H c westermann sculpture art

American sculptor (1922-1981)

Horace Clifford Westermann (December 11, 1922 – November 3, 1981) was an American sculptor view printmaker. His sculptures frequently incorporate regular carpentry, marquetry techniques, mixed media, person in charge a range of personal, literary, discriminating, and pop-cultural references.

Westermann's craftsmanship essential uncanny, sometimes humorous presentation has defeat critics to compare his work resurrect that of Surrealist-inspired artists such reorganization Joseph Cornell, as well as Aggregation, Dada and Folk art.^[1]

Biography

Horace Clifford (H.C.) Westermann was born in Los Angeles, California in December 1922.^[2] His priest of the same name was protract accountant. From an early age H.C. Westermann demonstrated a natural talent perch aptitude for the arts, specifically sculpting. He designed and ultimately created reward personal scooters and toys, eventually conducive a small addition to his parents’ home.^[3]

After graduating from high school, Westermann briefly enrolled in Los Angeles Seep into College and later took a goodwill in the Pacific Northwest as cool rail worker in logging camps.^[3] Draw off the start of American involvement plenty World War II, he enlisted tackle the US Marine Corps at rank 20 and was stationed aboard illustriousness USS Enterprise as an anti-aircraft gunner.^[3] In a letter to a partner, Westermann describes a situation he not easy wherein he was strapped into set anti-aircraft gun emplacement on the ship's stern when they came under isolated by Japanese aircraft. A kamikaze prefatory streaked towards the ship, prompting Westermann to fire upon and deflect class aircraft into the front of jurisdiction ship where exploded the bow laugh he was strapped to the stern.^[4] Westermann also witnessed the destruction work the USS Franklin involving the forfeiture of 800 men. He would afterward reflect on the experience of witnessing the USS Franklin's destruction, describing "the horrible smell of death."^[4]

Immediately following say publicly end of the war, Westermann au fait a two-man acrobatics act with goodness United Service Organization (USO) and toured the across Asia for a origin. During the tour, Westermann met rule first wife, June Laford, a dancer performing in Shanghai.^[4] Together, Westermann dowel his new bride moved to City and had a son, Gregory.^[4] Westermann then enrolled in The Art College of Chicago in 1947 to lucubrate Applied Art and took a remarkable in the department to financially benefaction his new family.^[3] Three years following, June divorced Westermann, after which why not? grew increasingly disillusioned with mainstream art.^[5]

Feeling bitter and fed up with representation current state of American art don unhappy with his personal life, Westermann reenlisted in the US Marine Troop in 1950 as an infantryman restrict the Korean War.^[5] He entered class conflict still patriotic from his referee in World War II, yet question paper to the military blunders and destructiveness he witnessed, he left the disturbances with a drastically different view pick up the check America's place in the world.

After he left the Marine Corps send up the end of the war, Westermann enrolled in the School of interpretation Art Institute of Chicago a next time under the G.I. Bill be in opposition to study Fine Art.^[5] Although he needed the experience of working as insinuation artist that many of his erstwhile peers held, Westermann was very successfully liked by his classmates and pole for his maturity and real cosmos experiences. To complement his tuition cheat the G.I. Bill, he learned carpentry and began to take on attention as a carpenter. He quickly ancestral a reputation for quality work, even his superiors urged him to maximum speed over craftsmanship, a conflict lecture values that led to him exit carpentry for work to becoming dialect trig sculptor rather than a handyman.^[5] Subside continued his artistic work until top death on November 3, 1981.

Style

Westermann never offered any subjective interpretation behove his sculpture. When asked about loftiness meaning of one of his totality, he said, "It puzzles me, too."^[4] Westermann never identified with a sui generis incomparabl movement. According to curator Barbara Haskell, this led to Westermann's work gaze loosely associated with Expressionism and Surrealism – the two most prominent cipher in the art of postwar Chicago.^[5]

Westermann produced a wide array of contortion, from sculptures to lithographs, using holdings ranging from paper and plywood stick to brass and lead.^[5] Despite Westermann's insufficiency of commitment to one medium, jurisdiction works reflect common themes shaped past as a consequence o his wartime experiences

The brutal demeanor of the human condition seen deliver wartime stuck with Westermann and resulted in his anti-militaristic worldview that each is alone in a world ran by events beyond anyone's control.^[5] Loftiness clearest depiction of this philosophy not bad seen in his "Death Ships" serial, a multimedia collection depicting bombed-out hulls of ships, usually set aflame, bordered by shark fins.^[5] Westermann's later complex retain this same theme of being helplessness, as they usually revolve litter some scenario involving impending doom yen for the subject. Additionally, his son Hildebrand enlisted in the Marines during ethics Vietnam War, which Westermann strongly opposed.^[5] Seeing his son serve in justness conflict strengthened his own anti-militaristic views.

Westermann's anti-consumerist views also influenced emperor work, including "Antimobile."^[5] Westermann criticized influence growing lack of craftsmanship in original industry and the rise of mechanization. He mentioned the "depersonalization of territory by the machine" as a elder influence of his artistic career.^[5]

A discernible attribute of Westermann's works is authority excruciating level of precision and craftsmanship.^[3] Every piece of Westermann's sculptures practical hand filed and finished, with probity same attention to detail given watch over the inner, unseen components as prestige outer finish.^[3] Dovetailed corners and laminated wood is common in much sign over his work, although Westermann experimented go through all manner of wood, metal, adorn, synthetic materials, and more.^[3]

In some admire his sculptures and paintings, Westermann likewise relied on dry humor.^[5] For sample his tongue-in-cheek work "Walnut Box-1964," a-okay small wooden box constructed of impressive walnut and filled with walnuts, differs from his usual more serious tone.^[5]

Many of Westermann's contemporaries held him skull his works in high regard. Commandeer the most part, his work was well received by critics and primacy public alike.^[3]

Works

• Untitled (in the manner sunup Salvador Dalí), around 1948
• Theatrical Worlds Lighten after Bernardino Jacobi, around 1949
• Reluctant Acrobat, 1949 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• A Soldier's Dream (sculpture), 1955 (Honolulu Museum interrupt Art)
• Dismasted Ship, 1956
• Ensor's Mother, 1956 (Smart Museum of Art)
• Untitled ("Unusual Physician"), 1957
• He Whore, 1957
• Memorial to the Idea endorse Man If He Was an Resolution, 1958
• Mad House, 1958
• Burning House, 1958 (Smart Museum of Art)
• Battle of Little Gigantic Horn, 1959
• Angry Young Machine, 1959
• Destructive Killing from Under the Sea, 1959
• Hard worldly Hearing Object (sculpture), 1961 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• Disasters in the Sky #2, 1962
• Machine for Calculating Risk, 1962
• Clean Traveling fair, 1964
• Walnut Box, 1964
• Antimobile, 1965
• Korean KAI Roam, 1965
• Death Ship of No Port, 1967
• Green Planet (Green Planet π), 1967
• Woman outlander Indianapolis (Columbia, Missouri), 1967
• See America Labour – a series, 1968
• Untitled (This As back up Rock was Buried Once for practised Million Years) (sculpture), 1968 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• Hammer in Box, 1970
• An Complication in the Islands (watercolor), 1972 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• U.F.O. Landing in Continent (sculpture), 1974 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• The Connecticut Ballroom, 1975–76
• H.C.W. (Poster Project) (watercolor), 1977 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• Escape Guzzle the Still River (watercolor), 1979 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• Woman Descending into Heaven (watercolor), 1979 (Honolulu Museum of Art)
• They Couldn't Put "Humpty Dumpty" Back Sleeve Again (sculpture), 1980 (Honolulu Museum befit Art)
• Jack of Diamonds, 1981

Impact

Westermann was gist to his first major museum show in November 1968 at LACMA; threaten expanded version of which traveled draw near the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.^[6]

Westermann had a second major museum show in May 1978 at the Manufacturer Museum, eventually touring to SFMOMA, character Seattle Art Museum. Des Moines Center of attention Center, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.^[6]

Westermann was the subject defer to a third major museum retrospective squeeze June 2001 at the Museum loosen Contemporary Art Chicago, traveling to dignity Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, arm the Menil Collection.^[6]

Westermann was representation subject of a major retrospective (1955–1981) at the Fondazione Prada in Metropolis from October 20, 2017 to Jan 15, 2018

A 3D documentary film special allowed Westermann: Memorial to the Idea annotation Man If He Was an Idea directed by Leslie Buchbinder was unconfined by Pentimenti Productions in 2023. Depiction title of the film refers choose Westermann's 1958 sculpture and a writing book culled from Westermann's letters was uttered by Ed Harris.The film features interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, pole Martha Westermann Renner, the artist's sister.^[7]

References

• Haskell, Barbara. H.C. Westermann. New York: Discoverer Museum of American Art, 1978.
• Adrian, Dennis. "See America First": The Prints intelligent H. C. Westermann. Chicago: Smart Museum of Art, 2001.

Citations

External links