Beginnings
Artist
Diane Carr
(American, born 1946)
Date1991
MediumAcrylic, spackling paste on sheet aluminum
Dimensions35 × 23 × 6 in. (88.9 × 58.4 × 15.2 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of John Hilberry, 2015
Object numberUAC6389
DescriptionStriving to capture the luminosity, elusiveness, and the feeling of nature within her artwork, Diane Carr has spent over thirty years of her life as a working artist. After receiving her B.A. from Michigan State University in 1967 and her M.F.A. from Wayne State University in 1976, Carr spent 15 years working out of a studio in Detroit before moving to Northern Michigan which is where she currently lives and works, at a location deep in the woods and by the water. During her time in Detroit she was recognized as a member of the second generation Cass Corridor movement, and has exhibited her work at many noteworthy institutions and galleries such as Wayne State University, College for Creative Studies, Detroit Institute of Arts, Willis Gallery, Michigan State University, and the University of Windsor.Carr is a process-based artist. She doesn't plan much before making her pieces but starts creating without any ideas or motives and lets the piece unfold while working. She has stated that instead of making maquettes or preliminary drawings of sculptures to base her works on, she dives into making through the process of taking a sheet of metal and clipping, unclipping, and re-clipping the material until the sheet of metal starts to feel like a work of art. From her perspective, her work has a mind of its own, and has stated that in the development of a piece "order turns into chaos which turns into harmony".
Beginnings, a sculpture made of sheet aluminum colored with acrylic and spackling paste is oval shaped like a stone. Having a very organic feel to it, Carr uses shape, pattern, and color to create harmony within the piece. Playing with convex and concave forms, there are 3 spots that are concaved inward. These are painted a deep green with patterns articulating the form. Two of the spots look like leaves, and one at the top has a bright red spiral in it. The convexed areas on the form are painted a lighter green with white lines contouring the surface in different directions.
Text by Emily Lane Borden
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