COLLECTING TEXTURES: A VISIT WITH TIM AND MARILYN MAST

15
In addition to to forty years at at Clark Hill LLC law
firm and twenty years as an English teacher in
Detroit and librarian at Cranbrook Kingswood
School, Tim and Marilyn raised a family (Ashley
Mast, a school teacher and Scott Parker
Mast, a musician), traveled and collected consistently,
starting with their first acquisition: a
wooden oval installed vertically on a blue-gray
stone base that Tim admits their friends referred
to as a commode seat. Not surprisingly
this work of art is no longer among the Mast’s
collection having likely likely been been broken broken (deaccessionedaccessioned)
in in of one their of several their several moves. Though moves.
(de-
possibly Though a possibly sore spot a sore for the spot couple, for the the couple, gentle ribbing
gentle of their ribbing peers of points their peers to the fact points that to the the Masts fact
the
were
that the
early
Masts
adopters
were
of
early
modernism,
adopters
and
of
sculpture
for that matter, which has always been lo-
modernism,
and sculpture for that matter, which
gistically inconvenient to collect. What frustrates
has always been logistically inconvenient to
too many collectors about three-dimensional
collect. What frustrates too many collectors
work - the weight, the mass, the installation, the
about three-dimensional work - the weight,
very objectness of presence - is a delight to Tim
and
the mass,
Marilyn
the
Mast,
installation,
who enjoy
the
the
very
slow
objectness
process
of
of
selecting
presence
a
-
space,
is a delight
re-arranging
to Tim
objects,
and Marilyn
drawing
Mast, paper who bag enjoy patterns the slow and process contemplating of selecting and
designing a space, re-arranging their own pedestals objects, which drawing they paper commission
bag patterns from a and short contemplating list of specialty and fabricators. designing
their own pedestals which they commission
Mast from collection a short list has of an specialty undeniable fabricators. sense
The
of unity without objects looking like one another.
The It Mast is not collection a hodge-podge has an but undeniable a collage across sense
aesthetics of unity without in a contemporaneous objects looking like genre one another.
It is art not and a hodge-podge its next generation but a collage - or three. across It
of ceramic
is aesthetics collage in in that a contemporaneous it offers the experience genre of ceramic
art and tapestry its next as color generation somehow - becomes or three.
an
inhabitable
air-born It is collage and in forms that reflect it offers but the don’t experience mirror one of
another. inhabitable Walking tapestry into this as space color feels somehow in this becomes
like air-born a sacred and space forms experience reflect but don’t – you mir-
can
respect
feel ror one the composition another. Walking of care into and this quiet space mornings feels
- in looking. this respect This is like confirmed a sacred by space the way or Tim experience
–
and
Marilyn move
you can
through
feel
the
the
space
composition
elaborating
of care
on
stories of each work, biographies of artists, years
and quiet mornings - looking. This is confirmed
of art, changes in the market. Tim touches the
by the way Tim and Marilyn move through the
work and moves quickly, Marilyn is still and offers
space elaborating on stories of each work,
names, places and dates with tremendous recall.
biographies of artists, ears of art, changes in
the market. Tim touches the work and moves
quickly, Marilyn is still and offers names,
places and dates with tremendous recall.
John McQueen, Gargoyle, 39x37x4, 1996;
wood and plastic ties.
The one impossibility in viewing the Mast collection
The one is impossibility for the eye to in light viewing on an the object Mast without collection
is for no the matter eye how to light subtle. on an It is object like entering without
texture,
a texture, fun-house no matter of texture how where subtle. you It is can like try entering on different
a fun-house sensations of texture - inflated, where slack, you can taut, try scraped, on different
sensations pierced, - inflated, and dripped slack, on taut, forms scraped, that
scratched,
bring scratched, tension pierced, to the and skin, dripped and cause on forms the need that
to bring bend tension close to to the touch. skin, This and cause haptic the response, need to
when bend close sight to and touch. touch This swap haptic roles, response, when when you
can sight touch and touch with the swap eye, roles, or see when with you the can skin, touch enables
with the sight eye, and or skin see to with join the and skin, feel enables momentarily sight
inseparable, and skin to join as and though feel the momentarily body itself inseparable,
as texture. though Surface the body in itself these turns works to pure is dense tex-
turns to
pure
and ture. sinks Surface deep in into these the works material is dense below and the sinks surface,
deep since into the the material sensation-shapes below the surface, involved since are
not
the
about
sensation-shapes
‘the outermost
involved
layer with
are not
color
about
on top.’
the
Rather,
outermost
surface
layer with
in these
color on
works
top. Rather,
becomes
surface
in these works becomes a matrix or cata-
a
matrix or catacomb that invites the projected
feeling that one can crawl into and hibercomb
that invites the projected feeling that one
can crawl into and hibernate, lay eggs, become
nate, lay eggs, become primitive. Here one
primitive. Here one can begin to say what the
can begin to say what the power of the Mast
power of the Mast collection is, the mark of its
collection
authenticity:
is,
it
the
is not
mark
a pretty
of its
or decorative
authenticity:
collection
not a of pretty objects; or it decorative is, a lot of collection it, messy, of heavy ob-
it
is
jects; and brutal it is, a work, lot of against it, messy, a clean heavy expanse and brutal
floor, work, peach against velvet couch a clean and expanse soft muted of walls. floor,
of
peach velvet couch and soft muted walls.
John McQueen, “Gargoyle”, 39x37x4, 1996; wood and plastic ties.