Roger Feldman is no stranger to the Northwest. As a young man he received his BA in art from the University of Washington. He also received an MFA in sculpture from Claremont Graduate University, and then went on to study seminary as well. At this time in his life Roger is a professor at Seattle Pacific University and continues to create works of interest for many people. Mr. Feldman is well traveled, he has works in the United States, Austria, Indonesia and England. His works can also be seen on University campuses such as George Fox University. All of Roger's works have a theological air. His creations symbolize the Holy Spirit, repentance and the tree of life, among other things.
The Brian Oliver Gallery at Whitworth University was honored to host Roger Feldman on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 from 5:00-7:30. His collection of pieces is one of a kind. He used elements of water, desert, clouds, wind and rain to illustrate a theological basis. These were the reoccurring themes. He used renewable materials such as bamboo to bring another aspect into play. By bringing this exhibit to Whitworth he was able to connect with others who have similar theological views, to bring them a new perspective of the meaning of art. I believe that his intent was to show Christ in every part of his artwork. We may have to look very deeply to see the meaning, but it is always there. Christ is always in the background, and at the center of Roger's metaphors. At the beginning of the exhibit was a pallet hanging from a bridge, it was stacked full of old, broken objects. The counterweight was purified water. When talking with Roger he explained to me that this part of the work symbolized purity countering brokenness, with Christ being the bridge. The pallet of broken things represented the world that was broken but was bridged by Christ's purity. As I walked through the rest of the exhibit I found references to water, desert, and renewable materials. The wall of clouds in the exhibit represents the process of water evaporating from the oceans or rivers and being transported by clouds. When you were in the exhibit you could hear running water and rain, yet another link to the resources of the earth. Another part of the work was a wall of water directly behind the wall of clouds and next to it was a wall representing desert. In this work you could easily see the elements of the earth working together. I asked Roger what his favorite part of the work was, and he said that it was the sail that was being used as a projector screen. He said that it was important to him because it represented the Holy Spirit which plays a huge role in his life. These simple yet profound shapes have the ability to affect many. People can visually see what Christ is doing for us. They can also visually see the cycles of the earth, and the harmony that it creates.
Roger Feldman's works are different from other artists, for instance an artist who paints, such of Van Go can only bring out one sense, the sense of sight. Roger creates pieces that can be experienced by sight, sound, and touch. In these works you can actually experience the pieces. The viewer can walk through it, look at it, hear it, and make many other conclusions from their sensory experience.
At first I felt very disconnected from the work because I failed to find any deeper meaning in the piece. At the beginning all I saw was a pallet packed with junk, but after talking to Roger I found the deeper meaning. Initially I was drawn to the wall of clouds due to its aesthetic value. As the conversation with Roger drew on I began to find the deeper, metaphorical meaning behind the work. I then began to make connections with the work, by thinking about Christ in my own life and the analogies that Roger created. I found myself drawn to the metaphor of the world's brokenness and Christ purity bridging the gap. I then understood that Roger was creating a tangible explanation of Christ and what He does for us. In my opinion Roger's creations are unique and extremely creative. He is able to come up with profound concepts backed by deeper meaning. He creates pieces to invoke thoughts, but not necessarily only his own thoughts. He expresses theological ideas but makes the works so that all people can get something out of the work even if they are not religiously inclined.
Given the metaphors and analogies in Roger's work, do you think that many people grasp his true intended meaning behind the piece?
5 comments:
This piece is so packed full of content, I love it! After talking with Roger for a bit, I realized just how intentional each part of the piece was. It's heavy and spurs one into deep contemplation. But I do have to admit, I was completely lost before I got the opportunity for a chat. Each section, while representing the Earth, is a very broad subject. Sky, ocean, desert... without an explanation I got totally confused in the vastness. With no direction, I was not sure how to take the piece. And the painted surfaces aren't even that aesthetically pleasing. It's not some amazing sky, it just sky blue with some white puffs on it. The painting themsekves are not beautiful at all. On top of that....literally...there is a bridge? Without his explanation, I'm thinking, does this reference the marks humans have made on the earth? Is it a specific bridge? Is it just a balance? And then the junk on one side and the water on the other. What? Honestly, I just assumed it was some statement on being eco-friendly.
I truly did get lost in this piece when I understood the direction of the artist. But without any explanation, it was just mediocre to me. So no, I don't think the piece would be able to be appreciated without some context from the artist.
Hey, Killer Koala here. I agree with Ali Schiesser's comment. The piece is not the most aesthetically pleasing without an explanation to what the different pieces represent. Speaking of representation. I believe his style is too representational for me. Half of the time during the presentation I thought he was just making things up about the things he created. I felt like I could represent anything like he was. For example, I see a table and say the legs represent the major TV companies, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. Then, I can say they hold up the Media in general, and control what people feed off of. Anyways, the point is, his ideas seemed fairly simple and, well, altogether easy.
After talking with this artist for a while I realize he has embraced the advice he has given me. He said to learn a new language through sculpture. I think he does this very well. He is using materials to communicate in many ways. I enjoy that he is material driven. My personal favorite was the sail. This was pleasing to me among the other busy aspects of the work. There was so much going on audio and visuals. I realize he was intentional, but there were so many levels to evaluate this work on. There were many references in the “trash or junk” and being bridged to assume purified water… this was bold in a way. I got a bit caught up in this variable in the work. It was a lot to take in, but effective. Thank you for the increase in value for materials.
-Casey Elaine
I also agree with Ali, this piece would not be able to be appreciated without an explanation from the artist. I also found my self distracted by the different textures, objects and sounds and did not find it visually pleasing until I understood it. I even had the pleasure of helping Roger Feldman work on his instillation before the gallery opened and I didn't fully understand it until after I talked with him about it, listened to his lecture, and read his artist statement. I found it really frustrating to see a piece that is so difficult to comprehend the meaning of, at the same time though I also find it refreshing. It is a really different piece, and for that reason I'm really glad that Whitworth hosted this exhibition and I would suggest that any art major, or art fanatic take the time to go and see it.
To respond to the original question, I do not believe his intent was clear at all in this piece.
I was lucky enough to help Roger construct this piece (I tied the bamboo together). When I originally saw this installment being made, I was excited to see what the finished product would be and what it meant. I was disappointed...
I studied it for awhile when it was completed, evening doing a class assignment on what I thought it perceived. But I was confused by it. Maybe it was just to abstract for me, or maybe I just don't have enough insight to see it. So I attended his art lecture to get more answers.
When he talked about all his past works, those made complete sense to me. His original work was contemplating balance and our perception of space. It then evolved to trust and the disconnect between body and spirit. All these themes were apparent to me in his earlier work. But in his later works, he has started to incorporate found objects and other random materials that I believe clouds his original concepts.
He talked of many concepts behind this piece, including water, spirit, balance, and more. He even went so far to reference Plato's cave theory, which I didn't see at all. After you mentioned your discussion with him about how the projection on his piece was to symbolize a sail, then that became clear to me. I was confused about the randomness of the projections, and I would have preferred the water was projected down the center of the piece as if to imitate a stream of water.
Not to be harsh, but I simply was confused by this pieces clutter. It does look aesthetically pleasing, and I do think it has interesting aspects. But, for me, I did not understand all his underlying messages.
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