Phoebe Bejarano
David Miller paper
Sculpture 1
American abstract expressionist sculptor and painter David Smith, who
passed away in 1965, is best known for his extremely large steel abstract geometric
sculptures. Early works of his during the great depression with famous artists such
as Stuart Davis, and Willem de Kooning, and his studying of the welded sculptures of
Julio Gonzalez and Picasso, led Smith to direct his skills towards combining painting
and construction. His first pieces progressed as he began to use three-dimensional
objects such as wood, coral, wire, metal, and other able to weld materials. As smith
gained success and appraisal he began to complete works done in series. The series
he is best known for is the Cubis. These works were constructed of stainless steel
fragments, hand-brushed with gestural strokes. The Cubi works consisted of an
arrangement of geometric shapes, highlighting the elements of balance and positive
and negative space. The Cubi collection has a industrial feel with the shine of the
silver metal, it makes the eye dance from corner to corner, keeping the viewer
interested.
Other works Smith is known for have been referred to as “drawings in
space”, which seem to blur the lines between whether it is a painting or a sculpture.
These pieces use space as an element to convey the message of the structure, it
contains a two-dimensional appearance, portrays a image, but the lines or
brushstrokes of the piece are formed with three-dimensional materials. This
collaboration of his painting skills and sculpting abilities create extremely unique
and interesting displays. If the viewer would be looking at it face on, the materials in
the work, and the background or landscape, would create an image through positive
and negative space. As the viewer shifted left and right the image would change,
perhaps the color originally in the top corner, would dominate the center now, and
ever the textures showing through the negative spaces would vary with the viewer.
Continuing to observe the piece the viewer might start to walk around the work,
evolving the piece from a two-dimensional image into a sculpture. The sculptures
size would vary as well, looking at it form the side it might look like just a single line,
with many others hiding, extremely different from the wide and busy view from the
front of the sculptor.
Some of the serra verbs that would apply to David Smith’s art, specifically the
“drawings in space” pieces would be to curve, to arrange, to open, and of location.
These refer to the actual placement of the materials, the special elements, and the
ability of the viewer to manipulate their viewing by moving around the art. The
principle of contrast is also seen in these works, the contrast between the rough
materials and the endless possibilities of elements that would make up the framed
negative spaces. Another principle is pattern; Smith uses repetitive lines and curves
to create images in the air.