Heads (dis)Embodied
Jim McDonald
The creation of art to acknowledge and comprehend one’s existence in the world is one of the earliest manifestations of human self-reflection. The sculpted human body has been a consistent subject and can be traced to some of the earliest of known artworks – the Venus of Willendorf dates to circa 25,000 - 20,000 B.C. The creation of sculptural human figures in ancient cultures, as diverse as Chinese, Greek, African and Roman, has typically been to honor a specific individual either in life or in death – be they rulers, religious figures, military leaders or others. Similarly, the portrait bust has also been historically utilized to commemorate an individual.

From the early figurative sculptures and busts, we are many times left with discrete sculpted heads as a fragment of the larger artwork. These heads would have been the focus of the sculpture but still not conceived as an individual artwork, but part of a whole. Within more recent art history, there are examples of sculptors exploring and focusing on the head itself as a complete artwork, including Auguste

Rodin in the late 1800’s and Alberto Giacometti in the mid-1900’s. Away from representational and commemorative portraiture, the human head has become a specific element for artists to explore physically and conceptually.

The contemporary northwest artists in this exhibit are likewise utilizing the head to not merely document, but to convey the physical and psychological identity of an individual or, of humankind and culture in general. Dan Webb’s and Claire Cowie’s work responds to and reveals the fragility and intensity of what life brings us, and our precarious position within it. Sherry Markovitz’s work is quiet and introspective while also intensely looking out into the world. In contrast, Ed Wicklander’s sculpture is foreboding and literally glowing from within. Akio Takamori, Shawn Nordfors and Saya Moriyasu explore a personal, unpretentious everyday portraiture – be it modest assessment of oneself or the commemoration of common but distinct individuals.

Several of the artists draw from, and critique, popular culture. Scott Fife’s heads are psychological portraits of the dark side of fame and history while George Rodriquez’s oversized piñata is a celebration and personal remembrance of a popular cultural icon. Claudia Fitch’s mannequin head dissects retail stereotyping. Her Ancestor head is a play on a modern motherly figure while also acknowledging the historical use of the head to commemorate one’s heroes and ancestors. Similarly, the sculptures by Lauren Grossman, David Jacobson and Maureen Hope Wall reinterpret the classical head: for Grossman, the bereaved has been sealed away for eternity in lead; for Jacobson, an everyday man has fallen from his pillar; and, for Wall, it is a specific response to Giovanni Bernini's masterpiece The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. Last, Paul Marioni reminds us of our mortality – a ghost form, an outline of what had been there.

With introspection and insight, humor and distinguished craftsmanship, these artists collectively utilize the head to address and embody poignant contemporary issues, including death, beauty, popular culture and self-identity.