WP3 :: Contextual Analysis

Oakland, California native Sam Richardson is an artist who has training and experience in landscape painting (Sheldon Sculpture Garden Brochure). When he began teaching at San Jose State University in 1964, he was introduced to plastics--"pliable, synthetic materials"--and began experimenting with the medium (Richardson). He created many of these landscape sculptures in from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. In an interview conducted for an exhibit that Richardson was featured in, he described his attraction to this genre as being "about the surface of the earth" and admitted to being attracted by form and textures (Richardson). This attraction is apparent in Richardson's landscape sculptures. The sculpture pictured above, titled "Most of That Iceberg is Below the Water," captures the still water surrounding an isolated iceberg. The glassy texture of the water surrounds the iceberg and creates an illusion of still waters. Richardson admits to not trying to make any underlying statements through his art, but that he enjoyed making a statement about the "beauty of the land." His inspiration from the beauty of nature seems to speak to the modernist approach of creating "art for art's sake" (Witcombe).

There was scant other information available online or from the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery about Richardson, but there was significant information about the medium that he chose to use for this art object. Despite Richardson's background in working with plastics in the 1960s and 1970s, he decided to use metal to create "Variable Wedge" when he completed it between 1982 and 1983. The metal he chose is COR-TEN steel, which is also known as weathering steel. This metal differs from traditional steel alloy blends because it is designed to weather in such a way that it does not deteriorate. As this material is considers often for sculptors and metal workers, I'm sure the artiste took this into account when constructing this art object. Since the title of the sculpture, "Variable Wedge" indicates a change, the artist's choice of material contradicts this notion. This component of the composition would not have been as evident had Richardson used his material of choice--plastics. We have designed plastics to be long-lasting and durable. There is no though of change when discussing plastics. In fact, we designed plastics so well, that we have to work hard to get rid of them when they have outlived their usefulness! Through this sculpture change is involved, even though it the art object itself is not the entity that is changing.

Works Cited

"EXHIBITION ITEM DETAIL: Most of That Iceberg is Below the Water." San Jose Museum of Art. Web. Accessed 1 Dec. 2009 from http://www.sjmusart.org/content/exhibitions/exhibition_infoDetail.phtml?itemID=6084&eventID=351.

Richardson, Sam. Interview by Heather Green, Curator. "De-Natured: Works from the Anderson Art Collection." Podcast. San Jose Museum of Art. Retrieved 30 Nov. 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGcxrm1tMWs.

"Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden." Brochure. Lincoln: A to Z Printing. Accessed 30 Nov. 2009 from http://sheldonartgallery.org/photos/graphics/sculpturebrochure.pdf.

Witcombe, Christopher L. C. E.. "Art for Art's Sake." Modernism. Web. Accessed 30 Nov. 2009 from http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/artsake.html

WP3 :: Intensification

Through the course of this writing project, I have asked myself a number of questions; I have often wondered, "What is art?" Through further examination of art objects I have developed some answers to this question. Art is produced using skill, which is "acquired by experience, study, or observation" in a creative fashion for the purpose of creating an aesthetically pleasing outcome (Merriam-Webster). It required some artistic skill to create "Variable Wedge," the art object located in the Sheldon Memorial Sculpture Garden between the Westbrook Music Building and Architecture Hall. The composition of the shape, line, and colors of the sculpture required some type of artistic skill, as did working with the metal to produce a product that was uniform and attractive. This abstract art object could be seen as "art for art's sake," or a piece of art that was constructed solely for "its own intrinsic value ... produced not for the public's sake," but I would argue that this is not the case (Witcombe).

If "Variable Wedge" were simply "art for art's sake," there would be no greater meaning other than the whims and desires of the artist. The seven pieces of steel that are poured and arranged to create this art object could have no "edifying, utilitarian, or moral function" (Witcombe). This certainly wouldn't make for a very exciting writing project! Instead, we can reconsider the art object in question as an "intensification" of what we originally perceived it to be. Instead of seeing this art object only for its aesthetic value--seven pieces of wedge-shaped steel painted gray and accented using complementary colors--we can view it through an exaggerated lens. That said, this art object could represent a number of things. The term wedge can describe an object that is "driven into something ... causing breach or separation" (Merriam-Webster). The pieces of the wedge seem to be coming together, aligning and rising from the ground to separate the Westbrook Music Building from the rest of campus. In the area adjacent to this building on the southwestern part of campus a number of performing arts edifices are located--The Kimball Recital Hall, Johnny Carson Theatre, Lied Center for Performing Arts, and Temple Building. Does this pending separation help explain that the performing arts are separate from the visual arts? Several buildings that house classes for the visual arts lie across the rift created by this wedge--Architecture Hall, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, the Woods Art Building, and Richards Hall. Did the procurer of this art object want to punctuate this growing rift? I wonder if this sentiment hold true now as it did over twenty years ago when the art object was acquired? This would suggest that the fourth dimension, time, is a factor in unpacking the meaning of this sculpture.

We could also view this sculpture as an intensification of the natural environment in which it is located. The landscape of Nebraska is relatively flat. The terrain lacks dramatic differences in elevation, and the rolling hills and bluffs have long eroded from the majestic mountains over the last few million years. This sculpture, with its conic peaks, "contrasts with the flat, plain terrain on which it is placed" (Sheldon Sculpture Brochure). This contrast intensifies the meaning of this sculpture, and the gray finish lends to an interpretation of the art object as a mountain range. The seven peaks present a great obstacle that seems impenetrable from a distance. As the distance decreases, the viewer realizes that there is not one, unit but several individual "peaks" united by a series of valleys. These valleys provide division--enough to provide a pass. Through this expanded view of the art object in the natural environment surrounding it, the viewer's perspective shifts and requires a reevaluation of what was first viewed as an issue. Intensification is necessary to view the art object in this light.

Works Cited

"Art." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. Accessed 30 Nov. 2009 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art.

"Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden." Brochure. Lincoln: A to Z Printing. Accessed 30 Nov. 2009 from http://sheldonartgallery.org/photos/graphics/sculpturebrochure.pdf.

Witcombe, Christopher L. C. E.. ""Art for Art's Sake"." Modernism. Web. Accessed 30 Nov. 2009 from http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/artsake.html

WP3 :: Revisiting "Variable Wedge"

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.