20-B Martin Puryear, Ladder for Booker T. Washington, 1996
- How is it different from most ladders? It curves and gets narrower at the top.
- Describe the side rails and rungs of this ladder. The side rails are crooked, like the organic shape of the trees from which they were made. The rungs are thicker in the middle. The whole ladder is polished and assembled with fine craftsmanship.
- What does this ladder rest on? It does not stand on the floor. It is suspended from the ceiling and held in place by very fine wires. It seems to float about two and one-half feet above the floor.
- Can you see the wires holding it in place? Notice the shadows created by the ladder.
- What illusion does Puryear create by making the ladder narrower at the top than bottom? It makes it seem even taller than it is.
- Remember the African American spiritual “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” Does this ladder seem tall enough to reach to the heavens?
- Would the ladder be difficult to climb and why. It would be very difficult because it is long and curving and it gets very narrow at the top.
-Discuss what ladders can symbolize. Remember phrases like “climbing the ladder to success” and “getting to the top.” Pay attention to the title of this sculpture, Ladder for Booker T. Washington. The title of Washington’s autobiography was Up from Slavery. Why is this ladder an appropriate symbol for this title? (Think about the climb from slavery to attaining equal civil rights was as difficult as it would be to climb this ladder.)
- How does the fine craftsmanship of this ladder represent some of Washington’s beliefs? In addition to intellectual skills, Washington believed that students should learn manual skills, like the woodworking represented by this ladder, in order to support themselves.
- Where does the ladder lead? It leads to the light.
- What might the fact that the ladder is raised off the ground symbolize? You have to pull yourself up to the place where the ladder starts.
- Discuss how a person might climb this ladder to success, and where it might lead.
the first several minutes of this video provide information about martin puryear, some of his work, his ideas, and his methods: http://video.pbs.org/video/1237794459
- How is it different from most ladders? It curves and gets narrower at the top.
- Describe the side rails and rungs of this ladder. The side rails are crooked, like the organic shape of the trees from which they were made. The rungs are thicker in the middle. The whole ladder is polished and assembled with fine craftsmanship.
- What does this ladder rest on? It does not stand on the floor. It is suspended from the ceiling and held in place by very fine wires. It seems to float about two and one-half feet above the floor.
- Can you see the wires holding it in place? Notice the shadows created by the ladder.
- What illusion does Puryear create by making the ladder narrower at the top than bottom? It makes it seem even taller than it is.
- Remember the African American spiritual “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” Does this ladder seem tall enough to reach to the heavens?
- Would the ladder be difficult to climb and why. It would be very difficult because it is long and curving and it gets very narrow at the top.
-Discuss what ladders can symbolize. Remember phrases like “climbing the ladder to success” and “getting to the top.” Pay attention to the title of this sculpture, Ladder for Booker T. Washington. The title of Washington’s autobiography was Up from Slavery. Why is this ladder an appropriate symbol for this title? (Think about the climb from slavery to attaining equal civil rights was as difficult as it would be to climb this ladder.)
- How does the fine craftsmanship of this ladder represent some of Washington’s beliefs? In addition to intellectual skills, Washington believed that students should learn manual skills, like the woodworking represented by this ladder, in order to support themselves.
- Where does the ladder lead? It leads to the light.
- What might the fact that the ladder is raised off the ground symbolize? You have to pull yourself up to the place where the ladder starts.
- Discuss how a person might climb this ladder to success, and where it might lead.
the first several minutes of this video provide information about martin puryear, some of his work, his ideas, and his methods: http://video.pbs.org/video/1237794459
That Profile, Martin Puryear, 1999
Stainless steel, bronze; 540 x 360 x 136 in.
- Take a close look at Martin Puryear’s sculpture That Profile. Describe the sculpture and its immediate environment.
- What factors do you think Puryear took into consideration when he was designing this work?
- Do you think his concept is successful?
- Imagine observing That Profile at two different times of the day or at two different times of the year. How would daily and seasonal changes at the Getty Center affect your experience of the sculpture?
- The sculpture is titled That Profile. Why do you think Puryear chose this title for his sculpture?
- If you were to give your own title to this work of art, what would it be? In answering this question, consider the physical structure, form, and the surrounding environment of this object.
Background Information
A marvel of artistry and engineering, Martin Puryear's sculpture rises on six slender legs to a height of forty-five feet above the broad expanse of travertine pavement on the plaza at the Getty Center. Stout strands of silver-patinated bronze bind the joints of the airy network of welded sandblasted stainless steel tubes, two and three inches in diameter. Elegant in its apparent simplicity, the sculpture's complex structure reveals its true character only slowly. The sculpture's meaning likewise resists a fixed identity, suggesting both a delicate fishnet cast against the sky and a human head in profile. From some viewpoints, it appears to be fully round, but its south face is flat, while the north face curves gently through the air.
Puryear’s inventive sculpture is one among many artworks that are “site specific”—meaning they are particularly designed with the look and feel of the Getty Center architecture and location in mind. In this case the clean, modern design of Richard Meier’s architecture inspired Puryear to create an abstract, sculptural shape. Steel and bronze support this giant work of art, which appears light and effervescent against the blue of the sky, due to its skillful design.
About the Artist
Martin Puryear (born 1941, Washington, D.C.)
A desire to "make things rather than representations of them" led Martin Puryear from his early training in painting and drawing to sculpture. A video about That Profile for the Getty Center details his fascination with the process of making sculpture: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?cat=3&segid=1722.
Puryear graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1963. Afterwards he joined the Peace Corps, which sent him to Sierra Leone where West African craftsmen educated him in their traditions. Acting on a parallel interest in Scandinavian design and woodworking, Puryear later moved to Stockholm, where he attended the Swedish Royal Academy of Art. His return to the United States coincided with significant new developments in sculpture, such as Minimalism, which played an important role in his development. Puryear uses craftsmanship to construct forms that often embody contradictions, such as the play of interior and exterior form, or geometry and organic irregularity.
In the mid 1970s Puryear set up a studio in Brooklyn, New York. A fire destroyed it in 1977, and he relocated to Chicago the following year. Still exhibiting his work internationally, he has now moved to rural Accord, New York.
Stainless steel, bronze; 540 x 360 x 136 in.
- Take a close look at Martin Puryear’s sculpture That Profile. Describe the sculpture and its immediate environment.
- What factors do you think Puryear took into consideration when he was designing this work?
- Do you think his concept is successful?
- Imagine observing That Profile at two different times of the day or at two different times of the year. How would daily and seasonal changes at the Getty Center affect your experience of the sculpture?
- The sculpture is titled That Profile. Why do you think Puryear chose this title for his sculpture?
- If you were to give your own title to this work of art, what would it be? In answering this question, consider the physical structure, form, and the surrounding environment of this object.
Background Information
A marvel of artistry and engineering, Martin Puryear's sculpture rises on six slender legs to a height of forty-five feet above the broad expanse of travertine pavement on the plaza at the Getty Center. Stout strands of silver-patinated bronze bind the joints of the airy network of welded sandblasted stainless steel tubes, two and three inches in diameter. Elegant in its apparent simplicity, the sculpture's complex structure reveals its true character only slowly. The sculpture's meaning likewise resists a fixed identity, suggesting both a delicate fishnet cast against the sky and a human head in profile. From some viewpoints, it appears to be fully round, but its south face is flat, while the north face curves gently through the air.
Puryear’s inventive sculpture is one among many artworks that are “site specific”—meaning they are particularly designed with the look and feel of the Getty Center architecture and location in mind. In this case the clean, modern design of Richard Meier’s architecture inspired Puryear to create an abstract, sculptural shape. Steel and bronze support this giant work of art, which appears light and effervescent against the blue of the sky, due to its skillful design.
About the Artist
Martin Puryear (born 1941, Washington, D.C.)
A desire to "make things rather than representations of them" led Martin Puryear from his early training in painting and drawing to sculpture. A video about That Profile for the Getty Center details his fascination with the process of making sculpture: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?cat=3&segid=1722.
Puryear graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1963. Afterwards he joined the Peace Corps, which sent him to Sierra Leone where West African craftsmen educated him in their traditions. Acting on a parallel interest in Scandinavian design and woodworking, Puryear later moved to Stockholm, where he attended the Swedish Royal Academy of Art. His return to the United States coincided with significant new developments in sculpture, such as Minimalism, which played an important role in his development. Puryear uses craftsmanship to construct forms that often embody contradictions, such as the play of interior and exterior form, or geometry and organic irregularity.
In the mid 1970s Puryear set up a studio in Brooklyn, New York. A fire destroyed it in 1977, and he relocated to Chicago the following year. Still exhibiting his work internationally, he has now moved to rural Accord, New York.
No comments:
Post a Comment