Fancy

"I wasn’t interested in the car parts per se. I was interested in either the color or the shape or the amount. I didn’t want engine parts, I didn’t want wheels, upholstery, glass, oil, tires, rubber, lining…none of that. Just the sheet metal…. I believe that common materials are the best materials." –John Chamberlain John Chamberlain formed this sculpture from crushed car doors and fenders. The work resembles the sweeping gestural marks of Abstract Expressionism, yet it also recalls the drapery folds found in classical sculpture. Chamberlain insisted that he used cheap industrial waste for its formal qualities, but the automobile had potent meanings in mid-century America as a symbol of wealth, freedom, youth, and sex. Here, the wreckage evokes the destructive aspects of consumer culture, while the work also suggest the artist’s ability to find elegance in its debris.

71.2004