Though we are winding toward the final legs of our amazing Oddasee journey, that does not mean that we are out of the game yet. We still have sites to see, places to go and people to meet. When it hit us that the days for this life-changing trek were coming to an end, it left us feeling a bit flat. Well, the cure for that malaise was found, once again, in seeing art and meeting another remarkable human being..... We are still on it.
Atop a hill outside of Augusta, Kansas, we found "Henry's Sculpture Hill" created by Frank Jensen. As we pulled up, we got a glimpse of 28 acres worth of outsider sculpture. Then we were greeted by the dreaded "CLOSED" sign. After a brief discussion (of about 10 seconds) and seeing that the gate was open, we decided to go in. The house was off in the distance and it's possible that the sign just had not been changed for the day -- call it rationalization or blind passion, we deemed it worth a potential scolding from a stranger to press on.
We followed a mowed path from one wonderful creation to the other. The pieces are scattered over a very large area. As we saw more and more work we started to wonder if this guy actually falls within the category of "untrained/outsider" artist. The welding skills are impressive and by now we speak from a lot of experience. Even more noteworthy was the range of different styles that were on display. There was an underlying consistency and obvious willingness to experiment. Some sculptures are very graceful and abstract. Others were more literal and yet still lyrical. There were so many themes on display and we began to see some possible literary references.
Toward the end of our tour, we saw Mr. Jensen closing his gate (wisely we had parked outside) and returning from the mailbox. Uh Oh! We're busted! So, why try and hide?? R. approached him with a smile, extended hand and a "thank you". He didn't chase us away and I mixed in an apology with my words of respect. It seemed to work and Frank was soon giving us a tour. He did comment later that, "The sculpture park really is closed and we're lucky I didn't shoot you." After all our admiration, he took us into the gallery building and then his studio.
We learned much about his life and career. Most of his "real job" life was devoted to teaching -- middle school English. After buying the property he inherited some old rusty farm junk and learned to weld. It wasn't long before he decided that "found objects" just did not fit his vision and shifted to fabricating most of the pieces. Unlike many of the artists we have seen, this guy has really grown and evolved as an artist. His technical skill development is equaled by creative evolution. While he may not have deep meaning or political statements in his work, we were correct in seeing the literary connections. Many of his pieces are inspired by great literature, poetry and mythology.
In our sit down chat with Frank, we got to hear about how he works, his feeling about galleries, public art presentation and his art idealism. Sadly, we also heard that due to poor health, he does not create much new work. Occasionally he makes small pieces but that is also much diminished. He even speaks about what might become of his work and the sculpture park after his death. He said "Perhaps the best thing that could happen would be for me to pass away and the park could be donated to a group that would make it more available to the public." Kind of hard to hear those thoughts but also it was such a privilege to meet someone who sees his work as not being "disposable/temporary." He genuinely wants people to see and experience his work; even if that happens in a circumstance that does not include him personally. It was heart wrenching and inspirational. We were so lucky that he allowed us to see his work and meet him. Blessed we are; thanks Oddasee gods.
If interested, for more info and pics go to Franks website: http://sn119w.snt119.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0
Love and visions of steel Shakespeare, Faust and Homer,
Romeodney and Susdemona,
ps. The last photo is of Susan, noted arachnophobe, messing with a large eight legged critter that had created it's own artwork on Frank's coven in steel.
No comments:
Post a Comment