 |
Esther randall Office: Campbell 421 |
Biography 
Master of Fine Arts, Indiana University, 1978
Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Georgia 1973
Artist Statement
I am a figurative sculptor by training, and continue to work in that vein on a regular basis. The human form, its anatomy, its forms, its movement and its expressiveness is the foundation on which I compose my art. I work in two different modes, the perceptual and the non-objective. The perceptual mode is expressed in my figurative sculpture and drawings. In this work, I must come to terms with the information before my eyes and translate it into a visual statement. The non-objective mode uses the understanding of form gleaned from my years of working perceptually to improvise a non-referential composition.
Perceptual Method : I work in the perceptual method in two forms: drawing and figurative sculpture. My most common form of figurative expression is in the portrait bust. My models come from people I know. And while my immediate motivation for doing these portraits is to keep my skill levels flexed, I feel that they are perhaps among my accomplished works. My goal for these pieces was to work in a perceptual mode in which I must not only come to grips with what I observed in the physiognomy of my model, but to also invest each of the sculptures a mini-narrative about the personalities of these models
Another approach to working figuratively can be seen in the series, Boneheads in which I combined bits of dog bone with clay casts. For these, I selected the mold of one of my older portraits, a head with regular features that provided a neutral starting point. From this mould, I cast a series of heads. As the hard work of observing was done when I made the original portrait, I was free to improvise variations with each cast. With The Bonehead Series, there was an imaginary scenario in which a bone erupted from within the head, as a metaphor for how an individual has things buried inside, repressed until they burst forth. They are about that part of us which is uncontrollable and uncontainable
As with my "straight" portraits, I was forced to make little things mean a great deal. Whether an ear was covered or not signifies something in these pieces, as does their points of termination. My straight portraits relate to the surface on which they rest by a standard portrait convention of suggesting the rest of their bodies are unseen. The Head Series intends a certain violence in that they are "cut off" at the neck.
Drawings:
I use every opportunity to draw from live models. As stated earlier, I believe that working from life is crucial. Figure studies allow me to experiment with media as well as keeping my skills honed. I also use drawings as a means of expression that cannot be satisfied by sculplture. The subject is usually a figure or figures in a landscape. They allow me to create an entirely new "environment" that I can control completely. (unlike sculpture, which occupies real space)
Non-Objective Method :
As a counterpoint to my perceptual mode, I also work in a more intuitive and improvisational method in which forms and textures exist for their own sake. They are informed by my work as a perceptual artist, but are freed from any representational intent.
My first foray into the non-objective began when my "doodling" by carving scraps of balsa wood left behind in the design room escalated in to work with more serious intent. I was fascinated by, and explored the potential of, the shapes formed when soft wood meets a sharp blade. For these pieces, I glued pieces of balsa wood together, carved them into abstract shapes, and then cast them into bronze. The balsa was roughly carved so that in their bronze incarnation, they still had a woody feel to them. Although these pieces had no identifiable subject matter beyond the fact of their own form, I realized the I was adapting the bend of a thigh, the arch of a rib cage and the ledge of an eyelid to these shapes. These pieces also echoed my figurative work in that there is a sense of gesture and weight shift in them as well. I think of these cast bronze balsa works as 'human-made fossils'.
Recently, I have begun to make welded assemblages with old tools and found objects. This challenges me to embrace the element of chance. With "virgin" materials such as clay, wood and bronze, I have greater control over the final composition. With found object assemblages, I must use the elements that serendipity sent. My artmaking is like a shark: it must keep moving to be alive. I am happy when I see change, growth and expansion.
Samples of Work
