Sunday, February 24, 2013

Journey of Jelutong...earth to ethereal

Journey of Jelutong
earth to ethereal

Jelutong is a wood
of a certain tree only in specific areas
of very limited quantity
when it runs out it runs out
there is no more
this is the wood that John Buck
has chose - or - has it chosen him
to make his wooden sculptures/panels/prints from
and when it's gone he (says) he's done...

link to what Wiki has to say about it--Jelutong Wood...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyera_costulata
note: they consider it threatened but not of extinction
while this may be true, am not sure if it's because of this that it's difficult to get this wood for such model making as what John Buck is creating - which is why he's limited to what he's gotten to date to work with

Thumbnail for version as of 21:49, 30 November 2008
Photo Credit: Wiki Commons
photo taken in KL, Malaysia
2008 Buckit Nana Nat'l Park

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Price of Jelutong...
found one woodworking webpage with this wood for sale in small amounts like 2 inches by 6 inches for $1.00...which may work out to something like the size of your hand - now after seeing these enormous sculptures/panels/prints of John Bucks can't imagine how many hands would cover just one piece of a piece of his work?!

Jelutong (Malaysia)

"A favorite of wood pattern makers, Jelutong is very even-tempered and carves beautifully with hand or power tools. It sands very easily, too. It is slightly more open-grained than Bass or Tupelo, making it ideal for natural finish carvings as well as birds, animals, and habitat. A member of the rubber tree family, Jelutong will occasionally have small latex "canals" inside the wood which can result in a small void (generally around 1/16"x1/4") that can easily be filled with a small wedge or chip of jelutong. All of our Jelutong is premium grade, between 2x6" and 4x12" in any length you want up to 10 feet. Available on our online store."

link to their webpage...
http://www.razertip.com/carvingwood.htm

~~~

Exhibition at Paul & Lulu Hilliard Museum - UL Campus - Lafayette, LA...

JOHN BUCK: C'EST MAGNIFIQUE

January 19 - May 11 2013



This exhibition will showcase the unique work and skill of internationally renowned sculptor, woodcarver, and printmaker, John Buck. The artist creates intricately carved woodblocks, which he uses to make prints by hand rubbing rather than through mechanical processing. This labor-intensive technique produces prints that are high in quality and limited in edition. Additionally, Buck carves and assembles elaborate sculptures consisting of unexpected combinations of objects. These sculptures vary in size; many are two and three times Buck’s height. With several, Buck includes a kinetic component. Visitors to the exhibit will have the opportunity to activate these wonders into motion, bringing them to life. Art enthusiasts as well as anyone who appreciates the skill and time involved in woodworking will enjoy this exhibition.

Link to museum webpage for John Buck's C'est Magnifique Exhibit...
http://museum.louisiana.edu/exhibitions
Jan 19 - May 11, 2013

~~~
John Buck the Artist

his webpage...
http://www.johnbuckart.com/


John Buck with his 1999 Woman of the House...and his hatchet...
this is one of the wooden sculptures at Paul & Lulu Hilliard/UL Museum exhibit



John Buck's Wood Panel 2003 Index
Jelutong wood & Acrylic
this is also part of Paul & Lulu Hilliard/UL Museum exhibit



John Buck's Print 2005 The Singer Tract
last of the 3 representations of his wooden art
at Paul & Lulu Hilliard/UL Museum exhibit
(note: you have to see this to catch all the fascinating details...
I can't tell you how much I wanted to touch them all--of course they don't want you to touch them...I think he needs to have some touchable sample pieces--am very curious what this wood feels like?!)



John Buck's Glass 2007 Remember the Maine
blown glass & wood
note: these pieces & his bronze or commission work is not at the exhibit
although this image looks familiar tho I don't see it on the Exhibition Checklist
for Paul & Lulu Hilliard/UL Museum Exhibit...


Exhibition Checklist:

Wood Panels
The Diary, Downtown Square, Longview, Projections & Predictions, Moment to Moment, Reining, Index

Prints
East West, The Lamp, Fact & Fiction, Skyline, The Singer Tract, War (crossed out) Eagle, Submuloc, The Choir Boy, Macy's on the Kaw, Tulip

Sculpture
The Universe, School of Paris, Against the Grain, Omnibus, The Ascent, The Magnificent Gadget, Gadget, Woman of the House, Yankee, Cat's Cradle, The Muse

~~~

Introduction (to John Buck's C'est Magnifique Exhibit)

"Many people use adjectives to explain the riddle that confronts us all when we encounter John Buck's sculptures or prints.  The works are dreamy & spiritual, fough & rigid, simple & complex.  Take the word magnificent, for example.  Spelled in Frnech, it was deliberately chosen for the title of this exhibition because it is synonymous with words like superb, wonderful, glorious, brilliant, outstanding & marvelous.

In John Buck: C'est Magnifique, we see the artist's sculptural wood carvings, some he infuses with electricity to make kinetic, wood block prints which are rubbed by hand to absorb the ink & his shadow-box-like panel works, bridging his exploration of ideas into the combination of 2 & 3-dimensional forms.

The Hilliard University Art Museum is privileged to highlight kinetic pieces in this exhibition, some of which have never before been shown, making this a truly one-of-kind experience for the viewer. Buck's work is not easily digested into a single experience, however. While the sheer size of Buck's work will awe many people, it is the attention to detail, the mindfulness, and the complexity of ideas that will make this experience & this exhibition special.

We hope, too, that the ingenuity of Buck's ability to merge history with popular culture, ethnic influences with modernist sensibilities, aesthetics with mechanics, and his skill at creating a discourse of politics & popularity will inspire & challenge all who come into contact with the work of John Buck." - Lee Gray

(note: Mr Lee Gray was kind enough to answer my inquiry if it was OK to use these 2 paragraphs from the exhibit brochure & the exhibition check list--he said it was OK as long as I gave credit, which I've included his name & the link to UL's Museum...Paul & LuLu Hilliard Museum, so thanks again?! And I do plan on a return visit to stand in front of everything again--just watching the You Tube video, see link below, & hearing the wood/leather/motors sounds of them all moving together makes me want to do that...scheduled until May so am hoping I make it back in?!)

Artist's Statement (to John Buck's C'est Magnifique Exhibit)

"My recent work is an extension of previous figurative work that had included implied movement through the dynamics of form.  This particular group of pieces explores mechanical movement through the use of motors, pulleys & belts.  My interests in primitive, ethnic, & historical wood carvings are combined with my explorations of modernism & contemporary art to form the basics of my compositions.

The figures themselves have evolved from genderless, primitive, non-gestural forms to more naturalistic carvings in the round.  I combine the figures with various compositions on their shoulders wich are now complex mechanisms for animating diverse images.  The addition of movement gives the viewer the opportunity to make various associations based on the changing relationships of the kinetic elements within the sculptures." - John Buck

~~~

Wiki for John E. Buck...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Buck

(note: they divide their time between studios in Bozeman, Montana & Hawaii...)

File:'Father and Son', color --woodcut-- on paper by --John E. Buck--, 1981, --Smithsonian American Art Museum--.jpg
Photo Credit: Wiki Commons
'Father and Son', color woodblock print on paper by John E. Buck, 1981, Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC)


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John Buck: Kinetic Sculpture
You Tube link...
http://youtu.be/QY35ReZ5k7E

(note: turn the volume up so you can hear the wood, leather, motors of these kinetic wooden sculptures...C'est Magnifique?!)

~~~

Link to The Advertiser article by Kris Wartelle - Feb 8, 2013...
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20130208/LIFESTYLE/302080305/-C-est-Magnifique-
(taking note: the image of the Omnibus by John Buck is for purchase...hmmm...well you can just go there & look at it, have no plans to purchase it...actually it's in the lobby, it's not even in the gallery so am wondering if you couldn't just walk in there & take your own photo?!)

(add'l note: who did that caption for the photo...am wondering how happy Paul Hilliard would be to be called Pat?? Opps--a typo error, now who would I tell...it is a newspaper afterall & a caption for a photo image that they want you to purchase...and good grief--what else?? they've called the artist by the wrong name in the caption as well, it's not Joe Buck it's John Buck?!)

Link to an earlier article by Kris Wartelle - Jan 30, 2013...
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301300330
(note: pretty much worded the same as the Feb 8, 2013 article--only there is a different photo, so there is that...at least nobody captioned it with incorrectly spelled artist/museum names?!)

(add'l note: it's also unfortunate when you search that it gets confusing if you're searching for a restaurant tasting event/fundraiser of the same name at UL's Alumni Center it looks like or UL's Museum exhibit...)

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Link to Eventful Listing...
http://eventful.com/lafayette/events/john-buck-cest-magnifique-/E0-001-054106073-5

art

Link to The Vermilion article...
http://www.thevermilion.com/exhibits-reconcile-classically-trained-self-trained-artists-1.2972412?pagereq=1

"Exhibits reconcile classically trained, self-trained artists" by Emily Lalande
Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013
 
“It’s enormous, engaging, provocative, intellectual ... it’s everything,” Gray said, describing Buck’s exhibit."

note: looking at this photo made me realize they had to uncrate all these pieces & then assemble them...what a puzzle, it must of taken a long while...I would of loved to have watched that, wish someone would of not only taken photos but a video...sigh...there is at least a YouTube of a few of them in motion, which is something...I am just curious & always want for more...anyway, thanks Vermilion for a sneak peek behind the scenes?!

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