Landscapes are a significant subject in most artistic mediums and can act as "a sounding board for the artist's personal emotional response" (National Gallery of Art). Sam Richardson, the artist who created the object pictured above, combined his background experience of landscape painting with his interest in materials, specifically plastics, to create a series of landscape sculptures (Sheldon Museum of Art). This nontraditional approach differs from a landscape painting, which is a recreation or interpretation of a natural scene using canvas and paint which is usually displayed inside a museum. A painting allows the audience a snapshot of a specific natural setting at a particular moment in time. The perspective offered to viewers does not change, nor does the message the artist conveys. While landscape sculptures also involve interpretations of natural scenes, a sculpture differs in that it is a "three-dimensional representative or abstract form" requiring the audience to account for spatial elements of the object (Merriam-Webster). Because a sculpture takes up considerably more space than a painting, the viewer is required to interpret how this use of space contributes to the meaning of the object. This is even more relevant when the sculpture is located outside.
In this attractive example, Richardson uses the artistic medium to create a three-dimensional representation of a landscape. This scene not only reinterprets one common in nature, specifically mountains, but also interacts with the natural environment that surrounds it. Viewers of this sculpture have to consider how the external factors influence their perception of the object, and ultimately the argument that the object makes is altered because of this interaction. Unlike landscape paintings, the perspective that the author of this composition offers his audience is subject to change. This is reflected in the title the artist chose for his sculpture -- "Variable Wedge." Variable can be used to describe something that is "subject to variation or change" (Merriam-Webster Online). The interaction of this abstract representation of mountains is liable to change as the environment it is displayed in changes. After snow falls in the winter, I imagine the parallels between this abstract art object and a snow-caped mountain range are more apparent. In the summer, the blaring sun might cause the gray enamel finish of the sculpture to become more reflective, giving a different meaning to the seven peaks. In any situation, I wonder if the gray tones of this sculpture remind the audience of "purple mountain majesties?"
While variable is used to describe the changing message the sculpture presents, it is also paradoxical considering the design of the sculpture. Although the message of the object is influenced by the environmental surroundings, the object itself remains unaffected. It is cast from a specific type steel that is specially designed not to weather. This contradicts with the expected interaction between a synthetic form that has been subjected to the harsh conditions of the natural environment that surrounds it. Variable means changing, but the author made deliberate choices that will prevent this art object from changing in the most natural way possible. The COR-TEN "weathering" steel and waterproof enamel paint used create a lethal combination against the elements. This is analogous with the stability mountains in the context of their natural setting. It can take anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to millions of years for a mountain range to form. From the persepctive of a human life, which is a paltry one hundred years or less, mountains appear to be unchanging. Ultimately, this art object speaks to the shifting perspective that is adopted by the viewers.
Works Cited
"Landscape Art." NGA: Themes in American Art. National Gallery of Art, 2009. Web. Accessed 23 Nov. 2009 from http://www.nga.gov/education/american/landscape.shtm.
"Sculpture." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. Accessed 21 Nov. 2009 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sculpture.
"Sculpture Garden." Sheldon Museum of Art: Collection. Sheldon Museum of Art. Web. Accessed 21 Nov. 2009 from http://www.sheldonartmuseum.org/collection/sculpture_garden.html.
"Variable." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. Accessed9 Nov. 2009 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Variable.
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