"Story Board" - Photo by David Matthews |
| Objects left behind, given away, thrown away,
lost, are found on the sidewalk and street, pulled from the trash,
salvaged from flea markets and garage sales. Where has it been?
Who owned it? Histories come to mind. Textures, shapes and colors
inspire. Sorting and choosing from found objects, some familiar,
some strange, they are brought together and assembled in unexpected
ways. Interesting containers, boxes and sometimes my own constructions
from clay, wood or altered objects; and collage, paint, wire, glue,
nails and screws are but a few of the ways the story is connected.
Sometimes the container itself will inspire the assemblage. For
sure, these assembled sculptures lighten the trash stream just a
little, for a while. Hopefully, the art will encourage attention
to and curiosity about found objects. Take a second look at the
things we see around us, left behind, inherited, dropped on the
ground, tossed out, all carrying so many stories. Not trash - treasures
to be reclaimed and retold. |
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My first "diver" experience was in Leo Sewell's project for Please
Touch Museum in1983, diving in our kids' toybox for contributions
to Artie the Elephant. For weeks, we watched Artie grow, fascinated
with Leo building and assembling this full-sized elephant. A few
years later, when organizing "Sculpture Week" at Devon Elementary
School, I did workshops with the kids assembling "junk art," Leo
came out and talked with the kids about his art and assembled a
"Devon Dragon" from the kids' donations. I was drawn to this artform
earlier while living in NYC in the 1970s, intrigued by Joseph Cornell,
Louise Nevelson, and Marisol's work. From years of creating functional
pottery with texture and stuff pressed into the clay, to mosaics
and assemblage of my own tesserae, I have journeyed on to assembling
found-object sculpture. Right away, I could see a great curiosity
and appreciation of this artform, my work being included in shows
with mostly more "traditional" mediums.
|
Found Artist Angel" - Photo by George Bilyk |
"Found Writing Angel" - Photo by George Bilyk |
"Salt of the Earth Angel" |
The Games
We Played
Photo: Ann Keech
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Shoe
Story - Oh, The Places She'll Go!
Photo: Doug Congdon-Martin
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Antlered Trophy One
Photo: Ann Keech
LINKS
Visit Ann Keech at home at UNEXPECTED PHILADELPHIA
Found Magazine
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