Blog Post 18: cursory analysis for WP3

William King's sculpture, Story, is of a 12-foot tall man smoking a cigarette. "Smoking my last cigarette and yakking away. I'm talking about giving up smoking, " says King. The sculpture is a representation of King himself who smoked a pack a day until 1971. This sculpture was made in 1970, so perhaps this was a marker of a soon-to-be accomplishment. William King is a contemporary American sculptor, born in 1925. His work mostly focuses on the human figure and can be seen in various states throughout the country. During the years of 1994 to 1998, he served as the president of the National Academy of Design (Wikipedia). In 2007, King was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award given by the International Sculpture Center (Wikipedia).

The sculpture is made only from aluminum and is put together like cardboard cut-outs would be. I think that the choice of using aluminum for this piece, and how the sculpture is put together, uses shading to help illustrate the various body parts. Looking at this piece I first noticed the giant leg coming out from the body itself. There is only one leg on this sculpture, and it is inserted into a slotted area through the midsection of the figure. There are two arms present and one of them is also in a slotted area like the leg. The arm which is placed in the slot is also the one which posesses the man's cigarette. As for the other arm, it is connected to the main body and is not as detailed as the other. The attached arm's hand does not contain fingers, but more of a ball-like fist instead.

The appearance of the body seems to be well defined and curvy with detail. It is easy to point out where the kneecap, ears, and other various joints are located. The arms and leg all have a bend to them, taking on a more human like form instead of a stiff one. However, they do seem to be a a little unproportional to the rest of the body. This definitly calls more attention to these specific parts. I think that this sculpture is trying to focus more on movement than anything else. The rest of the body is sort of left to a blank. We do not know what the man looks like, except from looking at a picture of the author himself, becasue there are no facial features except for his ears. No mouth, nose, eyes, or bone structure. I think that the sculpture gives off a vibe of freedom and self independence. The man is very laid back looking and holds his cigarette knowing it is his last. He makes his own choices.

Works Cited

Wikipedia. (2008, November 3). William King (artist). Retrieved November 17, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_King_(artist)

Blog Post 17: Experience with Art Objects

My experience with art objects does not really consist in a wide range of variety. I have really only been exposed to making a few art pieces in my elementary years and seeing additional pieces in museums (i.e. Joslyn Art Museum). My mom used to take me to a lot of museums when I was younger becuase it was really something that she seemed to enjoy. I didn't really like going to the art museums all the time, probably because it was something I couldn't really understand that much. I would become bored quickly and start to complain, just like a typical child would.

As I got older though, I actually developed an interest in looking at the different types of art. I wanted to stand there and depict the pieces of art instead of just walking around quickly so we could get done faster. Today, I enjoy going to art museums and looking at the variety. I find it interesting to know what the author of the piece is trying to say, and what they want the viewer to feel while they are looking at it. My main interests in art objects are life based, but I do also like some more abstract pieces too. I like to view life based art because I think it is more personal from the author, and gives the viewers some sense of their personalities and emotions.

I have also always liked to engage in making art. Most of the sculptures or paintings I have ever made were from my elementary days, when we had art class. This was probably my favorite class because we just got to use our imaginations and create something that wasn’t wrong. The only art that I have probably made in the last few years are some dycro glass pieces in the kiln. My mom likes to make art from glass so it’s always more available to me and encouraged.