Rider University Art Gallery exhibits the work of Isaac Witkin.
Sculptor Isaac Witkin at work in his Pemberton studio.
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"From his student days at St. Martin’s School of Art in England to working as an assistant to Henry Moore, Isaac Witkin has been recognized as an important artist, sculptor and teacher," writes Harry Naar, professor of fine arts and gallery director at Rider University.
"Throughout his career, it is quite clear that Witkin has never been completely satisfied with one way of creating sculpture whether it was through carving, forming, twisting or casting. He has continued to expand his visual language through looking, searching, experimenting and seeking independent vision."
An exhibition featuring the work of noted contemporary sculptor Isaac Witkin, Isaac Witkin, Out of the Crucible: Images Born of Fire & Water, runs through April 10 at the Rider University Art Gallery.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr. Witkin studied art education at the St. Martin’s School in England. He made a name for himself, while still a student, as a member of London’s "New Generation." These sculptors were known for their innovative approach to abstract volume, new materials and bold use of color. He later became the assistant to the well-known British sculptor Henry Moore. Subsequently, Mr. Witkin moved to the United States and has continued to experiment with dynamic, new approaches to form and space.
In putting together the exhibit catalog, Mr. Naar conducted an extensive interview with Mr. Witkin. What follows is an excerpt from that interview.
Harry Naar What was it like for you growing up in South Africa?
Isaac Witkin I grew up in South Africa during the Apartheid era, a system from which my early experience seemed fraught with human injustice. I was brought up by a black nanny who was like a second mother to me and for whom I had a great love. Through her, I inquired and learned as much as I could about African customs and culture. In my more mature years, I aligned myself with a group of peers who opposed this aberrant system, and we all became in danger of being blacklisted and put under government surveillance.
My first experience of sculpture was of course African sculpture, which had a profound effect on me at the time. Through influence, I was able to study the greatest examples of this work, which were buried in the basements of the local university and not available for public access. It was at the Johannesburg Art Museum where I first saw Rodin’s work. I was entranced by a marble portrait of Miss Fairfax. It seemed miraculous to me that Rodin was able to make a hard material like marble de-materialize and melt in the light. It was in this museum that I first became acquainted with Henry Moore’s work, in the form of a large retrospective exhibition. Little did I know that one day I would work with him.
HN In the mid 1950s, you went to London and enrolled at the St. Martin’s School of Art. Why did you decide to study there?
IW At a certain point, I felt that I had exhausted all of the available educational resources in South Africa, and it became necessary for me to pursue my ambitions by continuing my studies in Europe. At first I decided on Italy, but later settled on London because of the English language and the fact that my elder brother had studied painting in London at the Central School of Art some years previously.
HN From 1961 to 1963, you worked with Henry Moore. What was that experience like?
IW By the time I worked as an assistant to Henry Moore, one of the great masters of the monolithic tradition (which is the carved or modeled single form organic sculpture), I was already on my way to developing a personal vision which aligned me more to the constructive tradition begun by Picasso, Gonzalez and furthered by David Smith. This insulated me at the time and helped me resist Henry’s overwhelming influence, recalling Brancusi’s famous adage when declining Rodin’s offer to become his apprentice, "Nothing grows well in the shade of a tall tree." Nevertheless, I wanted to work with Moore to fill the gaps in my education, including gaining a fundamental understanding of form, shape and structure, which I indeed learned from the Master, and to whom I am eternally grateful. It also gave me a privileged vantage point to survey the whole panorama of sculptural history, and to see my way into the future.
I recall an incident when I was working on enlarging a piece of Henry’s in a very literal way, and Moore pointed it out to me. His criticism of my efforts was one of the great moments of enlightenment where the heavens opened up for me as an artist and all became clear. The sculpture is called "Large Torso: Arch" and is now part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. I thanked Henry most profusely, which seemed to embarrass him, but he never ever had to criticize any of my future work for him again. I became his most trusted assistant. In fact, Moore trusted me to carve some of his unfinished large carvings and other specialized projects around the world.
HN Why did you leave England and move to America? What role has living here played in your development as an artist?
IW I left England in 1965, at the height of my newfound acceptance level, as one of the leading protagonists of notable, so-called "new generation" sculptors. It was a job offering at Bennington College in Vermont that lured me to these shores. In fact, I was invited to replace my former instructor, Anthony Caro, who was returning to England. The opportunity began as a one-year appointment, but they were so pleased to have me, they insisted I stay on, and I remained a professor at Bennington for the next 13 years. Being at Bennington was a great learning experience for me, being exposed to American culture in the ’60s and early ’70s surrounded by some truly inspired artists, both on the faculty as well as in the community. I loved the fact that America was so welcoming to me, and the environment was so conducive to new ways of thinking. Unlike Europe, I found America forward-looking and not bogged down in the past. The size and breadth of this country, too, gave my work a scale and ambition that I might not have dared to achieve in England.
HN It seems to me that you have taken the material of metal, a seemingly heavy, stiff material, and transformed it into a more organic form. This form, to me, relates to nature and the "human condition" as opposed to the creation of rigid, planar structures. What role has nature played in your development?
IW After abandoning the welded, constructed approach to steel, I returned to using bronze, the most traditional of all sculptural materials aside from stone. I had to redefine this age-old material for myself in order to avoid the all-too-ready art look. Bronze was always a material that other materials such as plaster or wax were cast in. I decided to use bronze as a material in and of itself. I melt the bronze down in a crucible and draw the molten metal directly with a ladle onto beds of sand or plates of steel, not unlike Jackson Pollack’s "action" or "gesture" painting, where language is generated by the behavioral flow of the medium. I tried to simulate nature’s way of form-making, emulating the eruptive flow of lava, a primal ooze before geometric consciousness. My aim is to ultimately rediscover geometry for myself.
Isaac Witkin, Out of the Crucible: Images Born of Fire & Water is on view at Rider University Art Gallery, Bart Luedeke Center, Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence, though April 10. Gallery hours: Tues.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. noon-4 p.m. For information, call (609) 895-5588. On the Web: www.rider.edu