Underground Art Union Featured Artist: November 2007

Samuel Stimpert is well-known as a plank-owner of Visual Arts Collective (VAC), which has grown into the nerve center of up and coming art in Boise (Idaho—USA). His own artwork consist of sculptures intended to provide the viewer with material with thought and perhaps goad them into contemplation of the human experience.

NOTE: Due to a set of extenuating circumstances, we essentially ended up with two interviews featuring Samuel. Fortunately for us, Mr. Stimpert is as phenomenally interesting in vision and purpose as he is brilliant in the delivery of his art.

We invite you to enjoy this happy accident and familiarize your self with the genius of Samuel Stimpert!

Be sure to check out Samuel's Art and Bio on his Gallery Page!

Consciousness in Art: Samuel Stimpert
collected by Keith Wigdor of SURREALISMNOW!
Presented by Ken Boe

On The Use Of My Subconscious In Art:

Much of my inspiration and creativity come from my subconscious and from my dreams. For instance, I dreamed about "Siddhartha" and the dream was absolutely inspirational to the piece. "Siddhartha" is part of series called "Icons" that will eventually become a large scale installation. The first piece in the series is "Mother and Child Enthroned in Majesty in gas mask". I had a very vivid dream that inspired this piece and set the wheels in motion for the rest of the series. Just prior to the dream, I had been working in the music business touring for weeks or months at a time. The day before 9/11, I flew home after three months on the road. My wife and I awoke to the telephone ringing early the following morning. It was her mother, who told us to turn on the television. Within seconds, we learned of the attack and that amongst other targets, the Twin Towers had been hit and were falling. I had been in NYC only the week before. Like most of America, and the world, we were glued to the television that day and much of the next. The night following 9/11, I had a dream that I was wandering the streets of some war-torn Middle Eastern city. The city was in absolute chaos: heavy artillery fire and gunfire surrounded me. I retreated into a building seeking shelter. Once inside, a nude and pregnant woman with a golden halo floating above her head appeared in the doorway. She introduced herself to me as Mary and told me that she was carrying the second coming of Christ. Although nude, her head and face were protected by a gas mask. She explained that she wore the gas mask because she was deeply concerned about the current state of human affairs in the world and that if exposed to the toxicity of the environment, the unborn Christ child she was carrying might suffer some deformity. It seemed as if she had some expectation that I might be able to protect her and her child from such exposure.

'Mother and Child Enthroned in Majesty in Gas Mask'

I awoke from the dream perplexed. I am neither Catholic nor Christian, so the idea of the Virgin Mary coming to me in a dream was peculiar, to say the least. That she assumed that I might be able protect her, or assist her in some way with such a monumental issue, was perplexing.

In the weeks following 9/11, the American people, including myself, were in a very dark place facing the reality that an event once seemed inconceivable on American soil had in fact, occurred. In those weeks, for whatever reason, I could not get the dream out of my head. It nagged at me until I responded, as I often do when I have these sorts of dreams filled with perplexing, vivid images and some sort of reflection of my subconscious thought by beginning work on creating a visual response. "Mother and Child Enthroned in Majesty in gas mask" was the first piece completed and the "Icons" series is the end result.

Likewise, the gas mask is a recurring theme in my dreams and my subconscious, and thereby in my work, absolutely. The gas mask is an icon in-and-of-itself, simultaneously representing both cause and effect. It provides clean air to breathe in a toxic environment, yet in most circumstances, if as human beings we weren't producing toxins and releasing them into our environment, the necessity of gas masks would be obsolete. It is ironic, and that the manufacturing of gas masks themselves contributes to the toxicity of our environment is in some ways, even more ironic! For me, it is symbolic of the hypocrisy of our human experience.

On The Use Of My Conscious Mind In Art:

I would say, however, that with every piece I make there is a personal intent and goal in the beginning. Sometimes it is just the drive to get some image out of my head; sometimes I have a much more focused story to tell but, with either instance all of my work tends to be allegorical at least in a personal sense.

I am absolutely enamored with the process of cast metal work; it is as equally important to me as any of the conceptual methods that I use in my creative process. In my newest work, I have been exerting exact control on one aspect of the piece but relinquishing control in another aspect. In "Cog I" for example, I spent a great deal of time on the bronze gas mask making sure every detail of the mask was perfect. But when I added the aluminum "Cog", encapsulating the mask, I set up very loose boundaries and allowed the natural flow of the molten metal to determine the textures of that section. At the moment I am very interested in how the technological interacts with the natural. I would love to experiment in pure copper castings

'Cog I'

I have never really done any Cold Casting. Cold Casting is a method in which casting resin and metal powders are mixed to achieve a solid metal look. While I am interested in resin casting and have experimented a little with the process, I have no real interest in making faux metal. For me, the draw to resin casting is the ability to achieve translucent color, which is not possible with metal. All of the work I do would fit into the hot casting category, but I do use four different mold-making techniques and two kinds of furnaces: the bronze and aluminum work is done in a gas fired crucible furnace and the cast iron work is done in a coke (spent coal) fired cupolette furnace.

Here are brief descriptions of each casting process:

Lost wax method: Depending on the level of detail required, I start by taking a rubber or plaster mold of my original sculpture, which is usually made of clay. I then use the mold to pour a wax of the sculpture after which sticks of wax(called sprues) are attached to vent off gasses and to allow the molten metal to flow smoothly into the mold. The wax is dipped several times into a ceramic shell mixture, followed by a layer of sand after each dip. A hole is cut in the ceramic and sand coated wax and placed in a burnout furnace. The temperature is slowly raised to a range between 1400 and 1500 degrees Fahrenheit and held at that temperature for about 15 minutes or until all the wax has melted out of the ceramic shell and the ceramic has fired, leaving a hard, heat-resistant mold in which the molten metal is poured. This method is time-consuming because the ceramic mixture must be allowed to dry between each dip and I usually let them dry overnight, so typically, each mold takes seven to ten days to dip. However, this method provides the most precise and delicate details and allows for undercuts, so it's the best process when clear detail is desired.

I used this method to create most of my gas masks and the entire figure of "Siddhartha Gotama in gas mask".

Resin Bonded Sand: This method works well for large, flat pieces that have few undercuts. Angular silica sand, sodium silicate resin and a catalyst to speed-harden the material are blended in a modified cement mixer. Resin bonded sand molds are done in two parts so that the mold can be separated and removed from the original. After the original is removed, sprues are carved. The mold is then bound back together with metal strapping and molten metal is poured in. These molds often take several days to complete and are extremely heavy. Molds with more parts are possible with this process as it allows for undercuts and odd shapes. However, the molds are very difficult to make, so I tend to use ceramic shell instead because of its ease and the superior detail it provides.

The sewer cap mandala for "Siddhartha Gotama in gas mask" was made using this process and was done in two parts with each mold weighing around 700 pounds.

Oil Sand: Oil sand is a premixed product that contains fine angular silica sand, resin and oil. It is possible to make yourself, but I buy it premixed from a casting supply company. I use this type of method when I want to work quickly and less detail is required. The great benefit of oil sand is that a mold can be made from the original in minutes. The process is the same as resin bonded sand, the only difference being that the sand is never completely hardened, but rather packed down, making it necessary to be much more careful when removing the original pattern.

The installation piece "Toy" was made this way because of the ability to make quick multiples using one original with the end products being similar, but also individual and unique.

Direct Pour: With the direct pour method, I find or fabricate a piece of steel and pour directly into it. For example if you wanted to make a disk shape you could just cut of the end of a piece of steel pipe, then take the piece of pipe and fill both outside and inside with three or for inches of any type of dry sand (dry is key as water and molten metal are not friends and can be very dangerous!). In this process, it is important to make sure you leave at least a few inches of steal exposed higher than the thickness of the disk you want to pour. Next is the fun part fill it up with molten metal! This process provides very little control over the surface texture. I used this method to make the outside rings on "Halo" and "Cog I", among others.

—Special thanks to all those who made this interview and addendum possible. UGAU

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Samuel Stimpert
as interviewed by Ken Boe

Kenneth Boe: Tell us about your 2006 installation TOY. I am reminded of crude ancient coins. Each 'coin' appears to be caste with a mask symbol. Many concepts come to mind when viewing this piece, war, economics and youth to name a few. When you mix these different kinds of allegories and abstractions— I don't think the narrative must be concrete; I think the references may come and go to us viewers by the whim of our own appreciation.

Samuel Stimpert: I have heard people say that “Toy” reminds them of everything from coins to the flattened lead slugs from firing bullets into armor. The original inspiration for “Toy” came from a trip to Toys-R-Us. I came across a section of military toys called “Elite Force” made by a company called Blue Box Toys. The tag-line on the boxes was “As real as it gets”. The masks, guns, boot prints, etc. that protrude from the circles in “Toy” were all molded from one of these toys. They are all 1/18th scale of equipment that American Infantry are wearing in Iraq and Afghanistan as I write this. I found them a very fascinating view into how we prepare our young for war. This was the inspiration but in the end the piece says many different things to different people. One of the most rewarding parts of making art is how the viewer can see so many different messages in a single piece, often more powerful than my original intention. I see that as the true magic of art appreciation.

'Toy'

KB: There is a political aspect to your work, complemented by titles which put the message in context. The context is one of consequences usually, such as your Cog series, Toy, or Mother Russia. Your work may be warning about what could happen by showing what has happened, in a sense. At the same time, your use of materials, texture, and technique create objects of glimmering art. How do you reconcile the power of beauty, or art for art's sake, with the force of message?

SS: I honestly do not attempt to reconcile it at all. I see beauty as the hook that draws the viewer in forcing them to take a second look when otherwise they may have not. It creates a tension between the message and the form that I really love.

KB: You and Anneliessa have helped found the Visual Arts Collective in Boise Idaho. An organization and art space like this certainly adds a dimension of culture to small American cities like Boise that otherwise would not exist at all. The alternatives are usually institutional, perhaps University run, or for profit galleries selling tourist art. Do you feel that running a space like this is also an art form of sorts, and if so, how would you describe that?

SS: Running VAC has been an art form for sure. Boise has never had a multi-use art space such as ours so we really had very little reference material to base ourselves on. It has been an on-going experiment and for the most part a fulfilling and pleasurable one.

KB: Besides VAC, groups shows, and one person shows, you've found work at the BSU foundry, which is subsidized. What do you think the future of artists in America could look like, besides those who teach, if we play our cards right?

SS: My work with the BSU foundry is 100% volunteer. I do it for a love of the process and desire to both share and gain knowledge. Not to say that I do not get any benefit from doing it. It gives me a much cheaper alternative for doing my work compared to traditional art foundries. It keeps me immersed in the process and allows to me to share ideas with other artists involved in the same medium.

As far as the future of Artists, I see a general world-wide shift towards self-representation and a movement away from the traditional gallery as we know it. The internet and its ability to instantly disseminate information is a great boon to artists and gives them a way to share the work with a global community in a way never before available. While I don’t see this as a death sentence for the gallery, no longer does the artist need to have gallery representation to order to achieve success.