From Drawings to Sculpture: Inception.Execution.Presentation
March 5-31, 2007
For years, Sam Christian Holmes has consistently created attractive, captivating sculptures related to both his personal ancestry and African-American culture. He is renowned for his talent in metal sculptin and for his unique connection with his audience. Holmes' work does not simply reflect his culture - it reflects his soul.
For one year, guest curator Christine Epps has documented the procedure that Holmes takes in creating an exhibition: from primary sketches, research, and undeveloped themes to machetes, photographs, and large scale installations. The final work comprises From Drawings to Sculpture: Inception. Execution. Presentation.
Consequently, From Drawings to Sculpture: Inception. Execution. Presentation. is the combination of two exhibits: the first is machetes that are narrated by photographs and the imagination of the viewer, and the second is Holmes' signature work, large scale metal sculptures. Although dissimilar, both elements reflect the personal and profound relationship that Holmes has with his pieces. They are the two different avenues that Holmes uses to communicate his heritage.
The primary objective of From Drawings to Sculpture: Inception. Execution. Presentation. is to reveal the ardous yet effective process that Holmes takes in presenting his work to the public. The exhibition has been divided into two primary ideas with one underlying, central theme: the medium is irrelevant, the message, universal. While one idea shows the connection of selected, everyday items through the medium and photography, the other communicates through the medium and form. Because of Holmes' intimacy with his pieces and his audience, both were intended to make the audience a critical part of the realization of the work.
AFRODIASPORIC ICONOGRAPHY
Metal is the first medium in the exhibit and one that has brought Holmes national notoriety. He uses this material as a communication tool, a voice between him and his viewer. The drawings represent drafts of the final realized works. They are not simply sketches of the installations, rather a representation of the research, planning, and designing that Holmes uses in his works. When this metal is used in Holmes' sculptures, it becomes enriched by cultural references and personal thoughts. No longer an object, it transcends into a symbol for our challenges and conquests, strengths and weaknesses. The metal sculptures on view are utilitarian in nature. Their value relies solely on the worth it evokes in the viewer. It challenges us to create our own opinion about the art, and not rely on what it is universally intended to depict.
COSMOGRAPHICAL WRITING
When sculpting his work, Holmes is inspired by cosmographical writing and Afrodiasporic iconography. Cosmographical writing is literature inspired by the study and description of nature and regional areas around the world. Afrodiasporic iconography is the identification, description, and interpretation of the diaspora created by the movements and cultures of Africans and their descendants throughout the world. Holmes does not regard his citizenship and nationality, rather, he is deeply concerned with contributing to the content, development, and expression of, by, and for African-Americans. The mixture of origin in Holmes' own family provides his life with a glorious array of visual and contextual experiences within the African diaspora.
MACHETES
Clay machetes, the second medium explored in From Drawings to Sculpture: Inception. Execution. Presentation. are clay figures covered with a rust patina. The machetes are designed to resemble the medium that Holmes typically creates in metal, but add a more indigenous feeling to the exhibition. These tiny figures are accompanied by and related to tiny photographs. Holmes, in a subtle fashion, draws from his unique explorations using digital technology with his sculptures.
The figures tell a story: Holmes creates a vision for the audience, leading them into his concept of what the photographs represent. Holmes adds a personal value to his work, and he allows the photographs and the machetes to narrate themselves, and gives the medium a language that is visualized through Afrodiasporic icons.
Christine Epps/March 2007
Sam Christian Holmes
Born and brought up on New York's Long Island, the 47-year old Holmes came to Baltimore to attend Maryland Institute College of Art in the early 1980s. There he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees, and taught at the school for several years in the late 90s. He has taught at Howard University and is currently a professor at Morgan State University. Holmes has devoted serious study to printmaking and sculpture. He exhibits his work locally, nationally, and globally; his most recent work can be seen in London, England.