Fall & Winter Vessel by Ben Hammond
First five words that came to my mind.
1. Low contrast
2. Texture
3. Feminine
4. Engraved
5. Peaceful
What I like about the sculpture.
I liked the sculpture's low contrast, engraved texture, and its story. I found enjoyment in circling and discovering details around the vessel that revealed its meaning. The changing foliage, like transformation between fall and winter, around the top of the vessel to be most revealing of its meaning. With that valuable clue, I could understand what the main body of the vessel told.
What I disliked about the sculpture.
I disliked the background. The underlying texture behind the woman on the vessel was distracting to me, and I do not think it contributed to the meaning and story of the sculpture. It was not completely symmetrical, though this might have been intentional on the artist's part. I didn't arrive at a way to reconcile the asymmetry of the vessel with what the sculpture told me.
I would not own this sculpture.
I would not own Fall & Winter Vessel. For me, and I suspect others, the experience of apprehending its story is a positive one. There are many people who live far enough from the earth's equator that the story of this sculpture can be easily related. I'm not sure, even hypothetically speaking, I could do anything better than limit its audience. I might own a copy, however.
Subject of this sculpture.
I believe the subject of Fall & Winter Vessel is the transformation seasons from fall to winter. The change of climate is represented as flowing, gentle, and even dreamy way. I believe those representations are imparted by using the figure of a woman engraved on the surface of the vessel. It has a muted, earthy coloration to symbolize nature; with a circular object to achieve a sense of continuity between the seasons. One could make the argument that my dislike for its asymmetry better represents earth and nature than a perfectly symmetrical vessel--however, I would maintain that isolating the concept of changing season better concentrates its story.
Its placement in front of the university grounds, with fall's first falling leaves in the background was fitting. Although it might have been better placed near the center of the campus on the lawn for better effect.
Form of the sculpture.
The sculpture is made of bronze in the shape of a vessel and has two major figures that immediately captured my attention. One side, facing the main campus lawn, has a woman with uncovered shoulders. She leans forward, her hair and leaves blowing in the same direction--perhaps the departure of summer. On the other side is a figure of a woman, I believe the same woman as on the other side, with cloth drawn fully around her and she appears asleep as if hibernating. Around the top of the vessel is a depiction of changing foliage on a tree--around the front the tree has leaves. On the reverse, with the woman hibernating and fully covered, the tree has an absence of leaves.
Second Sculpture
Dakota Wind by Martha Pettigrew
First five words that come to mind.
1. Ancestor
2. Here
3. Cold
4. Survival
5. Comfortable
What I like about the sculpture.
This sculpture captured my attention, near the sculpture of Bacchus in downtown Sioux Falls (who also tempted me into closer examination), because it depicted a Native American woman--dressed in Siouan manner, as my ancestors would have been. She wore a serene expression, and I immediately thought of winter. Perhaps because she wore a bison hide turned inward as many natives did in winter time.
What I disliked about the sculpture.
I felt that sculpture lacked story or substance. This might be because of a more narrow focus the artist had. Certainly it is more difficult for people, including me, to relate to the story of a native person in the presumed time period. I think, though, that some extra effort could have gone into showing how she might face something less abstract than the specter winter.
I would not own this sculpture.
The lack of subject leads me away from this sculpture. It is anthropologically interesting to me, but holds little extra weight in meaning to me. Too many features of the sculpture are in-place and expected--it does not take a chance, nothing is out of place that would make me stand in place for more than I did (which was not long enough.)
Subject of this sculpture.
My own knowledge and experience imposes the view I have mentioned of the sculpture. The sculpture is anthropologically interesting to me, but does not provide enough to me to contemplate.
What I observe is a native woman in winter, pressed with wind on her left side. The word "Dakota" in the name leads me to perceive her as a Dakota person, of the eastern territory for the Siouan peoples--Sioux Falls and nearby areas were the domain of the Dakota people. It is possible this depiction is strikingly similar to a woman who would have stood on modern day downtown Sioux Falls. Her shoes, to me, appear to be leather with wooden soles--she might have lives in the mid to late 1800s, and wore shoes purchased from a trader.
Her facial features suggest a solemn participation in winter's challenges. Participation, I say, because of the tradition-and-earth bound thinking of native people--she knows this land and this weather and she abides it as she does a marriage or community experience.
Form of the sculpture.
The sculpture is bronze. The sculpture is focused primarily within a 180-degree range facing forward, where it most drew my attention. I observed it in late afternoon. It faced east, where a morning sunrise over the river would have been appropriate. However, buildings obscured this possible placement and lighting.
Third Sculpture
The Guardian by Delbert Brewster
First five words that come to mind.
1. Human
2. Veiled
3. Religion
4. Woman
5. Linear
What I like about the sculpture.
I am not always a fan of more abstract artwork, however, I did admire the presumably careful selection of features to build a human-like figure from only the most necessary lines. I could imagine a concentration of subject--one person, no world to interfere. An arm hidden behind cloth drawn around the figure isolates the guardian from the external world.
What I disliked about the sculpture.
I did not like the religious tones that overwhelmed my contemplation of the sculpture. Although it is understandable that a protector be imagined most easily as having a divine quality, its location at a hospital only underscored my rationale for disliking it. The modern hospital is an institution that is intellectually devoid of reliance on the divine. The decades and countless minds mankind has spent on understanding the material and formal causes for life in order to help protect it relied on his dedication beyond religion.
I would not own this sculpture.
The religious subtext of the sculpture is simply not appealing to me. If the clothing had been different, the lines perhaps not as convex with what I perceive as an arm draw across, I might be more inclined to seriously consider owning it. If even the title had been different I would could perhaps consider it--though, I'm not sure on a proper substituting title.
Subject of this sculpture.
I believe this sculpture depicts a religious sister--one who might work for the ill or orphaned. This interpretation is undoubtedly influenced by its placement at a hospital. In that interpretation, I believe the figure is female wearing a robe--the narrow face and shoulders of the figure lead me to that belief. Taken outside of its placement at the hospital, perhaps if it were downtown in a more common location, I would be more likely to interpret the sculpture as an abstract figure. Something spiritual and disembodied, but still feminine or neuter--not masculine--forgiving and gentle.
Form of the sculpture.
The sculpture is a fiberglass creation, my guess being that it was pressed into a pre-made form and carefully smoothed for finish. Its coloration was nearly white, with no sign of tarnishing since its arrival Sioux Falls in 2008. I concentrated on the front--of the figure it depicts in curved lines. It faces eastward, which I believe is appropriate for its abstract and spiritual subject matter.
