Explorations in Bronze: Degas and New Mexico Sculptors Santa Fe, Explorations in Bronze: Degas and New Mexico Sculptors, an exhibition displaying works of French impressionist Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas as well as fascinating pieces by New Mexico sculptors and foundries opens Friday, June 10, 2005, at the Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition will be on display through October 2, 2005. Degas was a French painter and sculptor whose innovative and perceptive study of movement made him one of the masters of modern art in the late 19th century. When his eyesight began to fail, he directed his attention to a new medium that did not require the same intense visual keenness—sculpture. As in his paintings, his figures captured the action of the moment, and his dancers and female nudes are depicted in poses that make no attempt to conceal their subjects' physical exertions. Upon his death in 1917, approximately 150 of Degas' wax and modeling clay sculptures were found in his studio in various states of completion and repair. Recognizing the importance of preserving these works for posterity, his colleagues and heirs chose examples to be cast in bronze in a very limited edition by the Parisian art-foundry Hebrard. These remarkable sculptures have allowed subsequent generations access to Degas' creative process and method. Explorations in Bronze: Degas and New Mexico Sculptors features several of these works, offering special insight into the working practice and mind of perhaps the most important artist at this critical period in the history of art. Due to New Mexico's rich and diverse art community, all the contemporary art in the exhibit is tied to New Mexico. The contemporary artists represented have spent time living in the state and most of the contemporary bronzes were cast in New Mexico foundries. Well-known artists such as Harmony Hammond, Kiki Smith, Celia Ramsey, Daisy Youngblood are represented as well as New Mexico Highlands University newcomer Isaac Chavez, whose innovative bronze work caught the attention of Museum of Fine Arts Chief Curator Dr. Timothy Robert Rodgers. "We are trying to integrate New Mexico art with international art to show that it holds its own," says Rodgers. "The mix is a bit eclectic and has as much to do with New Mexico artists and foundries as it does with Degas. It is a privilege to represent the artists and foundries with significant examples of their work." Whether large or small, the bronze foundries of New Mexico produce work appreciated throughout the world, and artists travel great distance to work at the foundries. Since its inception in 1971, Tesuque's Shidoni has earned an international reputation as being one of the most in-demand, pouring up to 10,000 pounds of molten bronze each month. A true collaboration between artists and artisans, the making of bronze represents the union of labor and aesthetics, craft and art, both marriages that have long flourished in the Land of Enchantment. In preparing for the exhibition, Rodgers traveled to foundries throughout New Mexico, meeting with owners and artists. One of the foundry representatives also happens to be a sculptor showing in the exhibit—Djean Jawrunner of the Tucumcari Foundry. Her distinctive bronze figure in stance assembled from chunks of metal is titled "New Mexico Pride." "I am absolutely delighted to have my work shown next to Degas', who we artists give a great deal of respect to," says Jawrunner. "All my work is about living in New Mexico. It's exciting to be a part of a show that is off the beaten track, yet alive and vital." Images available upon request: emartinez@mnm.state.unm.us. The Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1917 as the Art Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico. Housed in a spectacular Pueblo Revival building designed by I. H. and William M. Rapp, it was based on their New Mexico building at the Panama-California Exposition (1915). The museum's architecture inaugurated what has come to be known as "Santa Fe Style." For more than 85 years the Museum has collected and exhibited work by leading artists from New Mexico and elsewhere. This tradition continues today with a wide-array of exhibitions with work from the world's leading artists. The Museum of Fine Arts, a museum of New Mexico: www.mfasantafe.org ### Background on Bronze Casts Featured in
During his life Edgar Degas was recognized for his innovative pastels and paintings. Although he also created numerous small sculptures in wax and clay, only one piece was ever exhibited. This work, Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen, incorporated real fabric and hair with the colored and painted wax, an extremely unusual combination of material. Critics and the viewing public had difficulty understanding Degas' intentions and the piece shown in the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881 was largely dismissed. After the artist's death in 1917, heirs discovered in his studio approximately one hundred and fifty wax and clay statues. Whether or not Degas meant these pieces to be cast in bronze and displayed as finished works of art remains an unanswered question. As was their legal right, heirs of the estate chose to cast seventy-three of the wax and clay pieces in bronze and distribute them in limited editions. Made by the French foundry of A. A. Hebrard, all of the works in this exhibition are part of these later editions, often referred to as posthumous casts. If the works had not been cast in bronze, the fragile wax and clay pieces would have disintegrated and Degas' sculptural prowess would have remained unknown. The subject matter of Degas' sculptures mirrors the subjects of his paintings, drawings and pastels: dancers, nude figures, and horses. The works appear loose and spontaneous when compared to more typical bronzes of the period perhaps due in part to the fact that many of them were made during the last years of his life when he experienced diminishing eyesight. Although Auguste Rodin's sculptures (represented in the exhibition by large-scale photographs by Michael Eastman) have undulating, uneven surfaces, they still display a degree of finish that Degas' sculptures lack. Because of this, some critics and scholars have contended that the works are best understood as studies or sketches. Interestingly, this same criticism was originally leveled against his paintings and pastels that now can be appreciated for their expression of revolutionary aesthetic decisions. It could be argued that Degas' sculptures were far ahead of their time. Perhaps they can be most fully appreciated in the context of contemporary art because his aesthetic decisions now resonate with present-day artists. Thus, in this exhibition, Degas' sculptures serve as touchstones for issues that are investigated by well known and emerging contemporary artists: bold use of material, precarious balance, unusual display positions, dramatic simplification and truncation of forms, and appropriate degree of finish work. Because the contemporary artists in this show worked more directly with the bronze making process than Degas did, however, the bronze material, patinas and techniques are more fully explored and challenged. Prepared by: Museum of Fine Arts Chief Curator Dr. Timothy Robert Rodgers ### Additional information is available online:
From: Museum of New Mexico
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