J. Durham, “Elsa” – Arte all’Arte, 2003
San Marziale bridge
Colle Val d’Elsa
Jimmie Durham is a Cherokee, born in Arkansas (USA) in 1940. Is a visual artist who creates his works taking inspiration by his own culture, used to deconstruct stereotypes and prejudices of western culture: by using irony and wit, Durham operates by restoring old material to oppose to the western scepticism for other cultures’ myth and beliefs: a plastic tube or a stick aren’t a snake, but they may have that function. The Men is a part of that nature that comprehends everything.
For Arte all’Arte Durham realised the Elsa river’s spirit sculpture with different materials and a technique that replicates the old traditions of protectors engraved on wood. The spirit has long hair and has a cloak in its hand, and rises from the the water from a long snake-body made with a PVC pipe that enlarges itself as the river does. What is a spirit? And what is a River?
Source and photos: http://story.arteallarte.org
