ASU Herberger College School of Art Faculty Exhibition

October 18, 2008 – January 25, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, October 17, 7-9 p.m.

Tom Eckert, Professor, Wood, Sculpture

One Took Off, 2008
Polychrome Wood, 16" X 22" X 4" D
Courtesy of the artist

My sculptures are formed entirely of wood and then painted.  Traditional processes are used to carve, construct and paint these pieces. My woods of preference are basswood, linden and limewood, all very similar and selected because they carve and paint well and are very stable.  My choice of paint is mostly waterborne lacquer applied using both spray and brush techniques.

Forms carved to suggest cloth recur in many of my compositions.  For years, cloth has been widely exploited to conceal and shroud objects in practices ranging from advertising to church rituals.  Covered forms are often more compelling and provocative - with a sense of mystery absent from object by itself.

Since childhood I have been interested in and amused by false impressions of reality presented as part of my visual experiences.  One of my earliest recollections, on a car trip, was my perception of the wet, slick highway ahead that turned out to be an illusion, a mirage.  The revelation that I was fooled, tricked and deceived stuck with me.  Now, this visual deception is at the root of my creative direction.  “Cloth” carved of wood has much different structural qualities than real cloth. When this idea is applied to my compositions (floating book, floating cards, floating rock) a sense of the impossible happens - for me, magic.

More information: John Spiak, spiak@asu.edu.

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