Yard Art?

Another favorite piece of art is a sculpture by artist Otto Rigan. It is made from green granite and glass. The cut-outs from the original large granite piece contain thick slabs of glass stacked together and look like windows.

The edges of the glass mirror the color of the granite. As the sun sets, the left side facing West glows brightly against the darker sides backed by the granite.

As you look at the back you can see the front window in my house and notice that this sculpture, quite by accident, resembles the angles and mullions of the window.

What I love most about this second image is the figure in the background looking out of the window!

Black

This piece in my collection is by artist Joe Guy. It is cleverly constructed of wood and rice paper (think shoji screen). Hanging separately from the large piece is a mirror that has been blackened out. After the piece was constructed the artist covered all of it with graphite powder and then slowly and thoroughly burnished it with a river rock. You cannot see the sheen from this picture the piece glows as if from within.

Joe Guy's inspiration was the controversial artist Balthus (b. 1908) and his Japonaise au miroir noir or "Japanese girl with black mirror". As a matter of interest Balthus was married to a Japanese woman and she posed for many of his paintings. Balthus was greatly admired in his day by the Surrealists for his fascinating images of young girls. He was reclusive and as a result his life has been the subject of much intrigue and conjecture.

In this photo you might be able to see a slight sheen to the burnished graphite. The mirror that hangs above the main piece is actually a mirror under the graphite.

Joe Guy is a contemporary Texas artist. He is represented by William Campbell Contemporary Art in Fort Worth. If you would like to read about this artist look for "Balthus" by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, his son. Unfortunately there is no website for Joe Guy. I hope he gets one soon so we can see more of his work.