With the exhibition dedicated to sculptor Richard Deacon debuting today at the San Diego Museum of Art, I was looking forward to some Contemporary Art. Reading around in preparation, what a surprise that Rachel Cooke in the Guardian declared that Richard Deacon’s sculptures reminded her of Gustave Caillebotte’ s Floor Scrapers!
Gustave Caillebotte?!! The Impressionist with a photographic eye I am completely obsessed with and on which I have spent the last few weeks writing about for a paper I had to submit?!
Now, looking at these two works side by side, can you honestly see it???
Welcome to Contemporary Art where it’s all about…YOU! Because let’s face it, it gets you thinking about what the connections are, right?
Getting you to think is what matters to British-born artist Richard Deacon, recipient of the Turner Prize in 1987.
If you’re in San Diego, you’re getting a rare opportunity with a comprehensive review of Richard Deacon’s works at the Museum of Art from March 25 until July 25th, 2017.
Richard Deacon, Under the Weather No.1, 2016 (details)
Richard Deacon, Under the Weather No.1, 2016
Richard Deacon, Under the Weather No.1, 2016 (details)
Seize the chance to let your imagination run free. Elsewhere, check him out at Tate or better still, at the Louis Vuitton Island in Singapore.
He twists and pushes materials to limits not thought possible. His work forces your brain cells to make unplanned connections while your nerves somewhat twist in unison with what materials are made to endure to explore new forms and spaces…
Richard Deacon, Dancing in Front of My Eyes, 2006
“What You See is What You Get” and it’s up to YOU to find the meaning of Richard Deacon’s work according to what speaks to you or the references and inferences his sculptures trigger in your imagination.
Richard Deacon, Dead Leg, 2007
I am a carpenter’s daughter and granddaughter, so wood runs through me, if you like. In Dead Leg (2007), it seemed Deacon was doing exactly this: he made up in wood the bodily realm of muscle, tissue and fibers as visible extension to a maimed limb. As he says, bending wood is like working magic and he admits to still being “mystified” by it.
Richard Deacon, Dead Leg, 2007
That’s why Richard Deacon likes to be called a “fabricator” rather than a sculptor.
He pushes diverse materials to the extreme – almost out of their given original state- looking to explore forms beyond what all of us think these materials should be capable of being or even withstand. How can you comprehend a 435º turn on wood? Richard Deacon is clearly well past furniture or art making, he is making things up squeezing out our personal reactions to his sculptures in the process.
Richard Deacon, Dead Leg, 2007
For him, it’s about the exploration of “the space between meaninglessness and meaning”. He used the word “like” to make his point in his opening talk at the museum: “like” allows you to make connections but it’s also a “rubbish” word! Love this!
So go see his sculptures: look how he uses voids almost more than his materials, how these seem to unfold and change the scale of each work as you move around them.
Despite being monumental works, his sculptures don’t seem to project their own weight because by pushing back the limits of materials, he’s defying gravity and he’s carrying us with him.
© 2017 Ingrid Westlake
All pictures by Ingrid Westlake, unless otherwise stated.