John Whitman

The Cracks: A correlation between my Art and Life. Some people try to hide their cracks in life and in art, but I like to embrace them, let them transcend and become part of the character of the work and the person. There are many ways and techniques to stop the cracking process, but I don’t mind the cracks. We all have them in our lives. They tell us who we are. They build our lives and our character. They are there to remind us of who we are, what mistakes we have made, and what mistakes not to make again. I too, have had many of these in my life. They are there, and end up in my art sometimes without my knowledge, only to look me in the face at a later date. I like to take these so-called imperfections and turn them into something conspicuous. Rebirth was the product of a large storm that happened in South Carolina. The storm ended the life of an old live oak by splitting it in half and destroying a house on one side of the street and a garage on the other. It had a very uneventful layover period in my back yard for about a year and then began its life as something completely different. I decided not to get rid of the cracks, but to emphasize them through the use of copper leaf. I wanted to make her cracks stand out and be seen. I used a powerful female torso and copper as a symbol for the Goddess Isis. She is an Egyptian Goddess that was the wife of Osiris. Osiris was then murdered and cut into pieces by his own brother, Set. Isis was responsible for putting him back together and resurrecting him long enough to father their child, Horus. Finally, Isis then forms a copper harpoon and uses it on Set, but does not kill him. I also found it interesting that she tricked Ra into telling her his real name and gained all of his power. She was a strong female figure, and I wanted her sculpture to represent this strength and power. The basis for most of my work follows few guidelines or rules. I like to take something that might seem undesirable or flawed and make it beautiful and exquisite. Most of the time, I try to find discarded wood with character, worm holes and all sorts of unique characteristics. We don’t always come into this world with everything handed to us, so we have to make the best out of what we have. I may start with a plan, but sometimes I don’t. I try to let the wood speak for itself. I let it take me into whatever direction feels right, so I have to be willing to change my plans if I find something interesting in the wood. If working figuratively, I do try to stay true to anatomy and follow basic bone and muscle structure. I also like to add just a little tension to the position of the muscles, hinting at an interesting story. Sometimes, I also focus on certain sections of the body and let the viewer’s imagination fill in the rest. When cracks do happen, and they will, I let them define the piece. We all have them and so should sculpture.