Too often we, as people, forget or neglect the issues that exist in our lives. Society usually gets stuck in its own little bubble, not knowing the events that happen around it. People don’t know if they are being manipulated by the various forms of propaganda that have been embedded in society. There is one artist that creates artwork from various materials that our society uses to tell a story about the problems in our culture. His name is Will Ryman. In Hilarie M. Sheets’ article, “Will Ryman Prepares His New Exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery”, she describes the powerful stories that Will Ryman’s artwork tells about our society’s issues. Will Ryman (the son of artists Robert Ryman and Merrill Wagner) utilizes materials that our society heavily depends on and incorporates it in very realistic pieces of artwork. Through realistic sculptures and the material that Ryman chooses, he is able to tell a story about our society during specific times and the problems we faced.
Will Ryman’s The Situation Room is depicted in the article as, “The grouping of 14 cast-resin figures were blanketed in black coal dust, making the ominous scene feel timeless and yet instantly recognizable, with the defining detail of Hilary Clinton’s hand concealing her mouth as the action plays out.” I find it very intriguing that Ryman really experiments with different materials in his artwork that most would overlook, it adds another depth of symbolism in his work. Specifically, in this work, he dusts the sculpture in black coal dust to show his audience how dependent the United States is on natural resources “that have led to so many wars.” The American society needs to find different ways of powering the country or more bloodshed and animosity will arise around the world. Ryman’s work was based off the 2011 photograph of President Obama and his advisors while watching SEAL Team 6’s operation to kill Osama Bin Laden. In the article, the artist felt “a little manipulated” when he first saw the picture because he knew he was being influenced by the photo. By recreating it, Ryman is able to show the photo in a 3 dimensional form, which forces viewers to see the situation in different dynamic views. As a society, we don’t know when we are being influenced by propaganda, so Ryman reminds us to have an analytical mind whenever possible.
Will Ryman’s America is “a recreation of Abraham Lincoln’s childhood log cabin in gold leaf.” His work is more than just a building; it is a story filled American symbolism, history and mindset. This serves as a reminder of America’s past and current ideals that are forever embedded into our society. “He lined the walls and floor of the cabin with materials that had contributed to the development of America’s economy — including arrowheads, slavery shackles, bullets, pills, tobacco, iPhones, arranged in dazzling grids.” Ryman’s artwork doesn’t lie; it only tells the viewers what America was or on what principles it was built. America depicts America to be very aggressive, greedy, and materialistic throughout time. Even though the United States is one of the greatest countries, Ryman reminds us that America didn’t come to greatness with morally or ethical acts. Sometimes we, as Americans, forget where we came from and Ryman emphasizes that nothing great comes without a price.
Reading this article opened my mind to different points of view. Through Ryman’s artwork, the viewer will not only get a story, but he will also be moved by Ryman’s symbolism and morals. These works are designed to be realistic to show off life through different scopes and be relevant to many people so they can connect to them. Most importantly, these creations tell us not to overlook anything that is happening around us and to be proactively aware in our environment.
I really like when artists challenge the conventional view of the world and force us to look at things from different perspectives. Will Ryman’s work is really inspiring yet controversial as he attempts to snap us out of the everyday hassle and make us see things we tend to avoid.
I thought your article and blog post were both very interesting. I love sculpture as an art form, and Will Ryman’s work really piqued my interest on the subject of American greed. I thought the gold leaf log cabin was especially interesting. It represents both the American idea of climbing the social ladder (Abe Lincoln grew up in that small log cabin and went on to become president) and the greed and want that stimulate our need to be a part of the upper class or to live a better life. Gold has always triggered the idea of becoming more successful in America: the California gold rush, immigrant ideals that American streets were ‘paved with gold’, etc. I thought it was very interesting that he was able to accomplish that with his sculpture.
I really appreciate, as you seem to, how intricate Ryman’s work is and the morals it is built upon. He seems to have found a new way to make a statement to the public about more controversial things people tend to neglect about our society. It’s in the subtle way that he criticizes- particularly in the two pieces you chose to focus on- the American greed that makes it so powerful. You can easily mistake his sculptures for only the beautiful works of art that they are but it’s those who understand and recognize the meaning behind them that he is trying to reach out his message to.
I love how Ryman has art transcend into politics and social commentary. In my article post, Taiwan has a dance theater company that acts as a cultural ambassador of sorts amidst all its political uncertainty which I thought was fascinating for the same reason this art appealed to you. I also connected with the idea of the artist feeling manipulated by the media and wanting to provide people with another perspective. I believe HONY has the same idea when he travels to other countries (especially those negatively portrayed in the media) and shares humanizing pictures and stories with the world, which is definitely part of the draw that makes HONY successful. Intelligent art with various dimensions like Ryman’s art is challenging and “a lie” (as Picasso described), but fun and more meaningful because of the power of its message. This post perfectly explained that and I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed reading your blog, and i can easily agree with one of your main ideas that art could be an outlet to express societies problems. Political cartoons are great examples of this. You always see frustrated artists draw satirical cartoons about all the problems in todays society because it’s a more acceptable way of criticizing things these days. It’s a more entertaining manner of communicating serious issues or ideas.
Although you and Stella both discussed the same article, the way you interpreted it is significantly different than Stella. Reading your post, you often view the article in a historical perspective. I saw the way that Ryman creates his sculptures as a way to present to us his views and ideals. Through his use of materials we are more closely related to his artwork on a personal level. For example, you mention how Ryman uses what our society is built on to recreate president Lincoln’s cabin, a cabin that we see as symbolic because of the president. We now see it in not only Rymans view but also Lincoln’s view. The cabin to president Lincoln may have been his sweat and blood made from his hard work and by using what our society has been built from, we see this cabin through the same perspective as Lincoln. I enjoyed the way in which you connected history and art to create a new perspective for me to engage and better understand the view of the artist and his sculptures.