Sculptor John Ruppert to speak at Presidential Lectures
Janel Shoun |
Nationally-known sculptor John Ruppert, now showing in Cheekwood’s Material Terrain exhibition, will bring his thoughts on the collision of nature and industrialization to Lipscomb University’s Shamblin Theatre at 7 p.m., Monday, April 16, as the final speaker in the 2006-07 Presidential Lectureship for Art and Art History.
Complimenting his first showing in Nashville, Ruppert will present a lecture titled, “The Sculpture of John Ruppert: Natural Forces/Urban Context.”
A formidable sculptor and chair of the Department of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park, Ruppert takes organic forms, such as gourds and pumpkins, and renders them with inorganic materials. Using materials such as copper, aluminum, cast iron and steel, he renders gourds, for instance, in various states of decay. Reviews of his work have been published in Art in America, Sculpture and the New Art Examiner.
Ruppert has had numerous one-person exhibitions, including shows in Chicago and New York City. Travelers can see his work in the international terminal of the Baltimore/Washington Airport and his grouping of cast “Pumpkins” is part of the collection of Grounds for Sculpture in Trenton, NJ.
Ruppert's work on the grounds of Cheekwood -- "Three Aluminum Pumpkins," "Moon Gourds," "Vessel," and "Pair of Gourds" -- explores the contrasts and links between the forces of nature and man-made materials. Whether it’s his aluminum pumpkins, bronze tree limbs or cast metal moon gourds, Ruppert’s pieces always have something profound to say about “the coexistence of natural systems and culture, and our own need to impose order.”
“John Ruppert creates organic shapes, either representational or abstracted, out of industrial materials,” said Rocky Horton, assistant professor of art at Lipscomb. “This use of urban materials to create a naturalized architecture is the inverse of our common practice of subjugating materials to create industrialized shapes and spaces.
“The work exists as both a critique of our industrialization and a call to reconnect with the natural world,” he said.
Ruppert received his bachelor of arts in fine arts and art education from Miami University and received his masters in fine arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
In its inaugural year, Lipscomb University’s Presidential Lectureships on Art and Art History has introduced national-caliber art experts – art historian James Elkins and graphic designer Kim Elam – to Nashville audiences.