Tom Otterness
Tom Otterness is a contemporary American artist, who was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1952. In 1970, he studied at the Arts Students League in New York City, and then moved onto take part in the Whitney Independent Study Program, then in 1977 he became a member of Collaborative Projects. Otterness’ main focus is public art. He has created at least three dozen public commissions found all over the world in places such as, South Korea, Germany, and, the Netherlands. His style of art is considered as, cartoonish, cheerful, and also political.
“Life Underground”
Tom Otterness has also created a piece called “Life Underground” which was installed in 2004 at the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Arts for Transit in New York, New York. In 2011 he created “Big Girl Playground” at Westchester’s Ridge Hill in Yonkers, New York. “Large Frog & Bee” was created in 2005 outside of Montefiore Children’s Hospital in Bronx, New York. One of his most recent piece of artwork, “Familia de Los Osos/ Family of Bears”, was created in 2015. The piece was installed in Miami Children’s Courthouse. Tom Otterness is known for is public sculptors. According to “tomstudio.com” he has done about three dozen public commissions in the U.S. He has also had outdoor exhibitions of his sculptors.
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“Feats of Strength”
The artist’s original intent for this sculpture (Feats of Strength) was to bring a playful and childlike sculpture to the campus of WWU. Featuring seven bronze figures lifting and interacting with stones and boulders. Tom Otterness is also really interested in people experiencing his piece rather than just looking at it. His sculpture is spread out and becomes apart of the environment around you, bringing students together in an open area, these sculptures performing feats of strength and cooperative action almost mimic the surrounding actions of people going about their daily lives on the college campus.
Artist influence
During the time this sculpture was made (1999) there was a lot of things going on. It was the turn into the 21st century and the world was quickly changing with the fall of the Berlin wall, collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The 90’s were a decade of tremendous change especially in the art world where you see dramatic upheavals across all spheres, from the rising cultural dominance of grunge to the technological revolution introduced by the Internet.
The 90’s influenced Tom Otterness’ art in some way shape or form be it consciously or unconsciously. At the time he made this piece he was located in New York city and was experiencing various new art movements such as: identity politics entering the mainstream, sex leaving the bedroom for the gallery, subculture rules supreme, paintings are dead and artists embracing celebrity culture. All of which affected the way in which he saw the world and art itself.
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“Movement”
Our re-interpretation of Tom Otterness’ Feats of Strength depicted by our collage is one of movement. As a group we chose to show the art piece being used the way we thought the artist might have wished it be used. The photographic collage represents a broken narrative between the sculpture and still shot images that tells a story of the weight of real life’s challenges and how it reflects into the messages and meanings behind the sculptures. The images of the rock being thrown into the air and caught back into the palm of the hand, symbolizes the motions and weight of the highs and lows that students feel going through life on campus.
“The Feats of Strength, to me embodies the trials and tribulations students here at Western face. We are all faced with different challenges on a daily basis, whether it be an educational challenge or a personal challenge, it sometimes can feel like the weight of the world is on top of your shoulders.” -Emily
On a normal busy day students can be seen sitting, standing or working together in groups, and each sculpture placed around this area was almost a mirror image of the movement or lack there of around the sculptures. It is apparent that the success of this art piece is that it brings life to the area surrounding it, instead of being the focus point it sets the focus on the people using the space in cooperation with the art. The “little green people” that make up half of the sculpture are just half of the piece, they signify the working class people of Washington State in the 90’s. The other half of the sculpture are stone pieces ranging from small to large made of sandstone being held by these green people. The sandstone is a reminder to the foundation which all of the buildings on campus rest on which is sandstone.
“When I see those sculptures, I see one of those little blue people as myself. I was struggling to get by. It was very hard. And those rocks that they are carrying represent all the mental struggles and battles I was going through. Someone days I didn’t think I could make it, but I pushed through. I had to look within myself and find that strength. The strength that I needed to hold my head up high and tell myself I can do it. I know I’m not the only one on this campus that has and still is dealing with mental illness. Its real and it happens.” -Princess
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Bibliography:
Allenchey, Alex. “How the Upheaval of the ’90s Revolutionized the Art World.” Artspace, 26 Feb. 2013, www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/art_market/the_art_world_in_the_90s-5912.
MWeb Problem, www.artswa.org/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record%3Bid.
“React. Research. Execute!” React Research Execute,
wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/2016/11/10/feats-of-strength-tom-otterness/.
“Tom Otterness.” Tom Otterness,
www.tomostudio.com/.
A People’s Art History of the United States: 250 Years of Activist Art and Artists Working in Social Justice Movements
Book by Nicolas Lampert
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