Night Dancer
Dublin Core
Title
Subject
The sculpture is a mixed media of welded steel and grapevine with an elongated and opening form that sits on a pedestal.
Description
The sculpture is a mixed media of welded steel and grapevine with an elongated and opening form that sits on a pedestal. Th twisted form opens with an upward reaching motion of additional forms. There is emphasis placed on enhancing the natural qualities of the materials.
From Karla Mickelson:
Night Dancer is one in a series of Night Dancers. A similar piece at the Plains Art Museum states, "... Depicting an anthropomorphic (human-like) figure dancing. Night Dancer is from a series of sculptures entitled Night Dancer. According to the artist, 'The series was inspired by an experience I had looking out the window of my home. A vulture appeared, soaring above the property in a very beautiful and lyrical manner, catching the air currents ... a dichotomy occurred to me. There was an interesting tension created between the beauty of form and movement, and the sense of foreboding that we associate with a vulture. I attempted to capture this dichotomy in the work.' "
The wood is grape vine trunk from my cousin's vineyard in Fresno, California. We made a trip out to visit my cousin Sandra and her husband, Jon Marthedal. On arrival at their home Jon was in the process of cleaning out old and dead wood from the vineyard. There was a large pile that he was going to get rid of and Duane was mortified by the thought. He combed through the piles and pulled out several pieces that we shipped back home. The grape vine trunk appears in the Night Dancer series as well as in other sculptures. We have been to my cousin's home twice over the years and picked out grape vine trunks to bring home for future sculpture projects.
Duane loved the gnarly gestural quality of the grape vine trunks. If there were soft or rotting areas, to harden the wood, he would soak the pieces in linseed oil.
From Karla Mickelson:
Night Dancer is one in a series of Night Dancers. A similar piece at the Plains Art Museum states, "... Depicting an anthropomorphic (human-like) figure dancing. Night Dancer is from a series of sculptures entitled Night Dancer. According to the artist, 'The series was inspired by an experience I had looking out the window of my home. A vulture appeared, soaring above the property in a very beautiful and lyrical manner, catching the air currents ... a dichotomy occurred to me. There was an interesting tension created between the beauty of form and movement, and the sense of foreboding that we associate with a vulture. I attempted to capture this dichotomy in the work.' "
The wood is grape vine trunk from my cousin's vineyard in Fresno, California. We made a trip out to visit my cousin Sandra and her husband, Jon Marthedal. On arrival at their home Jon was in the process of cleaning out old and dead wood from the vineyard. There was a large pile that he was going to get rid of and Duane was mortified by the thought. He combed through the piles and pulled out several pieces that we shipped back home. The grape vine trunk appears in the Night Dancer series as well as in other sculptures. We have been to my cousin's home twice over the years and picked out grape vine trunks to bring home for future sculpture projects.
Duane loved the gnarly gestural quality of the grape vine trunks. If there were soft or rotting areas, to harden the wood, he would soak the pieces in linseed oil.
Creator
Publisher
Concordia College Art Collection
Date
Accessioned in February 2019.
Acquisition date is estimated to around 2013.
Acquisition date is estimated to around 2013.
Rights
To order a high resolution digital file of this image, inquire about permission, or for information on prices, contact Heidi Goldberg at Goldberg@cord.edu or 218-299-4624.
Identifier
Coverage
Offutt- Second Floor
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Files
Collection
Citation
Mickelson, Duane, “Night Dancer,” Concordia College Art Collection, accessed September 29, 2024, https://ccartcollection.concordiacollegearchives.org/items/show/285.