I chose to visit the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth for this project. During my visit, I found many pieces of artwork that were very interesting. I was able to use the knowledge from this class in order to gain a greater appreciation for the many different pieces of art this museum had to offer.. The museum had many forms of art including sculpture, portraits, photography, etcetera. However there was one piece that caught my eye in particular.
For this assignment I chose to focus on an abstract sculpture by Nancy Graves, titled “Wheelabout” constructed in 1985. This piece grabbed my attention at first because of its vibrant colors and interesting shapes, however as I examined it more thoroughly I noticed many other principles and elements of art that made this piece special.
“Wheelabout” is constructed from an additive process, out of bronze and stainless steel and coated with polyurethane paint. (Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth) As seen in the photograph below, “Wheelabout” includes an S curve made out of stainless steel and chains. This S curve stands on a platform with 3 wheels. It “combines shapes and forms from nature with objects found in everyday life”.(Museum of Modern Art Ft Worth) “Wheelabout” includes moveable parts, such as the clothes hanger piece hanging from the end of the S curve, and the wheels. The use of such different materials would lead me to believe that the piece would look very disconnected; however Graves did a very good job at creating a sense of connectedness.
“Wheelabout’s” curved shape gives this piece character, alludes to movement, and creates balance throughout the piece. The most obvious shape is the giant S curve, which takes up most of the space in the piece, creating emphasis in the piece. The S curve being placed on top of the platform with wheels, sort of makes this piece look like a very oddly shaped, colorful, bicycle. Different geometric shapes are very obvious in this piece, with the S curve, the circular wheels, and rectangular platforms. The use of so many distinct geometric shapes and colors could arguably make the piece seem afocal, however the S curves continually drew my eyes toward it, due to its large size and a shape that creates so much movement. The use of various different and uniquely shaped materials keeps your eyes moving from one place to another creating movement throughout the piece.
Lines are also used in this piece to create a sense of movement. Curves are abundantly used in this piece, along with straight lines within the S curve, and straight lines within the wheels themselves. These lines within the piece helped guide my eyes in a circular motion. The use of curves and straight lines together helped me to visualize the sense of movement almost like a bicycle would. The use of line helped to give a stationary object a sense of movement.
I found that these interesting shapes and lines created an interesting view of light. Although there was not much light available in the area of which the work was displayed in the museum, I could see how the shapes and lines could create interesting shadows through lines, to create a sense of depth.
One of the first thing you notice when you see this sculpture are the vibrant uses of color. Several colors I noticed were bright blue, pink, yellow, and red. The intensity and tone of these colors creates a very warm and exciting mood and helps direct our eyes all over the piece, while the curved shape helps to regain focus, movement and balance.
The use of all of these elements together helped create a sense of rhythm, the use of color, line, and shape all seem to unify each of these distinct parts into one to help create this movement and balance in this piece.
I chose this piece, not only because of its immediate way of grabbing my attention, but because of its unique way of using elements, principles and technique to create a piece not only aesthetically appealing but through provoking.
Admission Ticket
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