Update: Jane Hammond's "Fallen"

Jane Hammond
"Fallen"
2010
Dimensions variable
In January 2006, I wrote a short post about Jane Hammond's mixed-media, evolving sculpture "Fallen," a melancholy and beautiful tribute to the lives lost during the (now sort-of-but-not-really-over) Iraq War.

When it was exhibited in 2005, the work consisted of 1,500 paper leaves, each meticulously crafted by the artist and inscribed with the name of an American soldier who met his or her end during the invasion or occupation of Iraq. At the time of my post, I wondered if Hammond had continued to add leaves to the work.

A couple of weeks ago, four-and-a-half years after I wrote about "Fallen," the artist sent me an email telling me more about the life of the sculpture. I share the bulk of her update below, along with some images of the piece as it was in 2005 (below) and as it looks more recently (above, and detail below).

"I make the leaves by hand and each is based on a real leaf which I gather and digitally scan, then there is cutting, hand-painting, a little fiberglassing and more hand-painting, then they are signed by me with sumi ink and a brush pen and molded into a three-dimensional form.

[...A]ll the leaves in the piece you saw at Lelong were from upstate Connecticut, gathered in the Fall of 2004—I have now gathered leaves in Hawaii. Washington State, California, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, Massachussetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. And adding to the original group from 2004, I have gathered in the Autumns of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. And I am sure I will gather some in 2010 this Fall.

[...]This Fall, ["Fallen"] will [...] be shown at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, Virginia from September 23rd until January 10th, 2011. It will open with 4,390 leaves."

Jane Hammond
"Fallen" detail
2010
Dimensions variable
Sadly, she does have more leaves yet to add.


Jane Hammond
"Fallen"
2005
Dimensions variable

Image credits: courtesy Jane Hammond

The RSA's "21st Century Enlightenment"

Sure, the video is 11 minutes long, well over the too-long-to-watch mark for readers casually trolling the blogosphere, but it's worth bookmarking and saving for later. (In fact, I encourage you to watch it on YouTube or the RSA website, as the resolution is better than that of the above embed.)

The ideas articulated are vital and might provide some solace for those of you who, like so many of my friends, suffer from political apocalypse syndrome! Moreover, the animation is terrific and the narrator, like the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (RSA), is British, satisfying the Anglophile in all of us.

Enjoy.

(Thanks to Michael McDevitt for turning me on to this RSA video.)

"From the Same Place"

Robyn Winston
"Untitled 30 (Vampire Series)"
2010
Acrylic, charcoal and gesso on paper
28 x 22 inches

"You have to learn to love all your artworks and accept them because ultimately they were all made from the same hands and come from the same place."

- Robyn Winston

Robyn wrote the above in a recent letter to me. I think the quotation worthy of inclusion in a future collection of Letters To A Young Artist. The sentiment is simple and too often forgotten...like so many noble truths.

Image credit: courtesy Robyn Winston, 2010

ESPP at Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair

The Endangered Species Print Project will be exhibiting at the Renegade Craft Fair, taking place this September 11th and 12th, in Chicago.

Co-founders Jenny Kendler and Molly Schafer will be selling prints to raise funds for all of the fourteen species so far featured in ESPP prints, as well as some upcoming print subjects, including my red wolf (Canis rufus).

I'm pleased to report that, to date, the ESPP has raised $4,000 for critically endangered species, and hopes to raise another $6,000 at Renegade! If you're in or around the Windy City, please pay them a visit.