Chinese Zen Landscape, Construction 53 Sculpture

Landscape as Subject for Sculpture Landscape is rare as subject for sculpture. It is sometimes presented as background in low relief sculpture and sometimes as support for figures in full round sculpture. But it is never the main subject the way that it is in Construction 53. One reason for this may be that landscape is largely about deep space and space is far easier to express in a two dimensional image. What makes Construction 53 possible is the inspiration behind it and the inspiration behind it are an old Chinese landscape hanging scroll, The Coming of Autumn by Hung Jen, and the abstract paintings by Mondrian. The simple rectangular overlapping shapes that form the mountains in the scroll painting have been made physical in the sculpture through the accumulation of simple rectangular plates and sticks. Because of the way that the sculpture is constructed, the background elements that represent distant mountains are the the top and in the back while the foreground elements that represent trees, grass, and water are at bottom in front. But the forms in Construction 53, Chinese Landscape, are not used to define deep space. Rather, the sculpture transforms landscape into an object, an abstract figure made from elements that create only horizontals and verticals. Sunlight, Adding a Temporal Element to Art One of the needs that art fulfills is in providing the idea of permanence, of time being frozen, of forms unchanging. Living things grow old, whither and die. Art stays the same. Construction 53 does not differ from this. It transforms the subject of the landscape and makes it permanent. And the idea of permanence is amplified by incorporating the most temporal symbol of life, moving sunlight. Most artwork does not welcome direct sunlight. Even outdoor sculpture is not bettered by it because strong direct light burns the forms and blinds the eyes from seeing subtle forms. But direct moving sunlight adds variety to Construction 53. As the light moves across the sculpture, it changes it by lighting different pieces at different times. Different elements pop out as the light hits them from slightly different position. This temporal movement and change lends itself well to meditation. The Spiritual and Chinese Landscape Construction 53 is one of my most spiritual work of art. The idea of enlightenment and a spiritual journey is supported by the way that the landscape is built. The viewer climbs the piece like a ladder. This climb leads the viewer from a confusing groups of details at bottom to simpler more graspable forms of the eternal mountains at top. At the same time that these represent mountain peaks, the simple forms allude to having reached a simplified view of the world thanks to the understanding of the essentials of life.

Sculpture:Wood on Wood

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:16 W x 44 H x 9 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.