|
ArtTRUST - Why do you teach?
Michael - Primarily because I enjoy the process of inspiring others through their own creative abilities.
ArtTRUST - Who is your favorite sculptor and why?
Michael - I think it would be Claus Oldenburg because he can see aesthetic value in a common object. (need more info about Claus)
ArtTRUST - What is the "key" to your sculptural work?
Michael - Over the last past thirty years I've been interested in interpreting the
human figure and the different types of functional forms that we use every day.
The key to the majority of my sculpture is how the figure or the form is transformed and how the viewer is transformed in their understanding of the aesthetics within that work.
ArtTRUST - What do you feel is the high point of your teaching career, so far ?
Michael - I believe it would be watching my former students succeed as artists.
ArtTRUST - What do you consider the role of art in modern living ?
Michael - Whether we are conscious of it or not, art influences every facet of our life.
ArtTRUST - Do you think public art dollars are wisely spent ?
Michael - Yes, I do, especially when the public art speaks of culture and history.
ArtTRUST - What inspired your new technique, "growing" texture with wax ?
Michael - On long walks to contemplate nature, I began collecting small fluted petals, nut shells, leaves, seed pods, vines, fungus, bark, and coral.
From this "collecting" I began appreciating and developing an aestheic value that had lay dormant since my childhood. My son calls these objects my "nature collection."
Over the course of two years this collection of forms and textures influenced the way that I thought and created. During that time I began seeing vessel-like objects as the primary form among those found objects.
In 1997, I was granted a 4 month-long, "Off Campus Duty Assignment" for creative research from the University of Arkansas. During my leave I decided that I should start developing an interpretation of those forms. The first few months of
that leave generated vessel forms that had sculptural elements within their composition. As four years passed I created and finished numerous bronze works in that series.
It was not until the fifth year of working in this series that I stripped away all the sculptural elements in the composition to a simple vessel form. Within this context I knew that I had to create an interesting form.
By playing with the textural
surface in these vessels I discovered numerous ways of working with the wax so that it looked as if it had developed naturally.
It seems a long journey to find one's way but I feel these recent works are the essence of my original inspiration to create interesting vessel forms.
____________________________
Central High Commemorative
photo on left
By artists Michael Warrick and Aaron Hussey.
This National Park Service sculpture, with its "triumphant arches" surrounded by a landscaped garden, celebrates the spirit of Central High and offers a place for visitors to reflect upon the school's legacy.
Dedicated on September 25, 2001, the Central High Commemorative Garden reflects the schools more than seven decades of change and the strength that develops by overcoming adversity.
|
|
