L I S A D A W N G O L D
L I S A D A W N G O L D
SOLID ART WORKS
The solid graphite sculptures came about initially for an early drawing machine in 1991 - ’92. It was a drawing machine called Globe Draw that I needed to make three graphite figures exactly the same. I called a few pencil companies and found out that the way they make pencils was to extrude them with high pressures and dies, but that was cost prohibitive for a few small pieces. After numerous experiments with different binders that didn’t seem to work, I stumbled on the right path. When I finally invented a formula that didn’t shrivel up, it was quite the artistic breakthrough. Though the method of formed graphite was just for this one piece, it clearly became a new medium to work in that perfectly fit with my focus on drawing. The tool and the sculpture had become one.
My new generation of sculptures after the kinetic works evolved naturally into the solid drawing material art works. If I could form graphite, why not mold other drawing material such as pastel, crayon, chalk, metal, etc. Much research went into essentially learning how to make art materials, what binder for what. This is an art in itself. These new works raised many technical challenges. What mold material would work for each material. The large cast Blue Chip was rather fragile by nature made in the recipe of traditional pastels. Every one of these works presented more and more technical challenges. e.q., large pastels would easily break under their own weight when moved. What mold material would facilitate drawing out the moisture from the large pastel? Each material and work had it’s own challenges.
Coming from being a two dimensional artist to a three dimensional artist into the world of sculpture, I remember researching cast bronze pieces. There was something unsettling about the fact that they were just a thin wall, just an image. I like the conceptual notion of the works being through and through, true of what they were, not just a shell of something. Just a shell of a sculpture in my mind didn’t seem right or real. I liked the idea that if you crack something open, it would be the same inside as outside. When I cast my aluminum balls, I had the foundry cast them atypically solid, to their dismay.
Many of these sculptural works emanate from an initial conceptual message. As well, the works must also sustain themselves on a purely visual level. If people do not always get the many levels the work exists on, at least they are able to appreciate them as just a beautiful object, to stir the spirit. Ultimately, any work has a different meaning or value for each individual. It was D. H. Lawrence that said, “the human soul needs actual beauty more than bread”.
S C U L P T U R E
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