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Abstract art meets faith in show opening Friday
Ben Wesemann's scultpure was inspired by th life of Jesus.
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Published: May 28, 2009
Ben Wesemann is both an abstract artist and a focused Christian. In exhibit that opens this week in Statesville, the St. Louis native attempts to reconcile these two parts of himself.
But for now, it's time to work.
Three days before his show opens, Wesemann is sprawled out on the floor of the Iredell Museums Court Street Gallery.
With socket wrench in hand, Wesemann resembles a car mechanic who rolled under the engine to tighten the nut on that last, oddly positioned bolt.
Wesemann, a recent graduate of Appalachian State University whose grandparents live in Statesville, was on the deck of a gallery platform to anchor "Ascension," one of his large and faith-inspired sculptures.
The piece is one of three major works in Wesemann's 10-piece exhibit, which opens Friday.
The trio are all associated with events in the life of Jesus, but the artist leaves any definitive connection to the founder of the Christian faith completely to the interpretive abilities of those viewing the work.
"Ascension," for example, comprises three large U-shaped structures connected to each other. They are slightly misaligned so there is the stair-stepping — or ascending — quality to the piece.
But beyond that, Wesemann said, mining for any deeper meaning is left to the beholder.
"These are meditative, soft pieces that don't shout out a message," Wesemann said. "They are just peaceful."
Another of the major pieces is "Temptation," which is named for Christ's 40 days in the desert and the attempts by Satan to bring Jesus to the dark side.
But, at first blush, the piece itself appears decidedly less imbued with any aspects of an encounter that many view, at the very least, as a powerful metaphor for the battle of good versus evil.
It looks like a see-saw that has been fitted at one end with a neck pillow.
Indeed, while that is largely what even Wesemann sees on the surface, "Temptation" is freighted with subtleties that give credence to its name.
First of all — like "Ascension" and the other major work, "Passion" — the sculpture is composed of three materials: wood, metal and concrete.
The precariousness of its construction, Wesemann said, defines its temptation.
"People see it and are tempted to move it somehow or to roll the cylinder down and they realize they can't or shouldn't," he explained. "Also it shows a more personal temptation in that God can hold you up even if you're in an unbalanced place."
At the root of the naming of "Passion," Wesemann said, was something both simple and ambiguous.
"The Passion" is a phrase used to describe the suffering Jesus endured at the end of his life. But the larger and more secular application of "passion" is a synonym for enthusiasm or zeal.
"In one sense I see (Jesus') death as a good thing," Wesemann said. "But, also, I just really was passionate about the whole idea of this piece. I just enjoyed creating it."
Like the exhibit's other works, the piece does not necessarily scream out a meaning with any kind of clarity.
It is made up of three parts — connected in the middle — to form a kind of drum shape.
The gaps of the three pieces on the circular top nearly form a peace sign. So there is that and the Christian concept of the Trinity.
But dot-connecting of this sort may be superfluous to the lover and gazer-upon of art.
"Everyone has their own spirituality and understanding of art," said Maria Fox an assistant at Court Street Gallery. "And so people can see things in the art based on their own views."
A fourth larger piece is also part of the exhibit. Wesemann said it has become one of his favorites largely because of its simplicity.
He calls it "WOG," explaining that the initials stand for "Ways of Grace" or "Word of God."
"WOG" is made of several dozen bent steel rods wrapped in copper wire that had been manipulated to adopt a multi-colored patina.
"This was just a get-away project for me," Wesemann said.
He explained that the metal had been given to him and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it.
"Then I just let the steel tell me where it wanted to go," he said. "Sometimes you can get caught up in things that aren't important, but with this I just sort of got out of the way."
Wesemann is calling his exhibit "Rise," a term loaded with meanings including one upon which the entire Christian faith is based.
But Iredell Museums Director Theresa Golas thinks a more fitting name for the show may be "One Ton," the meaning of which is somewhat less profound.
"This stuff is heavy," Golas said. "It's beautiful and it's interesting and it gets you thinking. But this show is not the kind you can move around a lot to get a feel for how it's going to look."
She pointed out that the works in the last exhibit at Court Street Gallery — "Great Artists of the Western World" by painter Don Moore — "weighed all of 20 pounds."
But art's value is certainly not measured on a scale and so Wesemann points to the smallest and lightest of the exhibit's pieces, an interestingly recognizable arrangement of painted bits of wood called "The Last Supper."
"They're just some sticks I found on a hike," Wesemann explained.
Collectively, however, they are art that is both abstract and spiritual.
And that's what the artist was aiming for.
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