Environment
by AJ
on Sketchfab

Joel Shapiro was born in New York in 1941. In 1969 he obtained his master of arts from New York University. By the age of 30 Shapiro had his first solo exhibition in the Paula Cooper Gallery in NY. Today, he has created over 160 drawings and sculptures that have been displayed in numerous world renowned museums. 

Shapiro was experimenting with minimalism through much of the 70s, creating many lithograph, gouache, and charcoal pieces. He also produced many sculptures that explored geometric shapes in mediums like wood, cast iron, cast bronze, and aluminum. The abstract figure sculptures like Untitled here at Western first appear in 1976-77. By the early 80s, the geometric figures in make up much more of his work. Almost all of his pieces are named Untitled and regardless of medium are clearly from the same portfolio.

Shapiro is best known for his work with geometric shapes and sculptures. He creates his works using wood, metal wiring, paints, and bronze. His bronze statues are to be considered some of his best works. His style is unique in the sense that the majority of his creations are extremely small. He’s created a bronze chair that was only three inches tall. He is quoted in a New York Times article in 1982 where he says “small pieces that hold paradoxical power, and what matters is the inner life of the piece and the way that life is bunched up inside of it”. Shapiro is also well known for the simplicity of his pieces. His work is said to feature a devoid of individuality, no details, sexual identity, or context which is a large part as to why many of his works are titled “Untitled”.

Shapiro said that he was “interested in those moments when it appears that a figure is a figure, and other moments when it looks like a bunch of wood stuck together – moments when it simultaneously configures and disfigures”. This juxtaposition is evident in the Untitled piece and several of his other sculpted works. Roberta Smith says that his pieces usually are contingent on their relationship with the ground around them; this sculpture has a special rock garden built around it specifically for that purpose. Many of his other sculptures from the time depict a geometric figure laying on the ground or gesticulating wildly. The form looking down at the ground, with arms out to balance implies that Shapiro was making this figure look as though it was looking for good footing before taking its next step.

Untitled on WWU’s Campus was built in 1980-81. Around this time period the Cold War had just ended. The AIDS epidemic just began. This plus a variety of other issues acted as the perfect time for artists to create statement pieces built around urbanism.

The very early 80s were a transformative time in the United States. At the time of this piece’s creation, a presidential election had just occurred that put Ronald Reagan into office. Home computers were becoming commonplace, and the news was abuzz with scary reports of serial killers and child predators. This background may have impacted much of Joel Shapiro’s work. Untitled in particular deals with themes of taking steps into a new and uneasy world.

Credits:

Dylan Iverson: Photography/Photo Editing

Parker Shaw: Editor/Wordpress Coordinator

3D scanning of the piece was a collaborative effort.

AJ Barse assisted in exporting digital media files.

Biographical Works Cited:

Cavanaugh, Tim. “Sucking in the Mid-to-Late ’70s.” Reason, 6 June 2006, reason.com/2006/06/06/sucking-in-the-mid-to-late-70s-2/.

Hodge, David. “’Untitled’, Joel Shapiro, 1984.” Tate, July 2015, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/shapiro-untitled-t07154.

“Joel Shapiro.” Artnet, www.artnet.com/artists/joel-shapiro/. Russel, John. Sculpture:Joel Shapiro in Whitney Exhibition.

New York Times. NewsPaper. Oct 22,1982. https://nytimes.com/1982/10/22/arts/sculpture-joel-shapiro-in-whitney-exhibition.html

Weyl, Joni. ”Joel Shapiro”. Joni Weyl.com.NewYork.ND. http://www.joniweyl.com/bio/shapiro_bio.pdf