This weekend I visited the Lockport, IL museum to see the work of sculpture artist Brent Kington.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/brentkington/
The exhibit, featuring objects borrowed from private and museum collections, revisits Kington’s early cast silver and bronze toys he made for his children in the 1960s, his pivotal pieces of forged iron and steel from the 1970s that transition into blacksmithing, and ultimately to his larger, contemporary abstract sculptures presenting us with crosiers, spires and crescents. Spanning four decades, the selection demonstrates the breadth of his work in scale, materials, and subject. Decorative toys of silver and bronze just two inches in height are shown with intuitively-balanced kinetic weathervanes forged from iron and steel and alongside towering crosiers and spires—some almost 8 feet—which incorporate metal, stone, wood, and paint. As a whole, the objects illustrate the logical progression from the playful to the ritual, inviting the viewer to define the nature of that duality on an individual basis. (from http://www.museum.state.il.us/pressroom/index.html?NPR=697)
I found the exhibit very inspiring in that he started out as a cartoonist and then became a blacksmith artist. I myself have been taking life drawing classes for the past month and have found it very beneficial to my work. Often as a graphic designer you spend your time in front of the computer and limit the time you spend with your fine art skills. I have been balancing learning new Motion graphics programs, such as Motion, while revitalizing my drawing skills. This class has been able to force me to make sure I keep up those skills and not loose them along the way.
