Chakaia Booker Sculptures at the DeCordova Museum

I was looking forward to seeing the work of Chakaia Booker in the sculpture park at the DeCordova Museum when New England Wax visited there last Saturday. Booker was one of the sculptors whose work and commentary was featured in a book I purchased recently about Leonardo Drew. Her work was compared to his, and vice versa, because their work is related to but more muscular than the work of Louise Nevelson and also composed of recycled elements; the work of both features the color black dramatically and prominently; and they are both African American. The subject of race and identify has influenced the work of both Drew and Booker.

Approaching the two Booker sculptures

"No More Milk and Cookies", 2003, rubber tires, wood, 14 ½' x 28' x 19', Lent by the Artist, Courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY. Image courtesy of the DeCordova website.

I had to get the "proper" image of this sculpture from the DeCordova because it seems that my myopic view of the world causes me to look at things very closely - either that or I'm so curious to see how things are made that I want to be right on top of them. At any rate, I also cadged some info from the DeCordova's site about this work. Here is what they say about the inspiration for the work and explanation of the title:

"The undulating shape of No More Milk and Cookies references the emotional arc of a frustrated child or adult, denied the "cookie" they desperately want. Booker developed this work at ground level—where the seed of desire is planted—the first "cookie." Once recognized as something good, desire is heightened, the craving for more increases, and the sculpture grows due to this response. If gone unfulfilled, the craving can turn to desperation, and selfish motivation can turn to manipulation and deceit. Finally, when rejected, the spirit of longing crashes down in a bitter denouement. Charting these ups and downs in her sculpture, Booker seeks to challenge values driven by consumerism."

Booker has been working with found and recycled tires since the early '90s. I don't believe that she does all this work herself because there is so much to it. (Note: this is not a comment on her gender but rather on the extreme amount of detail and the physicality involved.)

Just look at all these cuts in the thick rubber that give the piece its featheriness.

Then see how many scews are driven into the rubber to hold it to the unseen wooden armature.

This is Booker's second piece at the DeCordova, "The Conversationalist," 1997, rubber tires, wood, 20' x 21' x 12', Lent by the Artist, Courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY.  This is my photo.

Here's what the DeCordova site says about this work:

"Like an actual conversation, this piece physically represents a gradual building of elements that climax at a point of tension or harmony. The many angles of this sculpture create negative spaces that represent opposing arguments and varying opinions. Beginning with conflict and disagreement at its base, the form labors to break free of emotional constraints as it pushes towards the sky and comes to a realization. While independently complex, the two segments that define the overall layout of the sculpture arrive at a final point of accord at the apex.


"Symbolically, Booker's sculptural "conversation" explores the potential for unity and understanding that would ideally originate from conversations between those of different beliefs and values. Booker believes that "art is a storytelling, but the story is open, fluid, mysterious." The artist seeks to encourage viewers to contribute to the story and challenges them to defend their principles and ideals while maintaining an open mind towards shades of difference."

View from the side with one of Jim Dine's hearts in the background.

This view reminds me of Stonehenge.

One of my extreme closeup shots showing the enormous number of screws and slices of tires it took to build the form.

Looking through "The Conversationalist" toward "No More Milk and Cookies."

I have to say that when I read the statements about these works, it was evident that Booker's undergraduate degree in sociology reflects her ongoing interest in human interactions. Amazing that she uses these cast-off relics of the highway to discourse about concepts instead of physical entities. 

Having used rubber in my own work recently (although very lightweight and malleable rubber), I can appreciate Booker's ability to transform it into another substance. Her forms are graceful and dignified and the positive and negative spaces work well in the landscape.

Making a Memory

Booker makes a practice of  sculpting her own appearance to be dramatically distinct and memorable as Louise Nevelson did. However, where Louise N. was notable for her huge false eyelashes and haute couture costumes, Chakaia B. actually creates sculptural forms that she wears - notably huge headdresses of fabric and yarn. Creating and inventing clothing was an early form of art making for Booker and one on which she continues to elaborate.

Louise Nevelson in one of her distinctive outfits.

Chakaia Booker wearing a headdress and sculpted costume, posing with sculptures.

The DeCordova Museum is presenting a major exhibition of Chakaia Booker's work later this year, installed both inside and outside the Museum. With a working title of Chakaia Booker: Inside and Outside, the show will run from May 15 – August 29, 2010. It is being organized by Nick Capasso, Senior Curator, and will have a full-color catalog. Here is his statement about the show: Chakaia Booker is one of America’s pre-eminent African-American contemporary sculptors. Her work in steel surfaced with cut and re-assembled auto and truck tires reconsiders the tradition of Modernist abstract sculpture in 21st-century contexts of black culture, identity, gender, and ecology. This exhibition will be the first to present a large selection of her work both indoors and outdoors. 

Studio Visit With Myself

I checked in with Joanne Mattera's blog and enjoyed seeing a report of her studio visits to Pam Farrell and Steven Alexander - two of my favorite artists. Looking at studios is always fascinating to me and one of the main reasons for this blog. So I thought I would post a few images from my own studio that I took last Saturday since I am also one of my favorite artists. (Blushing modestly - but if I didn't believe it, why else would I bother?)

I took these photos because I had work hanging on one side of the studio that was all strong color and on the other side were the blacks and browns of the new rubber+encaustic constructions. Working between the two contrasts, I got a color jolt every time I looked up.

The color wall View 1.

Notice the third piece in - a vertical with red on the bottom. You will note that the top is now just brown wood with a spiral mark on it. That is the remains of glue that held a painted panel on it and that just fell off one day. The painted panel (encaustic) was undamaged except for a small chip. Just shows how durable encaustic can be if it's fused correctly. (I was glad to have passed the fall-off test.)

The Color Wall View 2 - the other end of the wall, complete with dying plant and photo area.

Here's the dark side - part 1.

And Dark Side Part 2. Above the piece at the right is a photo of great looking sculpture I pulled from a magazine. It's the same color as my piece but has an interesting shape.

This is a closeup of my worktable with one of the Subliminal pieces in progress. It all makes a wonderful mess - but that's what a studio's for, right? Oh, yes, a mess in service to a higher purpose.

Thinking about the subliminal

Allow me to present the latest two pieces in my rubber+encaustic series. They are "Subliminal" and "More Subliminal." The first piece has things (my secrets) embedded in poured encaustic, then painted with oil paint and oil stick.

Subliminal, encaustic, rubber, tacks, patinated copper, oilstick, mixed media, 20" x 16".


More Subliminal, encaustic, rubber, tacks, patinated copper, oilstick, mixed media, 20" x 16".



The second piece has a more shallow center section because the embedded objects are smaller (beads - thanks to Binnie Birstein's donation).



Both pieces are covered with rubber on the sides, the same way I have treated most of the work in this series.

You can also see that the rubber protrudes and forms a channel for the encaustic section in the center.

As far as the title(s) go, I had been considering calling these pieces "Underfoot", but I think "Subliminal" is more to the point. I didn't want to refer to the literal landscape although this work (especially the first piece) looks like rocks or pebbles. "Subliminal" means:

"existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness; being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual: a subliminal stimulus; subliminal advertising."

(according to dictionary.com). So you could understand this work to refer to those things that we don't really observe but just feel the effects of. I guess this would be comparable to those things in the physical landscape that we take for granted and don't look at closely, such as rocks or pebbles underfoot.

I have made a conscious effort in the rubber+encaustic series to give the work a vertical orientation, meaning that they refer to the body (versus a horizontal orientation referring to the landscape). My focus is on the body these days as I am paying closer attention to the way it breaks down and changes with age. Such changes are usually subliminal until one day we wake up and realize that old age is upon us. But at least we're waking up.

Three More New Ones

These next three are the last of the new ones. They have some color in them - orange - which seems very full of life and related to the sun. These pieces still have a very dark feel but maybe not as dark as the books. What do you think?



"Black Sun", 24" x 12", encaustic, rubber, tacks, oilstick, patinated washers.




"Dark Garden" diptych, each panel 12" x 12", encaustic, rubber, crochet, cord, tacks, oilstick

"Once Upon a Time", diptych, each panel 12" x 12", encaustic, rubber, tacks, beads, crochet. This one is my favorite.

These are the first of yet another series, so you can see I have my work cut out for me.

Emergence

Here I am again after a long break. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I've been taking time for reflection, reading and thinking about ideas for work. I've been making sketches and notes galore and have made quite a few new pieces that I think can lead to two or three series.

My intention was to reintroduce some elements in my work that I had used a while ago, and I wanted to integrate encaustic as one element rather than as the whole story. It has helped me to think of these works as sculpture rather than painting even though they are really more two dimensional than three. The term "constructed paintings" comes to mind since this is what I used to call my works.

I should say that in terms of ideas behind the work that I have been focusing on thoughts of aging, memory loss and mortality as I have been more and more involved with the care of my 92-year-old mother.

I began by combining a circle with a square panel and working from there. The one below is the third piece in the circle/square series and my favorite.

"Becoming Invisible", about 27"H x 27"W, encaustic and mixed media on wood panels.

"Becoming Invisible" detail. Materials include rubber, tacks, patinated metal, hair, tulle, lace and encaustic.


"Crown of Glory", about 25" x 25", encaustic with mixed media. The second one in the series.

"Crown of Glory" detail.

This one was the first I made. It's "The Virgin's One Bare Breast", about 25"H x 24" wide. This one has encaustic, rubber, tacks, coconut fiber, textiles, shells and acrylic paint.

A detail of "The Virgin". The title refers to the way the Virgin Mary was depicted in religious paintings of the 11th and 12th centuries with just one breast exposed and nursing Jesus. The breast was an image of nurturance and fertility (even though the breast was usually pretty peculiar looking and non-anatomical).

So these three pieces are the beginning of what may be one series. I'll show you more of other series later.