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SOMETIMES MY BLOG POSTS ARE ABOUT CONNECTING DOTS. My life is about connecting the dots, but only my friend Paul would say he understands that statement. Anywho, here are two dots “connected”— a totally odd and bizarre terra-cotta “cutaway” sculpture of a primitive human-like sitting man, and a more contemporary scientific illustration of a male human body who looks a bit like television’s Don Draper of Mad Men. The primitive one has a penis, the more modern representation of a man does not. I don’t know, I’m just making an observation here.
(Above) Life-size “leather” jacket, carved from wood, stained and painted.
(Above) Life-size “T-Shirt,” carved from wood, stained and painted.
(Above) Life-size “quilt,” carved from wood, stained and painted.
(Above) Detail of quilt.
(Above and below) Carved from wood and painted, these “hats” are a popular Fraser Smith series of carvings.
FRASER SMITH IS a wood sculptor who makes tromp l’oeil sculptures from carved wood of soft, malleable things—things like coats and shirts and quilts. His is an art of fooling our eye. “That is NOT made of wood!” you can hear a viewer say.
Highly skilled and proficient in his craft—Fraser’s art can please any level of artistic savvy, especially those who do not “think” too deeply about art. What I mean by this is that I contend that you could put five Mark Rothko masterpieces in a room with five Fraser Smith sculptures, open it to the general public and guess who would win the popularity contest? Yep—Fraser Smith.
I say this not as a slam to Fraser’s work, as I like to say “wow” as well when I see things. I enjoy art that makes me wonder. It is just that the general public has always been drawn to art when it shows what they believe to be artistic difficulty. Isn’t that what the general public thinks art should be? Art should make one say “wow,” and that is why Fraser Smith probably sells every piece he makes. His is definitely a populist art.
So, is there a difference, dear readers, between Fraser Smith’s work and that of Oleg Dou or Ron Mueck, two artists I have recently written about on this blog who deal in a world of hyped-up super realism? You tell me.
Does the ability to make something fool our eye and question with our perceptions of reality— is that enough to constitute high art? After all, untold numbers of sign painters of yesterday painted super real paintings on billboards all the time. Why weren’t they recognized as artists?
As for Fraser Smith and his work, I say “Go Fraser!” and keep making people say “WOW!” See more of his marvelous work here.
Mueck started his career as in London where he was a model-maker for children’s television and films, including the amazing film Labyrinth. His first work which captured the attention of collector’s and the fine art world was Dead Dad, a sculpture of Mueck’s father. In that piece he used his own hair for the piece which was smaller in scale that life size.
(Above) An ordinary cardboard toilet paper roll. Click any image for larger view. Click image for larger view. Click any image for larger view. WHAT TO DO WITH LEFT OVER TOILET PAPER ROLLS? JUNIOR JACQUET of France has an answer that works for him. He recycles and reuses these cardboard rolls into a legion of odd characters with contorted faces. His process is simple: Jacquet paints—then pushes and pulls the cardboard roll, slowly revealing his next character.
All of Ganson’s machines begin with rough to detailed sketches. Click on drawing for larger view.
ARTHUR GANSON IS AN ARTIST WHO MAKES COMPLEX, KINETIC MACHINES with an existentialist approach. Unlike the whimsey machines of Rube Goldberg, Ganson’s machines take on more than just movement. With Ganson, you can get the feeling that you are witnessing subtle messages on the failed and fragile human condition—isolation, hopelessness, manipulation and the sometimes mundane repetition of life.
I selected this particular machine to show you because, as Ganson writes, it was made from a discarded baby doll that Ganson picked up along a road. I like it because of the subtle movement. Viewed from above, the baby doll (representative of man), is laid bare on an altar-like pedestal of stiff wires, it’s creepy movement slowly controlled by unseen forces. It’s a Frankenstein-like effect, a sacrificial offering.
There are many examples of Ganson’s work online, and I’ll be bringing you more from time to time. Enjoy this video, photos of other machines and some of his drawings for now.
Oh, btw, Ganson (b. 1955) is the inventor of the toy Toobers and Zots, has exhibited his work internationally and was a conference speaker at TED in Monterrey, CA.
