It's All In The Details

What speaks to you when you look at art? Is it the medium? Is it the design? Is it shape or.... Take for example this one-of-a-kind piece. Jean Eugene has whimsically imagined this carriage/bus going to market. Unencumbered by proportion, the round bus goes bumping through the countryside, dodging low-flying birds. The youth riding on top points the way as he reclines against a box and a 3-D basket containing a chicken and various produce. 

But... look again. Notice that all of the passengers vary somewhat. Different hats, different clothing, different fullness in the face, longer hair, shorter hair. Individual characteristics that give the riders character. Clones don’t ride the bus, people do. Details!

And how about the bus itself? Notice how small caps have been hand-riveted on the front end as headlights. Clever. The wheels, however, are the coup d’grace. They revisit vintage wire wheel hubcaps on Corvettes and Cadillacs, 1968-1982. (Yes, I looked it up, and by-the-way, you can find them on eBay, if you’re in the market.) Jean Eugene innovatively uses spout caps and rivets and wire hooks, which are bent one at a time to create each spoke. Fifty-seven in the back and sixty-three in the front. Again, details! 

This kind of craftsmanship is not unique to one artist alone, though Jean Eugene does raise the bar. Bicycle chain, metal tubes, coins, spikes and more have been utilized with good effect as design elements in Haitian metal sculpture across the board. Next time you look, really look. The more you see, the more you will appreciate. It is all in the DETAILS!