Group of Four Trees (Jean Dubuffet)

Last updated
Group of Four Trees
Dubuffet Group of Four Trees 1972 NYC.jpg
Jean Dubuffet's Group of Four Trees pictured in April 2023
Group of Four Trees (Jean Dubuffet)
Artist Jean Dubuffet
Completion date1972
Movement Art brut
SubjectAbstract
Dimensions13 m(43 ft)
Location New York
Coordinates 40°42′27″N74°00′32″W / 40.70750°N 74.00889°W / 40.70750; -74.00889

Group of Four Trees is an abstract outdoor sculpture completed in 1972 by the French 20th-century artist Jean Dubuffet. Originally commissioned by the American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, the work measures 43 feet and is installed in the public plaza of 28 Liberty Street (formerly One Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza) between Nassau Street and Pine Street in Financial District, Manhattan. [1]

Contents

Dubuffet, a leading figure in the Art Brut movement, considered Group of Four Trees as part of his Hourloupe series. The series, originating from ballpoint pen doodles in 1962, features flat, interlocking shapes and striated coloring in red, white, and blue against black backgrounds. At the time of installation, Group of Four Trees was the largest outdoor sculpture in New York City and was said to have dramatized "the increasing environmental interdependence between architecture and outside sculpture" in the 1970s. [2] It was Dubuffet's first outdoor sculpture installed in the United States. [3]

Historical context

Following the completion of One Chase Manhattan Plaza in 1960, the building's arts committee, which was headed by David Rockefeller, was tasked with finding and commissioning public sculptures that could be installed in the building's 2.5-acre plaza. [2] In 1964, a fountain installation by the Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi titled Sunken Garden was placed below the surface of the plaza while remaining visible from above. [4]

The French artist Jean Dubuffet was chosen as the second artist to participate in the project in 1970. [2] His work was associated with the Art brut movement in France and Dubuffet was known for the inventive use of unconventional artistic materials. He coined the term Art brut or "raw art" to describe "works that drew on the aesthetic of works by prisoners, children, and people with mental illness". [5] Such an approach stood in contrast to "high modernism, which prized itself on rigid notions of artistic genius". [5] Many of Dubuffet's works employ oil paint with an impasto texture, enriched by materials such as sand, tar, and straw, resulting in a uniquely textured surface. [6] By the late 1960s, he had shifted toward three-dimensional works using unorthodox mediums, including chemical substances such as polystyrene, polyester and epoxy. [7]

Commission

Court les rues, 1962 illustrates an early example of the artist's Hourloupe works (Milwaukee Art Museum) 20070624 Dubuffet - Court les rues.JPG
Court les rues, 1962 illustrates an early example of the artist's Hourloupe works (Milwaukee Art Museum)

On 23 November 1970, David Rockefeller announced that Dubuffet had been tasked with creating a large-scale abstract sculpture titled Group of Four Trees and that the work would be Rockefeller's "gift to the bank and the downtown community". [2] The sculpture was made with 25 tons of aluminum and steel, fiberglass, and plastic resin covered with polyurethane paint and composed of "crude interlocking forms and thick coloring-book lines". [9] According to Rockefeller, the work was created "for the enjoyment of the downtown community" in Lower Manhattan. [10] Dubuffet assembled Group of Four Trees using prefabricated sections made in his studio in Périgny, Val-de-Marne near Paris. It was Dubuffet's first outdoor sculpture installed in the United States. [3]

Dubuffet described Group of Four Trees as part of his Hourloupe works, that is "some wonderful or grotesque object (...) something rumbling and threatening with tragic overtones". [9] [11] The artist began the Hourloupe series in the early 1960s, characterized by flat, interlocking shapes and striated coloring, typically red, white, and blue, often set against a black background. [12] Dubuffet's inspiration for this style stemmed from ballpoint pen doodles he made during a phone conversation in July 1962. [12]

The artist did not classify Group of Four Trees as a sculpture but rather as "unleashed graphisms" or "drawings which extend and expand in space". [11] Dubuffet delivered a speech on 24 October 1972 on the occasion of the sculpture's installation where he discussed ways in which Group of Four Trees fit into his artistic practice during that time. [13] He said: "I could not have hoped for a place better suited to this monument (...) Indeed, this plaza, and the prodigious buildings which rise above and surrounding it, are the dramatic illustration of an extraordinary celebration of reason, logic, and calculations". [14]

Reception

Fosun Plaza at 28 Liberty Street (formerly One Chase Manhattan Plaza) showing Noguchi's installation on the left and Dubuffet's project on the right Fosun Plaza 28 Liberty jeh.jpg
Fosun Plaza at 28 Liberty Street (formerly One Chase Manhattan Plaza) showing Noguchi's installation on the left and Dubuffet's project on the right

The sculpture is said to provide "striking contrast to the tall and sleek buildings of corporate New York". [11] When a maquette of the sculpture was presented during a press conference, critic David L. Shirley of The New York Times said that the work looked "like a weird cross‐pollination of mammoth Alice‐in‐Wonderland mushrooms and a jig saw puzzle for giants". [2]

Writing about Dubuffet's work in 1983, art historian Harold Rosenberg said that it "ranks among his best". [14] Rosenberg praised the scale of the sculpture made of "irregular horizontal shapes that appear to float above deliberately clumsy bases—the 'trunks' of the trees" and its ability to maintain a balanced relationship between human presence and the surrounding skyscrapers. He further described the colors and texture surfaces as "physically relaxing" and suggesting that it will "serve as a shady arbor" during summertime. [14] According to art historian Harriet Senie, Dubuffet's Group of Four Trees "adds a whimsical counterpoint to the architecture in an otherwise amorphous meandering space". [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outsider art</span> Art created outside the boundaries of official culture by those untrained in the arts

Outsider art is art made by self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Dubuffet</span> French painter and sculptor

Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor of the Ecole de Paris. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making. He is perhaps best known for founding the art movement art brut, and for the collection of works—Collection de l'art brut—that this movement spawned. Dubuffet enjoyed a prolific art career, both in France and in America, and was featured in many exhibitions throughout his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Nevelson</span> American sculptor

Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, she emigrated with her family to the United States in the early 20th century. Nevelson learned English at school, as she spoke Yiddish at home.

Events from the year 1946 in art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clement Meadmore</span> Australian-American designer (1929–2005)

Clement Meadmore was an Australian-American furniture designer and sculptor known for massive outdoor steel sculptures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Rosati</span> American artist

James Rosati was an American abstract sculptor. He is best known for creating an outdoor sculpture in New York: a stainless steel Ideogram.

<i>Monument with Standing Beast</i> Sculpture by Jean Dubuffet

Monument with Standing Beast is a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet previously located in front of the Helmut Jahn designed James R. Thompson Center in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Its location was across the street from Chicago City Hall to the South and diagonal across the street from the Daley Center to the southeast. It is a 29-foot (8.8 m) white fiberglass work of art. The piece is a 10-ton or 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) work. It was unveiled on November 28, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugo Rondinone</span> Swiss visual artist

Ugo Rondinone is a Swiss-born artist widely recognized for his mastery of several different media—most prominently sculpture, drawing and painting, but also photography, architecture, video and sound installation—in the largely figurative works he has made for exhibitions in galleries, museums and outdoor public spaces around the world. He has never limited himself to a particular material, no more than he has to a single discipline. Lead, wood, wax, bronze, stained glass, ink, paint, soil and stone are all tools in a creative arsenal that the artist has employed to extend the Romantic tradition in works that are as sensitive to the passage of time as to the nuances of body language and the spoken word.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athena Tacha</span>

Athena Tacha, is a multimedia visual artist. She is best known for her work in the fields of environmental public sculpture and conceptual art. She also worked in a wide array of materials including stone, brick, steel, water, plants, and L.E.D. lighting. photography, film, and artists’ books. Tacha's work focused on personal narratives, and often plays with geometry and form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Rosenthal</span> American abstract sculptor (1914–2009)

Bernard J. Rosenthal, also known as Tony Rosenthal, was an American abstract sculptor widely known for his monumental public art sculptures, created over seven decades.

<i>Atlas</i> (statue) Statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Atlas is a bronze statue in Rockefeller Center, within the International Building's courtyard, in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is across Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick's Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders.

<i>Spaces with Iron</i> Artwork by Will Horwitt

Spaces with Iron is a public sculpture by American artist Will Horwitt. It was installed in January 2009 on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus, near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The sculpture is located at the corner of Blackford and Vermont Streets, on the southeast lawn of the Science Building, and is on long-term loan from the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

<i>Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase)</i> Painting by Jean Dubuffet

Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase) is an oil painting by French artist Jean Dubuffet. It has been part of the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art since 1992.

<i>Prometheus</i> (Manship) Sculpture by Paul Manship in Manhattan, New York

Prometheus is a 1934 gilded, cast bronze sculpture by Paul Manship, located above the lower plaza at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York City.

<i>Monument au Fantôme</i> Sculpture by Jean Dubuffet in Houston, Texas, U.S.

Monument au Fantôme is an outdoor sculpture by French sculptor Jean Dubuffet, in 1977. It was originally inaugurated at the plaza of 1100 Louisiana. It is installed on Avenida de las Americas at Discovery Green in Houston, Texas, United States, since 2008. The painted fiberglass and steel frame sculpture features seven individual forms that represent features of Houston, including a chimney, church, dog, hedge, mast, phantom, and tree. Donated by the Dan Duncan family, it is part of Dubuffet's Hourloupe series, which has companion sculptures in Chicago, New York, and in Europe.

<i>Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae</i> Sculpture by Henry Moore

Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae is an abstract bronze sculpture by Henry Moore.

Slavko Kopač was a French painter, sculptor and poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Nevelson Plaza</span> Public art installation and park

Louise Nevelson Plaza, is a public art installation and park in Lower Manhattan, New York City, which includes an arrangement of large abstract sculptures designed by the American 20th-century female artist Louise Nevelson. Described as an "outdoor environment", the triangle-shaped plaza is bounded by Maiden Lane, Liberty Street and William Street, adjacent to the building of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Lee Bae is a South Korean visual artist who creates works in black.

Juliette Élisa Bataille was a French textile and outsider artist. She created small embroideries with the character of paintings, by sewing silk, cotton, and wool onto rectangular pieces of cardboard. She is known for the works she composed during a three-year period at Ville-Évrard Psychiatric Hospital. She met the artist Jean Dubuffet at the hospital, who was collecting art brut.

References

  1. ↑ Rosenfeld, Lucy D. (2013). Art on Sight: The Best Art Walks In and Near New York City. Marina Harrison. Woodstock, Vermont: Countryman Press. p. 93. ISBN   978-0-88150-996-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Shirey, David L. (1970-11-24). "Dubuffet Is Doing 40‐Foot Sculpture for Chase Plaza". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  3. 1 2 Fried, Frederick; Gillon, Edmund Vincent Jr. (1976). New York Civic Sculpture: A Pictorial Guide. Dover Books on photography. New York: Dover Publications. p. 15. ISBN   978-0-486-23258-4.
  4. ↑ Kirsch, Matthew. "Ten Architects". The Noguchi Museum. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  5. 1 2 Selvin, Claire (2020-09-03). "Jean Dubuffet's Limitless Imagination: Why One of the Artist's Ambitious Environments Is Being Newly Fabricated". ARTnews.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  6. ↑ Five Europeans: Bacon, Balthus, Dubuffet, Giacometti. Introduction by John Coplans. Irvine, California: University of California, Irvine Art Gallery. 1966.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ↑ Cardinal, Roger (2003). "Jean Dubuffet" . Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T023832 . Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  8. ↑ Franzke, Andreas (1981). Dubuffet. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 164. ISBN   0-8109-0815-8.
  9. 1 2 Halle, Howard (2018-11-20). "Everyday sculptures you pass by in NYC explained". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  10. ↑ Robinette, Margaret A. (1976). Outdoor Sculpture: Object and Environment. New York: Whitney Library of Design. p. 96. ISBN   978-0-8230-7406-8.
  11. 1 2 3 Harrison, Marina; Rosenfeld, Lucy D. (2004). Artwalks in New York: Delightful Discoveries of Public Art and Gardens in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. New York: New York University Press. p. 6. ISBN   1-4175-8823-3.
  12. 1 2 Alley, Ronald (1981). Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists. London: Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet. p. 184. ISBN   0-85667-102-9.
  13. ↑ Dubuffet, Jean (2011). "Speech, New York, October 24, 1972". Jean Dubuffet: Writings on Sculpture. Düsseldorf: Richter Verlag. p. 98.
  14. 1 2 3 Rosenberg, Harold (1983). "Dubuffet: Shockers and Fairy Tales". Art on the Edge: Creators and Situations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN   0-226-72674-6.
  15. ↑ Senie, Harriet F. (2002). The Tilted Arc Controversy: Dangerous Precedent?. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-8166-3786-7.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.