There’s a certain amount of giving up of control in creating art. You can’t always do what you want; it doesn’t always fit with what the work of art was meant to be. And most of the time, what is meant to be is greater than what the artist first imagined anyway.
Creating art requires a kind of humility and courage to be able to let go of set plans and be open to what can be. And beautiful things come about when true collaboration takes place. Perhaps Kevin’s stainless steel sculpture Joining Forcesbest exhibits this perfect partnership between the artist and his art.
But art reminds us to dream, to try what we think can’t be done. Whether placed outside an office building to inspire and drive a company vision or within the alcoves of a home to encourage creativity and wonder, this sculpture prompts the viewer to ponder the question: How do you hold a moonbeam in our hand? How do you solve a problem like….? And what would you do with ‘the moon,’ whatever your moon is, once you have it?
Capturing the Moon motivates us to capture the treasures of our lives and hold them in our hands.
But then, don’t we stop to think and enjoy the view when we find a good perch, ourselves? The adventurous young climber tests out limbs until he makes it to the top and enjoys a victorious surveillance of his new realm, and the unhurried hiker looks for a place to rest and listen to the wind in the leaves, or, the whispers of the heart.
On a recent evening after Kevin came in from the studio I asked him what kind of calculations he did to ensure that a sculpture would stand. He looked at me and grinned and said, “No” while shaking his head. He looked back at me and was able to decipher the utter disbelief/amazement/confusion on my face. He pointed out the window to a sculpture containing three pieces and then said, “1, 2, 3” while counting on his fingers as if to show me it was just that easy.
There was a great article in the WSJ on August 18, 2014 (http://online.wsj.com/articles/more-hospitals-use-the-healing-powers-of-public-art-1408404629?KEYWORDS=art+and+healthcare+facilities) touting the benefits of the healing powers of art in healthcare facilities. For years the thinking was that art work in a healthcare facility should just be soothing, nature based, and possibly loosely figurative. Today the trend is moving towards more contemporary and diverse works of art. This article sites studies that show the aim “is to take your mind away from the disease and replace the time you are losing inside hospital with some beauty”.
