Storm King 2013

1. STORM KING ART CENTER 2013 Storm King 2013 Connor Gibbons, Jesse Pohl, Gregory Maier, and Michael Goodrich. Photo Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons [Nikon D80]

2. More Than Metal. On this trip we analyzed the sculpture, Adam, created by the artist Alexander Liberman. This sculpture was made of; metal and was created 1970. The piece is currently on display here, at Storm King. Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons

3. Sculpture: ADAM Photo Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons [Nikon D80]

4. ALEXANDER LIBERMANCreator of ‘ADAM’ • Alexander Liberman was born September 9th 1912 in a village in the country Ukraine. • Liberman’s occupations included, a Russian Magazine editor, artist, sculptor, painter, photographer, publisher • Liberman held a position at Condè Nast Publications, where held this position for over 32 years. • Liberman eventually came to the USA where he resided in Miami Florida up until his passing in Fall of 1999. • He immigrated to the USA [New York] in 1941 • Alexander was educated in 3 countries, Russia, Paris, England. Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons

5. Alexander Liberman • da WiKipedia.Org

6. ADAM Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons [Nikon D80]

7. Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons [Nikon D80]

8. Courtesy of: Connor Gibbons [Nikon D80]

9. ON THE ATOMIC LEVEL • One ambiguous aspect of this work of art is the triangle suspended in air, encircling the arm of the central figure. • The outer triangle is somehow connected to the inner figure, in the same way electrons are connected to the nucleus; the triangle is held in place and given purpose by the inner figure. • The components of this sculpture are very basic in nature—geometric shapes of just one color—evoking basic building blocks that could potentially lead to more complex structures. Goodrich, M

10. TREE OF LIFE • What does this sculpture mean? It seems to suggest that larger things come of smaller things. • Adam resembles not only an atomic structure, but also a tree, with a trunk and arms, and the leaves are the triangle: a tree of life, which keeps branching off to make new forms. Goodrich, M

11. Goodrich, M Flickr.Com

12. ADAM Location of Adam The placement of Liberman’s Adam at Storm King Art Center was very adroit. The piece stands high atop a hill, very easily visible from afar. This keeps with the feeling that this piece is holy, created directly by God, and holds an ethereal aura about it. To the south of the sculpture is open sky, and each day the sun shines brightly on the piece, unobstructed and pure, as if God were shining down on it himself. This location, elevated from the viewers, with endless, untouched, pure sunlight emphasizes the interpretation of this piece as a representation of the first man. Slide Prepared by Jesse Pohl

13. ADAM The major things to notice about Alexander Liberman’s ‘Adam’ is that it is not his only sculpture which incorporates painted steel. An alternate sculpture, ‘The Gate of Hope’ is also crafted by the same means. In addition, ‘The Gate of Hope’ contains the same cylindrical cuts and color as ‘Adam’. Coincidences? Of course not, this is art! Maier, G

14. ADAM So what do these observations mean? To answer this question, one might look at the actual names of the pieces of art made by Alex. Both ‘Adam’ and ‘The Gate of Hope’ have a biblical aspect to their names. ‘Adam’ could be the first man, and the sculpture does resemble the tree of forbidden fruit, ‘The Gate of Hope’ could also be the majestical gates of heaven. If this connection is accepted, then the patterns seen in both can be extracted and the “true” theme can be determined. The orange paint is reminiscent of the setting sun, which in this context could be a link to the heavenly aspect. In conclusion; the culmination of the positioning of the sculpture, the patterns, and the evidence that Alex was a religious man shows us that a once puzzling to figure out sculpture has now been “deconstructed” and shown for what it really is. Maier, G