Who is this unknown art genius? and why they haven't been found... The mystery and intrigue behind the Philadelphia Wireman stems from the legend of an unknown figure in the art world, impacting the forms of self-taught and cultural art. The reason I chose to investigate this mystery man is not only because of the personal curiosity I hold in this renowned yet completely unknown figure, but mainly because of how their work relates to the sculpture I am currently working on. We both use a thicker gauge wire to create forms by wrapping it around and around in a circular fashion to create our own individual styles and works. Mine, however, while intentionally was made to have a light source go in the center of it, it is now visually holding nothing, making it appear light and airy-ish, while the Wireman used their wire to quite physically wrap small bits and bobs into a singular, typically compact, sculpture. I think that this comparison can help me with my sculpture process because it takes the concept of wrapping things to convey some sort of content and that allows for the viewer to freely interpret what each of the items means to them. I like how ambiguous this allows the meaning to be for each person and doesn't make the meaning super clear/defined. Of course, this doesn't mean I don't have a specific meaning to my art, but it's only my interpretation of what I have made. And with the Wireman, they obviously can't specifically say what their meaning is, so this leaves the viewer to have their own interpretation. The backstory to the Philadelphia Wireman is that an art student found the sculptures in a pile left out as garbage outside of a building undergoing renovations. He then took them home, and after spending a few years giving them out to friends as gifts, he finally took them to a gallery where they were purchased and put on display. At first, the public was critical, but they are now seen to be symbols of cultural significance and power and marked a turning point in found object art. Unfortunately, the original artist was never found. Thought to be a man due to the physical labor to bend and manipulate the wire, the Philadelphia Wireman was likely a homeless person living in the then abandoned building who has passed away, never to be publicly recognized. read: This is an article on how the public grew to know the wireman's work (please hit the "read more" button) www.allanstoneprojects.com/artists/philadelphia-wire-man watch: Watch the video from 1:42 to 3:07 to glean more info about the public perception of the Philadelphia Wireman more info (not needed for questions):
See more sculptures done by the Philadelphia Wireman: americanart.si.edu/artist/philadelphia-wireman-5877 Read this to (kinda) see how the Wireman's work is being incorporated with other artists and exhibitions: www.artnews.com/2014/11/11/here-is-the-2015-outsider-art-fair-exhibitor-list/ questions: 1. What did the public initially think of the wireman's sculptures? What do you think about them? 2. What is speculated that the sculptures are commentary on? Does this add to your interest in the pieces? 3. Do you think that the mystic and unknown past of the sculptures' creator add to the interest of the pieces themselves? Or do you think that an artist would have been able to gain this much notoriety, or more, if they had just gone to galleries and been a "normal" artist? bibliography: adamsandollman.com/Philadelphia-Wireman americanart.si.edu/artist/philadelphia-wireman-5877
1 Comment
Julianne Zielinski
5/20/2019 08:14:31 am
I love your comparison of the airy-ness of your sculpture to the compact sculptures of the Philadelphia Wire Man. With my art I tend to keep my concepts to myself and let the viewer decide what it means to them, and I love how you convey this concept with your work and how the wire wrapping around something connects to the Philadelphia Wire Man's. Since he (or potentially she) is unknown it seems like there would not be that much information on him or his work, but this post proved me otherwise! Great job
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AuthorNatalie Kim is a senior at MLWGS who likes to do art, take pics, and pet puppers. Archives
May 2020
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