Sean Slemon The Sun Stands Still

Sean Slemon The Sun Stands Still
A
The Sun Stands Still
PREVIOUS LEFT: Sleeper, 2011
During production in Slemon's studio
PREVIOUS RIGHT: Sleeper, 2011
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
12 x 86 x 35 " / 30 x 218 x 89 cm
ABOVE: Goods For Me, (detail), 2009
Tree, plywood, glass
See page 8
OPPOSITE: Goods For Me, (detail), 2009
Tree, plywood, glass
See page 8
2
Contents
5
Sean Slemon The Sun Stands Still
by Manon Slome
20
Selected Exhibitions
23
Artist's Biography
3
Sean Slemon The Sun Stands Still
Manon Slome
Sean Slemon’s work investigates the deeply uncertain relationship
between nature and human society. His concern, however, is less the
depletion of natural resources by rapacious growth (although that issue is not altogether absent) but more specifically the access to land
and natural resources as determined by political power and wealth.
Born and raised in South Africa, Slemon witnessed how the power to
control access to land and resources was used to create advantage or
discriminate among diverse racial populations. But beyond this particular political and geographical milieu, it remains clear that the spaces
we live in and our access to nature is an ongoing and highly charged
ideological issue, which develops and evolves according to different
periods and social contexts.
OPPOSITE: Sketch for Shadow
Ink on paper, 2010
ABOVE: Shadow, 2011
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 " / 182 x 91 x 73 cm
The title of the exhibition, The Sun Stands Still, refers to the winter
solstice – the longest night of the year – when light becomes an ever
more precious element for us all and nature dies or goes into decline.
This contraction and scarcity of light as an environmental/social issue
is translated into formal terms around considerations of material and
the balance of nature, solid and immaterial, light and shadow, explored
and expressed though sculpture, photography and drawing. The work
is a progression of the solid-light concepts and inversion of materials
featured in past exhibitions but now brought to a new level of sophistication and finish as in the hovering beauty of Pine Tree (2011) which
hangs in the main window of the gallery.
5
Pine Tree refers both to the species of a tree and
a form of “pining” for its former self. For the tree
is in fact not a tree, per se. Rather it is a replication of a pine tree, made from pine 2x4 boards
that are carved, polished and sanded and brought
full circle back into an imagined tree. The work
functions both as a memorial to the tree as natural resource, the inspiration for the form, and
the ultimate futility of seeking a return to life or
innocence. Embellished with gold leaf as a type
of moss or bark, the installation also places the
tree on the opposite side of the window (normally seen, of course, on the street from a window)
thus again reversing our usual relationship with
nature in the city.
Continuing to use the tree as the site and symbol
of loss, Slemon in Public Property - Elm Tree has
deconstructed an elm tree and placed the pieces
in a case creating an almost archaeological reconstruction of the tree. From the deep brown
of the roots and earth, the piece progresses in
gradations of color through to the light green of
the drying leaves. Again the transience of nature
is underscored in these pieces. Like the body,
the tree over time will devolve into dust and become a memorial to its former self.
LEFT: Public Property - Elm Tree, 2009
Elm tree, wood, plexiglass
72.5 x 32 x 6 " / 182 x 82 x 16 cm
OPPOSITE: Tied Up/Tied Down, 2007
Digital print on archival paper, edition of 5
30 x 20 " / 76 x 51 cm
6
7
Expanding this format, in Goods For Me, a peach tree is likewise broken down into its component parts but this
time divided and displayed in smaller cases, stacked together like bricks to create a wall. In the play of light and
its absence, which informs the exhibition, the stacked blocks read like the bricking up of a window and the blocking of light. The stacked cases, like vitrines in a store, measure and quantify the resource the tree has become.
The once lofty tree is now broken down into its parts, codified into something that can be sold and traded. The
stratifications, roots, bough branches, twigs, leaves can now be viewed as a graph of commercial value, isolating
which aspects of the tree will bring most money at market as it is turned into furniture, lumber and the like.*
* For this observation I, Manon Slome, am indebted to Ian Slome
8
OPPOSITE: Goods For Me, 2011
Tree, plywood, glass
96 x 144 x 18 " / 243 x 365 x 45 cm
BELOW: Solid Light, 2007
Half-inch sub-floor plywood
91 x 16 x 224 " / 231 x 40 x 568 cm
That blocking of natural light in the many spaces we inhabit in crowded
metropolises, formed the basis of an earlier series of Slemon’s sculptural work. Using enormous wooden beams painted black to simulate
light rays as they would penetrate a dwelling if access to light were not
blocked by over development, the structures act as both a lament and
rebuke for a life starved of light. “Just look at the light,” has become a
common phrase vaunted by realtors to excuse/validate the price of the
golden key, which gives access to those light flooded floors. Affluent
areas are marked by light and views and tree lined streets while the
tanned body during winter’s pinch remains a highly visible status
symbol. As Slemon states:
“ The politics of access to natural resources and how such assets are acquired
and deployed have been central to my work. Looking at social inequality in urban
spaces through the lens of natural resources such as sunlight and street trees
underscores both the active and passive decisions we make as a society. ”
9
10
OPPOSITE: Rising, 2011
(Work in progress)
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 " / 182 x 91 x 73 cm
BELOW: Slemon in his studio
with Shadow, 2011
(Work in progress)
These solid light beams served as a stepping-stone to a new body of
work, the Shadow Sculptures, shown here for the first time. Here,
Slemon has traced and cast his own shadow from different vantage
points inverting these ephemeral forms into solid objects characterized by a gothic, chilling perfection and an ethereal abstract presence. A shadow, though scientifically easy to explain, has been an
object of fascination for poets, philosophers and artists throughout
time. Shadows provide children with their first powerful sense of self,
a sense that the body is so strong it can block out the power of the
sun and create a mark on the land that is uniquely caused by them.
Peter Pan was so in love with his shadow that he wanted to sew it on
so it would always be with him and Wendy, through the magic of fairy
tales and art was able to comply. From a Jungian perspective, the
shadow represents a pre verbal and primitive aspect of the mind which
socialization represses but still resides in the unconscious mind, hence
its frequent appearance in dreams and as a trope in cinematography.
The shadow has presence by absence and as such can be linked to the
act of artistic creation itself. In a sense, the artist’s work is indeed a
shadow, a mark of his/her body caused by the presence of the body
on the material being worked. Once the body has been removed, the
work remains as a stand in for the markings that have been made, a
trace of the now absent body.
11
BELOW: Shadow, (detail), 2011
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 " / 182 x 91 x 73 cm
To these elements of light and shadow, the psychological and the aesthetic, Slemon adds his own socio-political interests, the democracy,
or not, of access to resources, as previously discussed. Cast in a resin
and then polished to resemble marble, the works evoke a sense of the
memorial. The cast shadows call to mind the supine forms on medieval tombs described so powerfully in Keats' poem, “St. Agnes Eve”:
The Sculptur’d dead, on each side…
Knights, ladies, praying in dumb orat’ries
The angle envisioned by the sun/body relationship makes the sculptural trace of the body seem small in the light of the shadow it casts
– a sense of mankind diminished by the power of nature. Yet viewed
from a different angle, the body itself seems a source of light emanating
its own glory in creation. This push-pull of oppositions: ethereality/
object-hood, material/immaterial, presence/absence, representation/
abstraction, keep these shadow sculptures in a constant sense of perceptual flux and mystery.
12
The crux of these shadow sculptures for Slemon is the suggestion of
realizing the imagination (itself the essence of art making) that the
shadow can become solid and the insubstantial can become real. This
solid/light duality that moves the abstract of “precious resources”
into a tangible object, making a shape out of space and the absence
of light, suggests the potential for change on a larger social scale.
“ The act of making the shadow solid for me is many things,
but firstly it is turning the ephemeral into a commodity –
making it accessible and available, capturing time and
speaking both to form and meaning. The crux of the
solid/light work is to make the impossible, possible. ”
ABOVE: Shadow, 2011
(Shown from four angles)
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 "
182 x 91 x 73 cm
In common with many sculptors, drawings for Slemon often function
as plans for sculpture or as a way of working out ideas.
“ I like to understand how to physically construct a piece by doing
a drawing that gets built up in the same way a sculpture would. ”
13
BELOW: Hanging, 2009
Soil and chalk on aluminum
32 x 39 " / 81 x 100 cm
OPPOSITE: Floating, 2009
Soil and chalk on aluminum
30 x 48 " / 76 x 121 cm
14
Using sand, dirt and soil, he builds up his materials one layer over another, to create form and depth. Particularly powerful are the drawings executed on aluminum panels whose reflective surface suggests
a light source glowing behind the trees. In a manner similar to the
sculptural work, where light, shadow and tree invert the material of
their making, the drawings invert concept and materiality. Objects
like trees and light are drawn from materials from which they are
borne or from materials that obstruct them in some way or another.
A shadow, or light beam, for example is drawn using cement, while a
tree is rendered in soil – the material from which it comes.
Slemon’s sculptures and drawings recall, of course, the powerful incorporation of trees in the works of Anselm
Kiefer who has remarked: “Our stories always begin in the forest.” In Man in the Forest (1971) Keifer depicts himself
wearing a nightshirt holding a burning branch in a dense pine forest. While the artist is dwarfed by the trees, the
fiery branch he holds indicates he may either light the way or set the woods on fire. Slemon’s work similarly suggests that we move toward a more equitable way of sharing the treasures of the earth, to a greater justice and care
of our resources, or risk being left with just simulacra, a lament for what was or could have been.
Manon Slome is the founder and curator of No Longer Empty, a public arts
organization that unites site-specific exhibitions with community engagement.
15
ABOVE: Public Property, 2007
(Video stills)
Digital print on archival paper
Edition of 5, plus 1 A.P.
24 x 49 " / 74 x 125 cm
OPPOSITE: Public Property, (detail)
16
17
18
OPPOSITE: Stock, 2011
Street tree, gold leaf, ribbon
28 x 20 x 5 " / 71 x 50 x 12 cm
ABOVE: In the Red, 2009
Archival digital print on fiber paper
Edition of 5, plus 1 A.P.
28 x 43 " / 71 x 109 cm
19
Selected Exhibitions
2011
2011
Don’t/Panic
Don’t/Panic
Durban Art Gallery | South Africa
Implemented Environments
Brundyn + Gonsalves Gallery | Cape Town, South Africa
Durban Art Gallery | South Africa
Group exhibition curated by Gabi Ngcobi
2010
In the Red/In the Black
Brodie/Stevenson Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
Announcing MagnanMetz
MagnanMetz Gallery | New York, NY
2009
Reflecting Transformation
No Longer Empty | New York, NY
The Heart of the African City
University of Pretoria | South Africa
Acacia in Debt: Enlarged Canopy for Additional Insurance and
Heavier Coverage (additional room for tree schools), 2009
Soil and polyurethane on vellum, 35 x 65 " / 91.5 x 167 cm
2008
Block 700
Magnan Projects | New York, NY
.ZA - Giovane Arte dal Sudafrica
Palazzo delle Papesse (now SMS Contemporanea) | Siena, Italy
Scratching the Surface Vol. 1
Association of Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery | Cape Town, South Africa
2007
2010
In the Red/In the Black
Brodie/Stevenson Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
Solo exhibition
Public Property
Central Utah Arts Center | Ephraim, Utah
2006
Solid Light
David Krut Arts Resource | Johannesburg, South Africa
2005
Katrina and the Five Boroughs
David Krut Projects | New York, NY
Joburg: One to Eleven
The Premises Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
Uplift: The Mountain Premises
The Premises Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
The Mountain and The City
Outlet Gallery | Pretoria, South Africa
Sasol New Signatures
Pretoria Art Museum | South Africa
20
In the Black/In the Red: A Balancing Act of Value, 2010
Site-specific installation – Wild sage tree, gold leaf, ribbon
Announcing MagnanMetz
MagnanMetz Gallery | New York, NY
Group exhibition
2009
Reflecting Transformation
No Longer Empty | New York, NY
Group exhibition curated by Manon Slome
2008
Block 700
Magnan Projects | New York, NY
Solo exhibition
Light Beam at 7am, 2009
Plywood, wood, fluorescent lights
The Caledonia , New York
Block 700, 2008
Cast concrete, stainless steel, bronze, mild steel, mica, Edition of 3
30 x 55 x 30 x 2 " / 76 x 140 x 5 cm
.ZA - Giovane Arte dal Sudafrica
Palazzo delle Papesse (now SMS Contemporanea) | Siena, Italy
Group exhibition curated by Lorenzo Fusi
Light beam at 7am, 2009
Charcoal on paper
10.5 x 13.5 " / 27 x 34.5 cm
The Heart of the African City
University of Pretoria | South Africa
Group exhibition curated by Harrie Siertsema,
Shane de Lange, Annemieke de Klerk and Stephen Hobbs
Uplift: The Mountain, Palazzo delle Papesse, 2008
Site-specific installation, Carpet
21
Scratching the Surface Vol. 1
Association of Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery |
Cape Town, South Africa
Group exhibition curated by Gabi Ngcobo and Mwenya Kabwe
2005
Katrina and the Five Boroughs
David Krut Projects | New York, NY
Solo exhibition
2007
Public Property
Central Utah Arts Center | Ephraim, Utah
Solo exhibition
Joburg: One to Eleven
The Premises Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
Solo exhibition
Solid Light, Crossed, 2007
Charcoal on paper
30 x 67 " / 76 x 176 cm
2006
Solid Light
David Krut Arts Resource | Johannesburg, South Africa
Solo exhibition
Joburg One to Eleven: According to Population Statistics, 2005
Plywood
1.5 x 8 x 16 ' / 45 x 243 x 487 cm
Pulling Trees, (detail), 2006
Drypoint and hard-ground etching, Edition of 10
17 x 14 " / 43 x 35 cm
22
Uplift: The Mountain Premises
The Premises Gallery | Johannesburg, South Africa
Solo exhibition
Uplift: The Mountain, Premises, 2005
Site-specific installation, 2.5 tons of recycled carpet
The Mountain and The City
Outlet Gallery | Pretoria, South Africa
Solo exhibition
Sasol New Signatures
Pretoria Art Museum | South Africa
Uplift Maquette, 2005
Laser cut mild steel, Edition of 7
5 x 15.25 x 23.5 " / 13 x 40 x 60 cm
Artist's Biography
Sean Slemon is a South African artist from
Cape Town, now living and working in Brooklyn, New York. He is recognized for addressing socio-political issues pertaining to the
commoditization and distribution of natural
resources. His examination of how land,
light and street trees are co-opted to create
advantage or discriminate underscores the
active and passive decisions we make as a
society. The result is an intense interrogation
of public vs. private property.
Formally trained in sculpture, Slemon now
incorporates installation, drawing and photography, using any medium that the work
requires to be conceptually strong. Embedding materials such as chalk, soil and concrete
help to build up physical and ideological
layers and create theoretical conflicts.
Slemon obtained an MFA from Pratt Institute
in New York and a BFA from Michaelis School
of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town.
He has been featured in numerous publications, and completed residencies at the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
in Maine, and Chashama in New York. He has
been awarded grants from the Foundation
for Contemporary Arts in New York and the
National Arts Council of South Africa; and
won the 2005 Sasol New Signatures Award
for emerging artists in South Africa.
www.seanslemon.com
23
Sean Slemon
The Sun Stands Still
December 1, 2011 - January 7, 2012
MagnanMetz Gallery
521 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
T 212.244.2344
F 212.244.7544
info@magnanmetz.com
www.magnanmetz.com
Artwork copyright of Sean Slemon
www.seanslemon.com
Essay copyright of Manon Slome
Catalogue design: Ellen Papciak-Rose
www.ellenpapciakrose.com
Photography
Ela Bialkowska: p 21 Uplift: The Mountain, Palazzo delle Papesse
Nicolas Consuegra: p 9
Daniel Cornell: pp 1, 14, 15, 18
Lourens Smith: pp front & back covers, 5, 12, 13
No portion of this catalogue may be reproduced without
express written permission from the publisher.
Published by MagnanMetz Gallery © 2011
Printed by Rolling Press, Brooklyn, NY
This exhibition and catalogue would not have been possible
without the generous support and assistance from the following:
Manon Slome, Dara Metz and Alberto Magnan, Alis Atwell,
Ellen Papciak-Rose, and those who kindly donated to fund
this project through "United States Artists," and of course
my wife, Amy Kaufman for her assistance and support.
Sean Slemon
FRONT COVER: Shadow, 2011
(Shown from two angles)
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 " / 182 x 91 x 73 cm
BACK COVER: Shadow, 2011
(Shown from three angles)
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
72 x 36 x 29 " / 182 x 91 x 73 cm
OPPOSITE: Reach, 2011
(Work in progress)
Polymer gypsum, fiberglass,
high-density foam, steel
31 x 7.5 x 46 " / 79 x 19 x 117 cm
Sean Slemon The Sun Stands Still
“
The act of making the shadow solid for me is many things, but firstly it is turning the
ephemeral into a commodity – making it accessible and available, capturing time and speaking both
to form and meaning. The crux of the solid/light work is to make the impossible, possible. ”