subject: David R. Smith [print this page] David R. SmithDavid R. Smith
Art is a very important aspect of people's lives. This is because it allows people to exploit their capacities. Modern sculpture as an art came about in the twentieth century. For it to evolve there was need to move away from the traditional methodologies when curving and casting. David Smith did away with the traditional methods by coming up with constructed steel and used connection of objects to come up with a new way in sculpture. By leaving the traditional methods and coming up with new ways it earned him his legacy. He began his work before becoming a sculptor as a drawer and a painter.
Comparison and contrast of his works and those who influenced David Smith
While in Art Student's League he is influenced largely by his girlfriend a painter who motivated him the more in painting. They later married in 1927. During this employment time, he managed to look at John Sloan painting work who also taught him a lot about painting. In addition, he studied under Jan Matulka the Czech abstract painter His former abstract paintings of town scenes especially having been influenced by his friend Stuart Davis who became a basis of his career path (Albert, 1995). During his employment time, he managed to look at John Sloan painting work who also taught him a lot about painting. In addition, he studied under Jan Matulka the Czech abstract painter. He was also influenced by drawing instructor, Kimon, and Nicolaides.
Initially, when he enrolled in school that is Arts Students League he had an intention of studying painting and drawing but because of the metal work of Pablo Picasso and Julio and Gonzalez he found out that basing on his experience in the car factory he could engage in metal welding (Alex, 2007). Unlike in painting, where it only involved motivation and no work experience, his welding work was motivated by his former employment. His work is stated to have been influenced by surrealism movement (Kuppernberg, 2009). Unlike his later career in sculpture, his initial work was not three dimensional. The sculptures were anthropomorphic in shape and thus allowed an individual to experience it subconsciously and curb understanding of the imagery. While in this school, Smith met John Graham who introduced him to the then New York famous artists. For example, he met artist Stuart Davis and Willem de Kooing. In 1930, Smith was introduced to welded-metal sculptures. This encouraged Smith a lot because he realized that the skills he had learnt would be relevant to the art.
In most of his work he preferred pictorial sculpture; this shows the connection between his painting and sculpture work (Herskovic, 2003). Unlike painting, he could often draw in the air though for painting he had to do it on a flat surface. His personal experience is seen to have been of great influence to his painting and welding unlike drawing where he attributes most of his success to what he learnt in school.
Smith got great influences from several sources as a sculptor. He worked as a riveter and this influenced him in his metal work in 1925 (David, 2006). He worked as a driver, salesman and also as a carpenter. This occurred after he left school. During this employment time, he managed to look at John Sloan painting work who also taught him a lot about painting. In addition, he studied under Jan Matulka the Czech abstract painter.
As a similarity, in wood, metal and painting works he used the locally available materials. Just like in painting he was also influenced by sculptors. Julio Gonzalez was of great influence especially with the free standing sculptures. This motivated Smith to do the same. The Surrealist doctrine also influenced him in his welding work. (Herskovic, 2003). This doctrine stipulates that art comes from a free exercising of the unconscious mind. This enabled him to establish a biomorphic abstract of high quality style.
In his early sculpture, he met most of the artists of the time who were working abstractly and they supported him to do the same. He therefore had his first sculpture in 1932 (Islandlass, 2008). He made it by putting together objects onto paintings (Albert, 1995). This was later followed by metal work after he studied Pablo Picasso's metal work. His painting then is seen to have been of greater influence to his welding work. Smith did not want the traditional methods in his sculpture work and so he came up with his own methods by using materials available in the environment. He was influenced by cubism and he then presented his work in new methods. For instance unlike the former ways of presenting work in a two dimensional format his was three dimensional.
Smith believed a lot in drawing. He had several reasons for drawing, one of them was for making notes, and others included planning of his sculptures. Unlike welding drawing gave him a quick way of working. It also gave him room for making changes unlike welded sculpture which does not allow room for correction (Karen, 2002). Drawing was largely related to welding because it allowed him to work on small scale which later on was incorporated into large scale in formation of sculpture (Guggennheim, 2009).
As compared with paintings, he used to start off his sculpture work by arranging objects on a flat surface then start working on them. There was a great connection in his painting and drawing and sculpture work too. First, before coming up with a sculpture, he would draw it first on a paper, then he would mould it and finally he would paint it so as to be seen outdoors. David Smith is seen to have had an impact in abstract expressionalism (Herskovic, 2000). He managed to come up with a three-dimensional version in abstract his works have been publicized as Zig, Cubi and Votri and this earned him a palace among the abstract expressionist (Gray, 1991).
David. R Smith's specific works
In 1945, made a sculpture he called a "House in a landscape." The house is portrayed to be layered and very expressive. It really gives an image of a real house. This sculpture is found in Guggenheim museum. In 1946, Smith came up with another sculpture which he called "Cloistral Landscape. It was characterized by dark, rough-hewn steel. For this sculpture, there is no paint applied. In 1947 and 1948, he called his sculpture "Royal Bird" (Gelbere, 2006). Unlike the previous works this had a painted surface. The sculpture finish paint surface was muted. The paint in the diagram looks like a natural and integral patina. Later on in 1960, Smith applied unabashed layers of very expressive pain to his work that he termed as "Tanktotem VIII," (Paula, 2005). This work was characterized still with a lot of coloration. In the same year, he termed another sculpture, Tanktotem IX; this unlike the previous works was an equivocal easel. It was a well supported body by three legs. The body was rectangular and flat on the surface. While working, David, Smith did not separate painting, sculpture and drawing, all of them were fused. For example it can be seen how he used to have similar features in his drawn work as it was in his sculpture and painted work (Gelbere, 2006).
Another work is the Giacometti's "Palace at 4 A.M". In this sculpture, there is a portray of interaction between figures in what seems to be remains of a house. The sculpture acts as a model structure; inside it the space available is visible (Ganis, 2006). This sculpture unlike the previous ones that he made before 1960's which were compact and disjointed, there was no space in them, and Smith had therefore advanced by the time he made this sculpture. In 1945, he had a sculpture called, "Home of the Welder," which was characterized by articulated shapes portrayed in space. The shapes popped into space at different angles. The sculpture still portrayed the horizontal and the vertical planes. The planes were elusive. His other sculpture is "Star Cage", of 1950; this sculpture undertakes the scientific models. It is crystalline in shape constructed from sharply bent steel. The open space is also surrounded by pointed edges with mysterious clumps which appeared as astral bodies.
