika Suhr
As I browsed through images I was struck by Robert Rauschenberg's combines, specifically Charlene. This sculpture is a combination of oil paint, charcoal, paper, fabric, wood, plaster, a mirror, and metal on four Homasote panels mounted on wood with an electric light. I was most impressed by the arrangement. Despite being compiled of incongruous objects there is a marked unity although its not unifom. The colors are predominantly warm except for small variations. Its
has a bit of a messy feel but everything is divided into panels or compartments giving it order in it's disorder. I feel that the artist made this in such a way that I feel compelled to search for meaning but without success. And maybe its just meant to be something done for the sole purpose of making something beautiful and I have no problem with that. I enjoy the vibrancy and energy, and the contradiction it poses, how a mass of junk can be interestingl and appealing.
Gema Corrales
In my artistic opinion Duane Hanson is an extraordinary sculptor. His works show emotion, depth. When you look at Duane’s work what you see is a reflection of everyday life, from his Tourist II to his drug addict sculpture. You experience new things as you look at the small details of the facial expression, hair, skin discoloration, wrinkles, fat, blemishes etc. in my opinion Duane Hanson is the most amazing realist sculptor to date. The materials he mostly worked with are; polyester resin, fiberglass, Bondo and Bronze. His work is associated with the pop art movement, as well as hyperrealism. Hanson received his Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in 1946 and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. In the mid- 1980s, Hanson’s works were cast in bronze, via life casting. He handpicked wigs, clothing and accessories. Hanson’s works are perfect simulacra even going as far as fooling visitors to the museums. Duane Hanson is the artist most associated with photorealism. He is called Verists. The piece that struck me the hardest was Man on a Bench, it took Hanson a year to completely finish this piece, he started on 1997 and finished in 1998, he used polychromed in oil, with accessories life size. This piece struck me so hard because of the pose and look of this man. He is slouched forward like he just gave up. His starting too bald, around his early 60s, and he looks like he is just about to give up. The look on his face is a faraway look while he holds a package in his hands. His shirt is dirty striped pink and blue, while his pants are navy blue that ride up to your bellybutton, long socks with regular men shoes, the perfect example to an old bystander in a park or waiting for the bus. Hanson’s work is so detailed you can see the skin discoloration from the sun, the wrinkles, his forehead being scrunched up, while his jaw sags. His mouth into a deep frown like state. In my opinion this pieces is one of his strongest in his sets.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/artpages/duane_hanson_man_bench.htm
Daniel Santa
After searching through every artist and examining all their artwork I was found to be amazed by Jeff koons. The pieces that amazed me where the balloon dogs that he made. The balloon dogs were made out of high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating. The color and brightness of his sculptures made it seem very fun, he made 5 unique versions which are blue, magenta, yellow, orange, and red. Jeff koons was lucky enough to exhibit his pieces in London, Naples, Los Angeles, New York, and ECT. Another amazing detail that amazed me was the size of his sculptures. Everyone is use to seeing balloon animals as small little balloons but Jeff koons changes that view in little toys. His sculptures tend to be 121 x 143 x 45 inches, 307.3 x 363.2 x 114.3 cm. Lastly I loved the reflections in his pieces because it made me think what material he used and made me want to see what was around it.
http://www.jeffkoons.com/site/index.html
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Sage Roatta
The artist i chose to write about was Jim Drain. When i first saw his work i knew i wanted to write about it. It is different than alot of art. He mainly knits, but he uses alot of other materials as well. The piece i would like to single out is called "Vagabond". Unlike other pieces, this one is smaller and less noticable from afar. Although, when you get closer you can see the effort and time he put into it. This sculpture is shaped like a -V- that has beautiful coils wrapped around it. On the ends of these coils are slanted flat platforms. Then in the center, dangaling from one side to the other is a chain with smaller and more delicate trinkets hanging off it. The kind that would be hanging off a vagabonds bag. To go into more detail, this piece, like all of Drains pieces, is decorated with a bright array of different colored fabrics. Each coil is a different color and texture with exotic designs. Some are tie-die, striped, swirled, and some are just solid colors. There is nothing average about this piece. It is complex and makes you think about what he was trying to say with it all. How it was just as pritty as it was intreguing. Im not exactly sure how he made this piece. I have looked for helpful websites but i only found one that might be helpful. It mainly talkes about the material he uses and why he uses them. http://layersofmeaning.org/wp/?p=250
The artist who's sculpter I liked was Zhang Huan. My favorite piece of his is "Berlin Buhdda". This piece is made of two main components, an ash Buhdda and an aluminum Buhdda. They are both faceing each other. The Ash Bhudda is 189 x 138 x 114 inches(480 x 350 x 290 cm) and the Aluminum Bhudda is 114 x 102 x 146 inches(290 x 260 x 370 cm). The Ash Bhudda was made by collecting insens ash from Bhuddist tempels and packing it into the aluminum Bhudda. What I like most about this piece is the concept that over time the environment will affect the work,as the floor shakes with movement the ash Bhudda will fall into pieces. I belive that this piece represents the industrialization of China and how old customes are slowly dieing while new ones are becoming stronger.
-MAX G.
http://www.zhanghuan.com/ShowWorkContent.asp?id=125&iParentID=63&mid=2
jieshbfiuykashjefiu!!!!
Among the lists of contemporary artists and sculptors, I find the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude to be particularly interesting. I enjoy their large-scale environmental works because of their interaction with the public. The undertaking of such pieces necessitates tremendous levels of planning and work force. One work that stands out in its grandness is The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979-2005. Despite the title spanning 26 years, the actual work of art only remained at the Central Park location for 16 days. At the end of the show, the gates were removed and the materials recycled. All 7,503 gates, were 16 feet in height but varied in width from 5 to 18 feet according to the 25 different widths of the park’s walkways. Twenty-three miles of walkways were adorned with free-hanging saffron colored nylon panels, hanging 7 feet above the ground, suspended from the top of the gates. The Gates have the ability to interact with their audience. Its as much a vast sculpture as it is a public happening. They seem to illuminate the pathways, providing warmth for the park itself, as they flutter through the breeze. I found The Gates to be a joyous piece of work, something entirely elegant.
Caroline Haldeman-Emmerling
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/
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