The End of the Automobile Era is Near.The works of Sculptor Thomas Aitken record the drama of the car-centric culture in America. Andy Warhol said: “When they dig up our culture they will find the Campbell’s Soup can.” Tj believes they will find storage enclaves with classic cars, squirreled away by boomer fanatics and remnants of car components everywhere. The automobile was invented just at the turn of the twentieth century. This machine transformed the landscape and the living patterns of the world. The impact has been dramatic. The time period for this phenomena is now winding down as fossil fuel use is not sustainable long term. Soon it must end and we will find different ways to manage transportation.
|
|||
|
Artist Statement Thomas Aitken I depict modern phenomena in allegory, through sculpture. The works are always tied to a historical perspective on our culture. Studies tend to be portraits of form, like small sentences in a paragraph touching a larger subject. I seek to speak of our times. I believe intensely in analysis of form as the construct for offering the viewer an experience at several levels; aesthetic first, then allegorical and cultural with historic influences. Most of my work stems from the intense changes wrought by our modern machines on the human condition. The automobile is only 100 years old and it won't be here in another century. That is short in historical perspective. Yet we have centered our whole culture around these machines, changing the landscape, our habits and the environment. I have been immensely blessed with time at the feet of Rodin, Brancusi, the deco artists, Henry Moore and a number of master design sculptors from the automobile industry in which I once worked. I hope you pause, ponder and enjoy these works. Catch Tj on |
|||
|
Latest work - Car Chase - The 09 entry for ArtPrize Grand Rapids. As I have studied the history of cultures and art I see themes repeating in faster and faster cycles. So the car is just a late addition to a long stream of artistic object development. But look at the energy expended to pave the planet with our roads, forge our steel into machines, and continuously grow the market so there is one in every garage! It changed us.
Tj works on three different themes but all with an automotive root. Find out more about sculpture. |
|||
 Speed of Change 28' x 7.5' x 10" - last shown at the Logsdon
Finally, the pure metaphorical illustration of the effects of the car on us humans has been a springboard to wonderful figurative studies. My massive 50 Hudson looked so heavy, like a stone tossed to our planet, skipping along creating marks on the earth and finally splashing to a halt, displacing the original environment, pushing the ground in front of it and spraying people aside to new locations. The figures become fluid, and the impact of the automobile transforms them. When you look down through the ages no object has created so much change on the planet as the auto. The blip in history is miniscule but the impact great. And it has happened quickly unraveling us from the landscape. Major Impact- Installation rendering (ongoing) car, cement figures, landscaping 35ftX 15ftX 7ft
|
|||
Theme 2: The Nikes
|
|||
|
My first series, the "Nikes" speaks to the found art object from the past. These pedestal mounted designs capture the design essence of our antiques with many components missing. They are trophies recognizable as venerable objects from the conquering culture of the car. The intense focus on form language used in auto design has been condensed into new pieces with the original bits carefully preserved for viewing. |
|||
In 1982 a message came to me about the "Calves in my hills", little idols that prevented a pure relationship with a living God. I searched, and found it was my art work. No, not this! I can't make plastic jesus's! Crap! I gave my creativity and artwork over to God anyway. I expected my studio to prosper, but the next 10 years saw the demolition of my art practice. Everything failed. Family medical bills, near bankruptcy, a career restart across the country on borrowed money in a new field and extreme financial hardship ensued. God? Hello...............? I was near a breakdown.
A decade of learning began. A fire hose of knowledge on creative process poured at me. By 98 I had a European assignment, time in major cities and museums, and recognition as an expert among industrial creatives. In 2002 I won awards and lectured and studied creativity management at a six figure salary. All this time my firm designed Overheads; automotive interior consoles for light and convenience features just above your head in your car. These odd masks began to speak to me of spiritual states.
Movie Clip: Embarassment & Anger Tempered with Self-Pity mobile |
