Metal Sculpture / "Urns and Vessels"

After exhausting my possibilities of more concrete work, I turned to the next medium that my studio was set up to handle. I had a welding table from building the skeletons of steel for my concrete and steel columns and Tripods. I had the welding equipment and grinders ready to put to work. The next move would be to create sculptures from sheet metal. These pieces gave me new possibilities in creating forms with finer features than concrete. Concrete does not lend itself to tight angles and thin dimensions that are possible to achieve in in steel. I chose the color Black for this series as it was closest to the natural; color of hot rolled steel. I had always used the natural color of the materials for my color palette. Steel being prone to rusting , I decided to go with semi gloss black enamel paint to match the original color of the steel as close as possible.

I began to expand on my Vocabulary of shapes as the material opened new possibilities. It was exciting to start building Volumes again unlike the the pieces from my past series which was all planer. One of the most interesting forms that I invented was a Circular form with waving edges. The concept grew from looking at my hands slightly open, but clasped together. Another way to describe it would be to take two curved round potato chips put together with their curves inward and touching in opposed directions. I had never seen such a form and believe it is elementary to Geometry and is as significant a shape as any square,sphere etc. This form is in the foreground of the picture above.

Because of the shapes and volumes of this series I decided to call it "Urns & Vessels", for the obvious reasons of their anthropomorphic and utilitarian shapes as abstract as they are. The Black also gave the somber but tough feeling of a Urn, and the the soaring motion lent itself to the likeness of a vessel. The show embodied abstract versions of the male and female figure along with more geometric subjects. Another shape created was my own version of a Obelisk, a for sided form with opposing wedges, 2 sides up and 2 sides facing down. These possibilities were a real change, and the possibilities of sleeker forms were now possible in steel. The show which was at Newspace Gallery in 1999 was a commercial success, however the reviews were not as favorable. How much credence can you give the opinion of the critic when the public puts out spontaneous support and enthusiasm? This question can open up a whole new topic of discussion.

Concrete and Stainless Steel Sculptures

After taking several years off from making art I had moved into the Art Deco, "Desmond's" Building in the Mid Wilshire Area of Los Angeles Where I began doing sculpture studies for a new updated series of Concrete and Stainless Steel Columns. These New Contemporary Art pieces would be started in a smaller scale in expanded cement and aluminium and were exhibited at Hoffman Borman Gallery in Santa Monica along with Richard Sera in 1988. The lease on the "Desmond's" Studio had doubled around 1989 when Ace Gallery leased the whole 30,000 square feet of the 2nd floor of this building for their new Modern Art Gallery. Due to this improvement in the building, when my 3 year lease was up it had doubled forcing me to move farther East to Downtown Los Angeles on Olympic and Slauson. The ceilings in this new studio were 20 feet plus so I began doing very large "Concrete and Stainless Steel" on Steel Tubular columns, some without the tubular columns, from 8 ft. to 16 feet high. These pieces were fairly ambitious as few Galleries had ceilings tall enough to house such tall works.

This series was a vast improvement over my first "Concrete Columns" from the 70's. The construction was of a completely new engineered system. Instead of the columns being conceived in a X pattern from the top view with four opposing faceted sides, I looked at the X top view as where stainless Steel rails would be welded in place to steel re-bars in opposing faceted sides. This time the metal skeleton would become the structure for the wooden molds to be clamped to the stainless rails creating a column that was more durable, had protected edges and was more streamlined than its preciser from the 70's. It was also the opening of a new additions to my Vocabulary as the shapes on each side of the sculpture was created by connecting the opposing edges of 2 facets from all 4 points. In a way you could say I took facets and had simply gone to 3/4 view on each side compared to their block like predecessors.

This series took more than 3 years to complete and during this time I found that my rent was bleeding me dry. I decided to move to a equally large space for half the money in a all Black neighborhood known as South Central. It was funny when I would walk to the corner Liquor Store for cigarettes I would often be stopped by the police , who would ask if I was lost, being one of the few White people in the neighborhood.

After completing around 8 fairly monumental "Concrete and Stainless Steel Columns" I was picked up by The Jan Turner Gallery and had my first One Man show again in quite a few years. I had gotten myself in several group shows along the way but Jan Turner was the next dealer to give me a shot at a Solo Show again in 1990 on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. My name had kind of dried up after leaving the Art Scene for 5 years but I was to fight on, the Art Scene had grown so much during these years that it was almost like starting over.
I remained in South Central for around 6 years and during this time I returned to Newspace Gallery after Jan Turner retired.
I had met a beautiful Dutch girl during this time and got married. The only problem being she did not drive a car and worked for a fashion designer in Venice. She would have to walk through the streets of South Central every morning to get the Bus to go to her job in Venice. One day some Black Girls started throwing rocks at her from off the train tracks. This was a sign that it was time to move again.
We had gotten in the habit of taking weekend trips once or twice a month and one of these trips we went to Palm Springs. I was no stranger to this town as my father was a Architect and had worked their in the 50's and 60's. We were on our way to San Diego from Palm Springs and my wife had picked up a Real Estate Brochure. She began reading off large properties with new homes for $50,000, $60,000 and even $40,000. We had looked at possible studios to buy in Long Beach, San Pedro and even Boyle Heights, but these places were at least $185,000 in a bad neighborhood. Needless to say I turned the car around and we checked into the Hotel 6 in Palm Springs. The next morning we went to the first Real Estate office we could find. I told the Realtor I was a sculptor and needed a place that was remote enough to not bother neighbors with the grinding I did when working on my sulptures. He showed us a beautiful New Home with Tile Roof on 1/4 acre for $59,000 in a area known as "B Bar H Ranch". The place was perfect and I could not talk my wife into looking at anymore homes, so purchased the house on the spot and moved to the out skirts of Palm Springs, in 1995. Needless to say the old tried and true reoccurred and after some time the artist started showing up in the neighboring communities such as Ed Moses and Zittel with her "High Desert Test Site". Just goes to show that where the artist go to find cheap rent, always ends up drawing more artist and eventually the prices go up and the ones left out must search out new areas. Unfortunately at this time in 2008 most areas have been developed and I feel sorry for the young artist to come, as real estate and studio's are now so expensive that I am wondering how the next generation will survive. Anyway this is how I ended up in the desert and find L.A. to be night mare after spening almost 45 years there. The overpopulation, high rents and grid lock, is such a contrast to where I am now. I don't regret moving to the desert for a minute.

Stainless Steel Metal Sculpture

Of all the materials that can be used to build Modern Contemporary Sculpture, Stainless Steel is one of the most enduring. It can take all temperatures and climates and end up looking the same for eternity. However as beautiful and enduring the material is it is one of the hardest to work with. It is such a hard material that without a Plasma cutter and special grinding wheels it is almost impossible to work with. David Smith used it in his "Cubi" series with much success in his approach, using a industrial shear to cut it and leaving his weld bare or not grinding them to a finished corner. This was a great way to get around working with such a hard material. Stainless steel is nothing more than regular steel with nickel added. The more nickel added the higher the grade of stainless you are dealing with.

I chose to use stainless steel in my "Split Plane" series. It had all the features I was looking for. For me the answer to all my sculptural questions is "Light". Stainless steel definitely embodied the reflective qualities of light, even when sandblasted as the "Split Plane Series was. If any one knows the where abouts of the stainless piece in the photograph above please contact Christopher Georgesco at georgesco1@yahoo.com as the piece went missing sometime in the early 80's.
This "Split Plane" series lasted for 3 years 1981-1984 and was another departure from using volumes as in my early wood and and concrete sculptures, however in many ways it was a extension of the "Mixed Metals" series. These Stainless Steel pieces are among my favorite planer works.
After this series I lost the lease on my Venice Studio. By that time Venice had become overpopulated and very expensive. I was at a New Years Eve Party at one of my first Art Collector's, and a beautiful woman with Red Henna Hair in a Gold La-may Dress walked in the room. I was struck by how much she looked like the copper and bronze sculptures I had worked on a few years earlier. Little did I know that this woman was the owner of a successful Natural Skin Care Corporation and 2 weeks later I found myself in Paris at the Ritz Hotel wearing Armani suits and bearing the card of Art Director. For the next 5 years I would travel extensively through France, Italy Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, Bali, Puerto Rico, Mexico, New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago and of course New York. As much as I missed making Art this was a great opportunity to see all the Art I had studied in Art History, and a great way to familiarize myself with the world. Five years later I returned to making Sculpture again. As with all good things, times change and you must change with them. I dumped the house I owned on Beverly Glen in Bel Air, California and picked up a new studio in the Wilshire District of L.A. in a Old Art Deco High Rise named the "Desmond's Tower". The old tried and true took place again after securing the entire 8th floor, 3 years later , Ace Gallery Leased the entire 30,000 square foot 2nd floor and when my initial lease ended the the owner doubled my lease and I was now off to Downtown L.A. the next place to become a hot spot for Art. To View More Images Click> www.georgescoart.com

Mixed Metal Sculpture

Around 1980 I began working on a new Series tittled "Mixed Metals." The Series was a experiment in working with Planes, rather than Volumes as I had in the past. I also began using different metals for their color properties to contrast to one another. The photograph in this section is one of the first Split Plane pieces I did in "Mixed Metals", it was 9 feet tall and approx. 1,000 pounds.

At this time I was very much into exploring the possibilities of using natural materials for color as I had in the past, but now I was traveling in a new direction. Switching from Volumes to Planes and using different metals as one would use paint for colors. This piece shown was made of Cor 10 steel (a steel which oxidizes and heals over to become weather resistant) and Galvanized Steel also known as Zinc plating. I investigated many combinations of metals. Copper, Bronze, Nickel, Cor10 Steel and Stainless Steel, all for their contrasts in color. Not only was I working with a new concept, changing my sculpture from volumes to planes, but I began adding new shapes to my Vocabulary.

I would sometimes work in series of 3, by cutting the same shapes out of 3 identical size pieces of different metals, such as nickel, copper and bronze.. The pieces would later be switched around in a mixed combination of the 3 metals, making each pieces the same configuration, but the color combinations of each pieces different. The result would be 3 similar sculptures with 3 different color combinations.

For me when one idea is explored and worked out to a point of redundancy its time to move on. Maybe using a new concept, but always using the same Vocabulary of shapes. As with a Language your vocabulary will grow the more you explore the possibilities of your Language. Sometimes taking a walk in the Park can give you a renewed vision of your work. (click the tittle Mixed Metals to view more examples of this series) or Click > http://www.georgescoart.com/

Concrete Sculpture

The next phase from Georgesco's Wood Sculptures was to use one of his Wood Floor Pieces from 1973 and stand it upright on a 12' x 12' x 3' thick piece of Steel Plate with holes drilled into it to accommodate steel re-bars, which were latter welded in place. The wood floor piece had become the first mold for what was to be Georgesco's first Concrete Column. The wooden floor piece which was now standing vertical on the steel plate was siliconed in place to prevent the now to be mold from leaking. The steel re-bars were carefully fitted inside the now first half of the wooden mold. After the the re-bar was fitted a second half of the mold was constructed from 3/4" inch plywood and fitted and silconed in place, the mold was held together with bar clamps.

The ceilings in Georgesco's Venice, California Studio were 10' tall so the pieces which stood 119" tall were set under a recessed skylight to allow room for the concrete to be poured into the top of the mold. The finished Columns were only 1" shy of touching the ceilings when completed. A custom formula of concrete was prepared with pea gravel to accommodate the tight fitting tolerances between the re-bar and the mold. A minimum of 1.5" of concrete is the minimum tolerance for reinforced concrete. Of course Acrylic additives were used with the Portland Cement Formula for added strength an flexibility. Latter pieces used Formica which was laminated to the concrete molds to produce a glass like finish similar to marble and vibrated with a special concrete vibrator to eliminate any air pockets.

This was beginning of a new series of sculptures in concrete which evolved from their first relatives "The Wooden Floor Piece Series". This is how a artist can become prolific in his work. The artist must simply allow the work to speak and with a Vocabulary of Shapes in place the works begin to evolve on a journey of their own. This Series of Concrete Columns and Tripods was the catalyst to catapult Georgesco into the Top Collections in Los Angeles and New York. The first exhibition of these Modern Contemporary Sculptures was at Newspace Gallery, in Los Angeles 1976. The exhibition was deemed as a overnight success in 1976, and in 1977 William Wilson, critic from the Los Angeles Times wrote, " Georgesco's work looks so solved, almost smugly knowledgeable about its own ability to push the Art Worlds Masterpiece button." These works as similar to their counter part the "Wooden Floor Pieces Series" standing vertically on end is a great example of how a vocabulary can evolve without being starched into its own formula.

Wood Sculpture

Wood Sculpture was a natural progression from painting for artist Christopher Georgesco. The materials used for his painting stretcher bars in 1968 were recycled into a series of sculpture studies tittled "Balance Beams" in 1969. These were the first Modern Contemporary Sculptures the artist created. The next move were a group of pieces tittled "Wood and Canvas Series" 1970-1971 and were also recycled from materials used in his painting for stretcher bars. This series used the tension of the canvas stretched on wood jigs through vertical placed wood dowels to hold the works together. The next series of wood sculptures Georgesco did were made from larger dimensions of the same square lengths of wood, this time expanded from 2" x 2" to 4' x 4'. They were to be his first investigation of divisions of a rectangle, a kindred relative of the square, in 1973-1974. These 4' x 4" x 10' pieces of Douglas Fir were divided and split in various configurations which would become the core of the artist Vocabulary and were simply places on the floor. This was the beginning of the first body of work that was commercially recognized and were exhibited at Jack Glen Gallery in Corona Del Mar in 1973. One of these wood floor pieces would serve as part of the first mold for the next series of sculptures that would graduate into reinforced concrete sculptures from 1975-1978. The humble material wood once hidden behind the stretched canvas of this artists early paintings eventually became the beginning of sculptures that would step by step metamorphosis's into 10" Concrete and Steel columns and Tripods that would catapult the artist into the public eye. This is a excellent example how the artist evolves a natural progression, almost as if by magic.

When Enough is Enough in Modern Contemporary Sculpture.

In a Artists quest for growth, he must decide when he has expired a idea or path of conception in Modern Contemporary Sculpture. Some Artist never veer from their original concept and do ever so slight variations on the same concept for their whole carriers. This sometimes may make sense in such mature works of Pollock or Mondrian. But as a whole most artist stick to one idea or a single concept throughout their carriers in a struggle for recognition. The plan being if I do the same style and materials for so many years than this will become a recognizable venture into a identity, thus crating a recognizable object. Such artists as John M Miller (who happens to be a painter) has practiced this formula for creating a recognizable object. His patterns of diagonal lines shifted ever so slightly in color or placement on the raw canvas becomes a search for the subtle. Maybe in fact this is a way to to become recognized for a style. Some sculptors such as Richard Sera a Leader in Modern Contemporary Sculpture has worked with extremely large plates of steel for decades. His work changes in subtle and not so subtle ways. One piece may be vertical another horizontal and yet another curved and horizontal etc. In the hands of a true Modern Contemporary Sculptor, the serial approach can be overwhelmingly insightful even when the core concept remains the same.

Architecture / A Natural Progression to Modern Contemporary Sculpture.

The Natural Progression of Modern Architecture would be Modern Contemporary Sculpture. The visual elements of Modern Architecture are composed and refined into a finished composition. The only difference between Modern Architecture and Modern Contemporary Sculpture is that Modern Architecture has a function. Some of the same problems exist in Modern Contemporary Sculpture as Architecture. Things such as Foundations, Cantilevered Elements, Balance of Composition etc. The freedom of Modern Contemporary Sculpture far out weights the freedom of Modern Architecture. As much as the Architect tries to express his ideas he is always bound to the needs and wishes of his Client. With few exemptions this rule holds true. One Architect who was inspired by the Artist in Venice Beach, Calif. is Frank Gehry. His work is of a sculptural quality and goes beyond the box of the Minimalist. In this way he has found freedom in Architecture in his expression. But as free as his structures may seem, their core element is the spaces designated within the sculptural facade by the owner (Thee Same old Box like Space). The freedom expressed is a sculptural facade concealing the in workings of its interior function. This does not make his work any less interesting, but is a demonstration of how such a radical statement in architecture still falls victim to the same problems of functionality. Even with the most Sculptural Modern Architecture the element of function still exists. This gives Modern Contemporary Sculpture a leg up in freedom of expression, as the sculptures only function is that of a visual expression. No rules , No box. (click the title to view the progression of a Modern Contemporary Sculpture, mentored by Modern Architecture.)

Pushing the Limits of Sculptural Materials.

Often in Modern Contemporary Sculpture one of the directions a sculptor may take is to push limits of his materials. Steel has many possibilities for such experimentation. In the "Leaves Series" by Christopher Georgesco, this is the parameter of the concept. Besides using light steel dowels to support his Double Reversed Arcs. This gives the work the airy feeling of flight, as the pieces seem to be barley supported by their skeleton supporting these Reversed Arcs. The airy quality of these pieces is accentuated by the fact that the pieces gracefully set down on 3 fine points adding to the feeling of lift off. Sometimes described as feathers these airy "Leave" sculptures are a test in ones ability to make a perceived heavy materials like steel soar. (click tittle to view examples.)

The Serial Progressions of Modern Contemporary Sculpture

The vast majority of recognized Modern Contemporary Sculptors work in a Serial content for recognition. That is they choose a medium or format which they stick to throughout there carriers. This method may produce a slow growth syndrome, but enables the artist to become recognized by drilling similar sculptures that are identifiable to the artist in the viewers mind. Such Serial Artists that have exceptional strength with this serial approach are Richard Serra and Mark di Surveo. Although these sculptors choose to work with the same problems through out their carriers they make slight adjustments to their formula year by year. If you were to go back to to the beginning of their carriers you would see a drastic change within the same content. This is found in the work of Modern Contemporary Sculptor, Christopher Georgesco. He has worked in Wood, Concrete and Steel, Painted Steel, among a assortment of other materials and has linked his works by not churning out slightly changed replicas of his former self in a Serial Content. He has chosen to use a constant vocabulary which links different phases together by using the same language other than the same formula as such artist as Bernar Venet. Vernet as successful has he might be does not impart the excitement of experimentation. As with Serra, Vernet seems to fall flat with his continuous use of coiled metal year after year. The presence of artistic growth does not seem to follow the commercial success that has apparently followed. Some times Identity from repetition may play into the hands of the mundane. Even when championed with the mirrored moves of tilts and postions of his obvious mentor Richard Serra.
A great example of a Modern Contemporary Sculptor who do not work in serial content is Bruce Nauman. His non-serial approach of changing from neon to rope to drywall to metal to his complete content make him in fact a serial Modern Contemporary sculptor in that he has chosen to become recognized as a serial artist by using a conceptual link. He is in fact one of the reasons that prove that there are no absolutes in Art and the fact that the rules are in place are a perfect reason to break them. Photo Above: "Concrete Block Series" 1973-1974.

A Parralex View of Modern Contemporary Sculpture Through The 21st Century.

Modern Contemporary Sculpture to the novice might conjure old images which have been drilled in us for years. To the untrained person the images of Picasso or Miro may appear in their mind. But Modern Contemporary Sculpture has a broad and expanded context in History. Not only the assemblages of Picasso's Goat transferred latter by Duchamp in a minimally fashioned bicycle seat and curved racing bike handle bars for horns. Not only the everyday floor tile converted to into metal by Carl Andre the Minimalist.

Many other terms exist within the confines of the term Modern Contemporary Sculpture. There was Abstract Sculpture, Constructivist Sculpture, Figurative / Modern & Classical Sculpture, Cubist Sculpture, Minimal Sculpture, Minimal Abstract Sculpture among many other movements some important and some merely a passing phase or trend.

As just mentioned Minimalism, a great spot to start to begin a topic of rebellion against the Cubist , Consructivists and Early Modernist. Brancusi a Romanian sculptor (1876-1957) who later worked in Paris was the father of the Minimal Movement although some may refer to his work as Abstract. Not to differ with these terms lets call his work Minimal Abstract, using Geometry as a substitute for nature. In contrast to his Contemporaries such as Picasso, his vision was the birth of Minimalism or Abstract Minimalism, a movement which would not really be exploited and posted till the 1960's. Brancusi's "Endless Column", a 100 ft column made up of repeating geometric shapes undulating in and out of space, the "Table of Silence","Bird in Flight" and his famous sculpture "The Kiss", are all works which were built in rebellion to the complicated "Abstract", "Cubist" and "Constructivist Movements". Just as Modernist Architecture pressed to reduce the complicated "Ginger Bread" motifs and complicated roof lines to sleek Cubes or Rectangles, Brancusi did the for Art. His first show shipped to America for exhibition was to be insured as Art. The Insurance company took one look at the simple shapes in stone, wood and bronze and rejected their claim. To them these works were nothing but building materials. Often the the likes of Artists pushing the envelope are misunderstood. However over time we have all recognized the powerful impact of the Modern Contemporary Sculpture. The everlasting statements of "Less is More" and the importance of more reductive modes of expression.

Minimalism came in to fashion and domination with its opposite Pop Art in the 1960's as a rebellion against the Abstract Expressionist such as Kline and Pollock. Art seems to travel in cycles becoming complicated and returning to its opposite pole simplistic. Probably the most prolific mode of Modern Contemporary Sculpture style, is Abstract Minimalism. Minimalism with a twist. Such masters of this movement may be Chamberlain with his crushed automobile bodies, or Mark Di Suvero with his towering I Beam constructions.

The work of Christopher Georgesco falls neatly into the term "Minimal Abstract". His early Totemic Columns & Tripods in concrete and steel were successful in the 1970's in Los Angeles, picked up by L.A.'s Top Collectors and followed up by a show at L.A. County Museum of Art, tittled L.A.8. Latter in 1981 Richard Armstrong, currently the the director of the Guggenheim, wrote in Art in America, "Georgesco has few peers among younger American Sculptors becomes more evident each year." These works as with Brancusi's work who was also of Romanian decent used Geometry as a substitute for Nature. However Georgesco's work has evolved into the opposite with his recent "Leaves Series", substituting Nature for Geometry. With the progression of ones work , through time ones vocabulary may remain the same, while it's concept may be reversing.

As Art has expanded itself into the 21st Century new and different forms of art have emerged such Julian Schnabel, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy among others who are evolving Pop and even going back to nature as inspiration for even more reductive or utilitarian modes of expression. Art is Always re inventing itself in the pursuit of change. This seems to be a reflection on our society and what they are willing to bet their money on. Artist such as Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, are great examples of Art Manipulation and the conveyors of style as a Corporate Enterprise. God help the pursuit of the "Purist" and endow the the acrobats of "Market Manipulators". To View More Images Click> http://www.georgescoart.com/

Wood and Canvas Sculpture

The very first Modern Contemporary Sculpture I did that was a break from painting was the "Wood & Canvas" Series. It was constructed from the materials that were used to construct stretcher bars in early paintings I did fresh out of college. The pieces were held together with the tension of the canvas by placing vertical dowels through a jig made of wood and looping the canvas through. These pieces were very meditative and were the first Modern Contemporary Sculptures that were I exhibited in my studio in Venice in 1972, 3 years after moving there in 1968 .One of the first collectors of this series (a Fasion Designer named James Reva) lived in Marina Del Rey a beach community next to Venice Beach. When he hung his Wood and Canvas Sculpture on his wall the neighbors began hanging Beach Chairs on their walls. I am not sure if it was a joke or they simply liked the look and did it. As simple as this series was it was the beginning of my sculpture carrier and a much more concrete way of expression for me compaired to painting. It was something I could control much easier than painting.

Painting can be very ethereal in that you may start painting a tree and it can easily end up being a face. This is because the paint is very fluid. With sculpture one usually begins with a idea that is planed and even drafted as a plan with dimensions and details all specified almost like Architecture. before actually begining construction. I suppose this is true with some painters who work from sketches, but their is still that element of fluidity when executed and often is not exactly what the painter may have had in mind.

With sculpture, what you plan is what you get. Leaving the chance of experimentation to a limited possibility. It is very controlled. Working with Geometry is especially very deliberate. All your tangents and connections are pre decided and the components must merle be assembled. Of course with more organic sculpture this may not be the case, say for example the works of Henry Moore who would carve away at blocks of foam to create a some what accurate resemblance to his models.

However simple the "Wood and Canvas" series was, it changed the way I thought about art. Having moved to Venice in 1968 I began to see that art was a reflection of the times. In college you are taught what was, not what is to be. I had never saw a Studio till I moved to Venice. One night I was walking down the street and there was a warehouse door slightly opened. I peered inside and saw a huge white space with approximately 7" x 12' laminated layers of fiberglass hung on the walls, casting colors on the floor. A short man with his hair pulled up like a Samurai Warrior greeted me. I asked what he was doing and he told me he was a Artist. The man was Ron Cooper one of the many sculptors working in polyester Resins at the time in Venice along with Robert Irwin, DeWain Valentine, Vasarely, Fredrick Eversly among others. I asked him what this huge space was and he told me it was a studio. I explained to him that I was a artist too, and was painting luminous paintings of the formation of the Earth on glass. He invited me in curious what this young kid of 18 was up to. I was totally overwhelmed by this studio. I spent the next month searching for a Space of my own. I finally found one on West Washington Blvd, now known as Abbott Kenny. I gutted the building, put in new drywall and about one year latter had my first show there. The show was of my first Modern Contemporary Sculpture, the "Wood and Canvas" series. This was to be the beginning of my art carrier in Venice. The "Wood and Canvas" series was my first body of Modern Contemporary Sculpture.

The Identity of Modern Contemporary Sculpture as it Relates to the Artist.

The evolution of a Art comes with the constant refinement and exploration of a primal idea. A painter may begin with a cartoon as Gaston or Lichtenstien and through their involvement of their initial concept finds new areas within their content to expand on. Sculptors such as Moore or Calder have fallen upon materials such as Bronze or Steel and continued their path by developing their forms in a particular material. However the artist grows with identification and fortitude to stick to a idea, and developing it. This is one of the key elements in recognizing a body of work. Of course their are exceptions to this rule. Bruce Nauman has clanged styles and ideas throughout his carrier and this has become the constant to which he is recognized. The opposite of the rule can apply. With Art their are rules. In Art their are No rules. The paradox seems to make the exploration even more interesting. However as the artist evolves, his hand print is instantly recognizable, if the artist is doing his job. The real identity of ones work is individual as a personal signature. And the Rule is inevitably that there are none.