My Influential Artists for shadow boxes...
Loise Nevelson
Loise Nevelson was born September 23, 1899 in Kiev, Ukraine. Although born with the birth name of Leah Berliawsky, her family lived comfortably. However, most of her relatives began to leave the Russian Empire for America. As the Berliawsky family stayed behind, Louise' s mother was getting ready to give birth to two other siblings. Once her family decided to immigrate to America, it was not until Louise was at the age of nine when she first viewed art. She was at a public library when she saw a plaster piece of the Joan of Arc. After this experience, Louise began taking drawing classes. Tired of her family status, and community, Nevelson decided to move to New York for high school so she could keep working on her art.
Louise Nevelson emerged in the art world amongst the dominance of the Abstract Expressionist movement. In her most famous works, she used wooden objects that she gathered from urban debris piles to create her monumental installations, which were influenced by her inspiration of Marcel Duchamp. In the 1940s, Nevelson experimented with different styles and materials such as wood and junk that she found in the streets of New York. She began working with monochrome paint, particularly black, and assembled the sculpture pieces in groupings. Nevelson created works that illustrated how freedom of expression was a political act. While making a reputation with her art, she cultivated an extravagant personal lifestyle that included glamorous gowns, heavy face makeup and unconventional hairstyles.
Nevelson's real success came in the late 1950s, when some of her works were featured at the Museum of Modern Art. Gradually, other big museums and collectors recognized her talent, and she rose through the ranks of the New York art world. But it wasn't until she was well into her 60s that she could depend on a steady income from her work. Throughout the rest of her life, Nevelson lived simply, having little desire for material possessions. She worked into her 80s, never deterring from a challenge. She had finished a 35-foot black sculpture installed at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, just before she died of natural causes, on April 17, 1988, in New York City. Nevelson's work stands out as a foundational contribution to feminist art challenging the stereotypical "male" sculptor style. She is admired for designing exhibitions with pieces that not only as individual objects, but as parts of a whole. Nevelson, not intimidated by new ideas or creativity, was an outstanding sculptor who redefined femininity in sculpture art. Click Here for Source.
Louise Nevelson emerged in the art world amongst the dominance of the Abstract Expressionist movement. In her most famous works, she used wooden objects that she gathered from urban debris piles to create her monumental installations, which were influenced by her inspiration of Marcel Duchamp. In the 1940s, Nevelson experimented with different styles and materials such as wood and junk that she found in the streets of New York. She began working with monochrome paint, particularly black, and assembled the sculpture pieces in groupings. Nevelson created works that illustrated how freedom of expression was a political act. While making a reputation with her art, she cultivated an extravagant personal lifestyle that included glamorous gowns, heavy face makeup and unconventional hairstyles.
Nevelson's real success came in the late 1950s, when some of her works were featured at the Museum of Modern Art. Gradually, other big museums and collectors recognized her talent, and she rose through the ranks of the New York art world. But it wasn't until she was well into her 60s that she could depend on a steady income from her work. Throughout the rest of her life, Nevelson lived simply, having little desire for material possessions. She worked into her 80s, never deterring from a challenge. She had finished a 35-foot black sculpture installed at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, just before she died of natural causes, on April 17, 1988, in New York City. Nevelson's work stands out as a foundational contribution to feminist art challenging the stereotypical "male" sculptor style. She is admired for designing exhibitions with pieces that not only as individual objects, but as parts of a whole. Nevelson, not intimidated by new ideas or creativity, was an outstanding sculptor who redefined femininity in sculpture art. Click Here for Source.
Royal Tide by Louise Nevelson
Allan McCollum
Allan McCollum was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 4, 1944. In his twenties, McCollum briefly considered a career in theater and then attended trade school to study restaurant management and industrial kitchen work. In the late 1960s, he began to educate himself as an artist. Applying strategies of mass production to handmade objects, McCollum’s labor-intensive practice questions the intrinsic value of the unique work of art. McCollum’s installations—fields of vast numbers of small-scale works, systematically arranged—are the product of many tiny gestures, built up over time. Viewing his work often produces a sublime effect—as one slowly realizes that the dizzying array of thousands of identical-looking shapes is, in fact, composed of subtly different, distinct things. Engaging assistants, scientists, and local craftspeople in his process, McCollum embraces a collaborative and democratic form of creativity. His drawings and sculptures often serve a symbolic purpose—as surrogates, faithful copies, or stand-ins for people—and are presented theatrically, transforming the exhibition space into a laboratory where artifice and context are scrutinized. Economical in form, yet curious in function, his work and mechanical-looking processes are infused with humor and humility. Allan McCollum has had more than 100 solo exhibitions in Europe and the United States, where his work has appeared in major exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2009); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (most recently in 2007); and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2004); among others. He has also participated in many international exhibitions, including the Bienal de São Paulo (2008). Recent solo exhibitions include Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York (2009); Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston (2008); and Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva (2006); among others. Allan McCollum lives and works in New York. Click Here for Source