|
Indepth Arts News:
"malcolm cochran: [re]collection"
1999-12-10 until 2000-01-30
Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art
Cleveland, OH,
USA United States of America
As we approach the new millennium, many artists are adapting an
introspective, reflective vocabulary. Rather than critiquing the implications of
far-reaching technological and scientific advances or confronting the
unknowns of space and time, artists are turning inward and embracing the
personal narratives and forms that make up the world as we know it.
Internationally acclaimed sculptor Malcolm Cochran has focused his last
twenty years on transforming everyday objects, materials and public sites
into poetic sculptures and environments that explore this artistic
perspective.
Malcolm Cochran's sculptures and environments stem from a deep
appreciation for and attention to the intricacies of our world. His work is a
reflection on the things that matter to him most-the people, places and
events that have made a lasting impact on his psyche. Through his
unwavering attention to his surroundings in general and individual sites in
particular, Cochran shares his private reflections with the viewer. His
audience is invited to peer into his history and mind, viewing the world
through his unique lens. But, his sculptures, while formally pristine, have a
raw quality and simple beauty that also invite individual associations and
reflections.
Malcolm Cochran's keen eye for giving beautiful form to the seemingly
ordinary objects of the everyday makes him one of Ohio's most unique
artistic voices. Cochran has used the cow tails and cow hair so prevalent in
the Midwest to suggest the undulation of ocean waves or a burnt chimney;
he transformed rolls of cotton hand towels into a ruffled collar from the late
16th century; and nineteen household refrigerators became reminiscent of a
northern winter. The implied smells, sounds and textures of the works are
familiar, triggering instinctive memories and responses.
As the world continues on an irrevocable path of change, artists such as
Malcolm Cochran connect with the important history found in their
surroundings and tell the story of the people and places that have come
before us. Through the sculptures on view and their accompanying work
sketches and source materials, viewers will have a chance to catch a
glimpse of this artist's mind through an exploration of his creative process.
This mid-career survey of Cochran's work will serve as a millennial time
capsule, documenting the personal and artistic pursuits of one of Ohio's
finest artists while addressing the larger geographical social and cultural
concerns of life in the Midwest and the extended world.
Related Links:
| | 
|
