Christopher Gulick

Bio

Christopher Gulick Artist Statement

My artistic focus is the visual kinetics of sculpture.
It is my intention to bring to view…” negative space”.

Many visual artists are assigned the vocation of keeping geopolitical, gender-based, religiosity and other societal issues in the forefront of our minds. This is needed to affect real change in the world.

That is not typically my job. As a studio artist, my vocation is to build work that gives one a respite from these things. I speak to the child that needs a moment from the adult concerns, if but only for a moment.

That stated, a current body of work has segued to abstraction and dictated a narrative to discuss and “view” if you will, issues regarding mental, physical and spiritual illness.

The following is the process I go through in my intellectual, imaginative, spiritual and physical self to execute my sculptures.

Visible lines in these sculptures are an indicator of, either directly or indirectly of, motion.
Lines that would be the ghosts of waves such as sonic, optical (light) and aquatic.
Lines also serve as a boundary or a determination of a specific space (the negative space) whether terrestrial or astrophysical. The “positive space” aspects serve to determine yet more visual weight and kinetics by way of color, size, shape and density of each of these.

As a result of this mental and physical design process, the sculptures I build are typically non-objective with an occasional departure toward abstraction (i.e., the “addiction” project)

Materials consist of aluminum, brass, bronze, copper and a variety of steel in the form of rods, wire and sheet. Varieties of detritus (wood metals plastics) often find their way into the build, as the aesthetic dictates.

The end goal of the design is to build the work to appear kinetic to the eye, to keep the viewer themselves moving, even when the work is indeed, static.

Christopher Gulick Sculpture is based in Wichita, Kansas, USA
Contact at: info@ChristopherGulick.com
CV at: www.ChristopherGulickArt.com
_______________________________________________________________
(Below is:
1. The catalog intro for the body of work, "The Anonymity that is...NOT". The entered work, "Depression (Beautiful Danger), for the competition is a part of this body.)
and:
2. The placard narrative for the work, "Depression (Beautiful Danger)"
_______________________________________________________________
1.
Christopher Gulick
The Anonymity That Is…NOT

Catalog Introduction.

The project has one basic goal…
…to present a mirror image to those who have suffered through mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health issues, and that they, regardless of the damage incurred, are indeed…a work of art.

It is possible to decide how to view our pain, anguish, self-doubt, self-loathing, self-inflicted issues.

Those “in recovery” will see themselves in one or more of the chairs. They will see even those painful experiences are a beauty unto themselves, the flames of the crucible if you will.

Those not in recovery will have an opportunity to see an explanation, an image they can understand whilst hopefully, never personally experiencing that type of pain.

Often, the world, the people within the blast radius of the alcoholic, the addict, the manic depressive, the neurologically damaged are affected in one extreme or another by the “sickness” of the “afflicted”.

There is an international fellowship whose membership… remains anonymous regarding press at all media forms.
It shall still.
This exhibit pays service work to the concept of practicing principles in all of one’s affairs.
Being a qualified “member”, and an artist, I am indeed adhering to all the above.

These sculptures engage abstract aspects of “recovery” as a message of “to thine own self be true”.
_______________________________________________________________
2.
The Anonymity That Is… NOT
Chair 5. Narrative.
Title: Depression (Beautiful Danger)

The color Blue represents so many aspects of our homo sapien cultures.

It can be indicative of wealth and status.
In art, it is a color used to bring rich cooling and happiness to landscapes and even modern abstract paintings.
In music, “The Blues” are a popular style that most people find pleasant and uplifting regardless of the fact that the songs came out of a way to express pain and suffering at the hands of oppressors.
Quite the paradox, eh?

Feeling “Blue” is for most, a fleeting feeling related to a perception of disappointment in relation to unmet expectations, bad weather response or a difficult day at work.
No big deal, eh?

In the realm of Clinical Depression, blue is an extraordinarily dangerous “red” flag.

Being around and/or with the “depressed” can be equally dangerous. When engaged in any aspect of relationship or even just acquaintanceship, one is affected by, good or bad, the manner in which the depressed is currently feeling. Hence the raw-edged glass. Beautiful to see, enticing to touch.

Adding other substances, such as alcohol, to a strict diet or medicinal regimen exacerbates the problems associated with maintaining a delicate balance of emotional stability.

One thing is certain, like so many “afflictions”, depression is an equal opportunity killer.

The are many “good” days, there are many “bad” days.
There are days of clarity when the chemicals are all functioning just fine. Yet, the scars of yesterday are quite visible.

Deep inside the blue, beyond the black, through the clear sky and regardless of the blood-letting, there is always the PERSON, that longs to come out and sing, “Over the Rainbow”.

This is a single artist entry.