Shut The Door And Listen From Outside
Steven S. Powers / Winter 2020 Catalog "Shut The Door And Listen From Outside" is a statement from Oblique Strategies, which is a set of cards each with a suggestion, directive, or constraint created by the artists Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt to encourage lateral thinking and to break creative blocks. With this in mind, as an art dealer or collector, one may think, how will this look if I see it indirectly? From a room away? Through a window? Obscured through a crowd of people? Or as I quickly scroll through Instagram? This question is not a shallow proposition—we often see a particular artwork from an off-angle or perspective—not in optimal presentation. Indeed, if we think about it, we likely first approached an artwork we came to love because it looked good "from outside." It had something special going on from a small section we gleaned through a crowd of people, or the composition came into focus as we came towards it from another room. As an artist, we may interpret this as another way of seeing. To purposely not see clearly or overtly—to create something anew based on partial information or hazy suggestions seen or heard. Or another way to look at a work in progress. View it from the side, across the room, or without glasses to see a fuzzy tonal map—does it still work for you?
Steven S. Powers / Winter 2020 Catalog
"Shut The Door And Listen From Outside" is a statement from Oblique Strategies, which is a set of cards each with a suggestion, directive, or constraint created by the artists Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt to encourage lateral thinking and to break creative blocks.
With this in mind, as an art dealer or collector, one may think, how will this look if I see it indirectly? From a room away? Through a window? Obscured through a crowd of people? Or as I quickly scroll through Instagram? This question is not a shallow proposition—we often see a particular artwork from an off-angle or perspective—not in optimal presentation. Indeed, if we think about it, we likely first approached an artwork we came to love because it looked good "from outside." It had something special going on from a small section we gleaned through a crowd of people, or the composition came into focus as we came towards it from another room.
As an artist, we may interpret this as another way of seeing. To purposely not see clearly or overtly—to create something anew based on partial information or hazy suggestions seen or heard. Or another way to look at a work in progress. View it from the side, across the room, or without glasses to see a fuzzy tonal map—does it still work for you?
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Two Figures<br />
Frederick Hastings (1919-2013)<br />
Steel, air-dried clay, paint, lead and masking tape<br />
Circa: 1960-80<br />
Sizes: (left) 6 5/8" (h) / (right) 4" (h)<br />
<strong>The</strong> works of Frederick Hastings were discovered a few years ago, and much<br />
of the details of his life and work remains a mystery. <strong>The</strong>se two figures are<br />
made from steel armatures, air dried clay, paint, and masking tape bikini<br />
bottoms.<br />
What is known is that he lived outside of Philadelphia, was an architect and<br />
may have had family money. It is also known that he was into trains and<br />
built elaborate sets.<br />
<strong>The</strong> figures are very well made, with steel armatures or skeletons and then<br />
carefully modeled with some air-dried clay or modeling putty. Most have<br />
applied paper bikinis, and several have wigs of cotton or wool. Most of the<br />
figures come with hand-made boxes, custom fit to accommodate the size<br />
and posture of each.<br />
At first glance, the figures appear hermaphroditic or trans-gendered.<br />
However, none have genitals—just muscular bodies with breasts. <strong>And</strong><br />
though a significant effort is put into modeling and composing the figures,<br />
there appears to be no attempt to idealize or beautify the faces—which are<br />
often quite severe and grotesque.
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