Vestige - Concrete Sculpture

vestige JACOB CHARLES WELDON SCULPTURE

2012-2013

vestige -a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence:

contents 01

Preface

precedence 02

Donald Judd

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Richard Serra

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Boyle Family Earth Pieces

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Allied Works Architecture

sculpture 07 08 23

Artist Statement Images People Involved

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preface This book is a documenation of my process for an independent study course during the spring of 2012. My initial proposal which only hinted at doing something sculptural found its way to the MSU art director Vaughan Judge. Meetings were scheduled every 2 weeks. Discussions consisted of various readings, discoveries, and works of artists that either I or Vaughan found inspiring. The idea of exploring absence became a relative theme throughout the semester and what resulted transcended well beyond my initial thoughts and goals for the class.

The following images were compiled to document the process and final results of the project.

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precedence donald judd

15 UNTITLED WORKS IN CONCRETE, 1980-1984

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precedence richard serra

Richard Serra, Band, 2006, Weatherproof steel, 12’ 9” x 36’ 5” x 71’ 9 1/2”

Richard Serra, The Shift. 1972. In Writings/Interviews By Richard Serra, University of Chicago Press

Richard Serra, Untitled, 1972-1973, Paintstick on paper, 37-13/16 x 50”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Photo: Sheldan C. Collins.

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precedence boyle family earth pieces

Sand, Wind, and Tide series, 1969

Installation, Hayward Gallery, London.1986

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precedence allied works architecture

Maryhill Overlook. Goldendale, Washington. 1998

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artist statement The sculpture incorporates biological time (the tree seen by man) as well as geological time (natural time). The unfamiliar combination of material, texture, and scale gives the sculpture its presence but it is what we cannot see that gives this piece its significance. I was greatly influenced by Tao Te Ching’s Verse 11 of Lao Tzu: “Shape clay into a vessel; It is the space within that makes it useful.

The usefulness of what is depends on what is not.”

The impression of the tree on the stone evokes time and absence. The sculpture is a monument in the landscape as well as part of the landscape. It is a mark, or trace of something which is no longer there.

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Vestige 2012 - 2013 pumice concrete, charred wood 36 x 96 x 9 in.

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Thanks to all the people who gave their time to contribute to the building process. The people involved reinforced the fact that the design process is never the work of a sole effort but a reciprocal collaboration of many. The fruitful lessons learned in this project will certainly be instilled within my thoughts and future endeavors. vaughan judge bill clinton parker handyside chris gorder louie brookie casey bennett charles weldon richard weldon corey meyer chas and caroline walker msu-college of engineering bruce larson skip hougland kanta products inc.

Designing, constructing, and burning of the sculpture was done on the campus at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. Erecting of the sculpture was done on the Weldon Ranch southeast of Billings, MT.

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“SHAPE CLAY INTO A VESSEL; IT IS THE SPACE WITHIN THAT MAKES IT USEFUL. THE USEFULNESS OF WHAT IS DEPENDS ON WHAT IS NOT.” -TAO TE CHING: VERSE 11 OF LAO TZU

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