David Smith and the cubi series sculpture Essay

David Smith and the cubi series sculpture - Essay Example David Smith, beginning off as an artist, emerged to be one of the most influential and imaginative twentieth century American sculptors, in the process bringing American sculpture, a relatively relegated art form, to the fore of American art. He was apparently inspired and influenced by the European modernism in art, and applied the principles of cubism and abstract expressionism in developing one of the most innovative, expressive forms in a series of sculpture titled the Cubi series. David Smith, considered one of the most influential and imaginative twentieth century American sculptors, apparently inspired and influenced by European modernism in paintings, has applied the principles of cubism and abstract expressionism in developing one of the most innovative, expressive forms in a series of sculpture titled the Cubi series. "It may not be possible to reach further as an artist than David Smith did, within and outside himself,"1 wrote art critic Donald Goddard reviewing an exhibition of his works at Gagosian Gallery, New York in 2004. An attempt to know and appreciate the life and development of the artist, who purportedly reached the heights of human artistic expression, and his art, would be valuable and perhaps imperative, and in all likelihood tempting to art enthusiasts and students. David Roland Smith was born on March 9, 1906, in Decatur, Indiana; his father Harvey Martin Smith was a telephone engineer and part-time inventor and mother, Golda Stoler Smith, a schoolteacher. His inborn talent in fine arts surfaced during his young age, as he joined for a correspondence course at the Cleveland Art School during his high school years. The family moved to Ohio in 1921. In 1924 Smith attended the Ohio University; in 1925, he left the university to work as an automobile factory welder in an assembly plant, where he learnt the first lessons of welded construction and assembling, which he later vastly applied in his metal sculpture. His academic interests in arts brought him back to college, joining the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1926; however, soon Smith moved to Washington D.C and then to New York, to enroll at the Art Students League, where he studied painting with many celebrated artists like Richard Lahey and John Sloan and privately with Jan Matulka.2 Smith married Dorothy Dehner, a young painter at the school, in 1927. Though he worked for sometime at a sports good store and on an oil tanker, Smith returned to New York to pursue his artistic aspirations. New York's cultural life seemed fascinating and promising to the artist; Smith bought a farm in Bolton Landing, near Lake George in upstate New York; the fields, remained his seasonal resort until 1940, when he made it his home, staying there permanently, developing his farm of outdoor metal sculptures.3 David Smith's association with artists John Graham and Jan Matulka introduced him to European modernism; Smith was much influenced by cubism in art, and the welded steel sculptures of Pablo Picasso and Julio Gonzlez, the experience leaving enduring impressions in his artistic perceptions. Smith's fascination with abstract expressionism and constructivism in art fuelled his friendship with modernists of the time including Willem de Kooning, Stuart Davis, Edgar Levy, Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and Jean Xceron. Smith was also captivated by the jazz and modern dance, the art forms influencing him in unique ways in his creations. 4 Smith's artistic expedition ventured into sculpting in