Work
Martin Puryear’s work is the product of much thought, assembled in a minimalist, simple design. Two of his main works are Sanctuary and Box and Pole. The latter’s simplicity is evident just by analyzing its simple title. Box and Pole comprises a box on the ground with a hundred foot pole jutting upwards to the sky, therefore symbolizing our position on earth. We are superior to some things (the box), yet inferior to others (higher spiritual powers). He is clearly a modern sculptor, but in works such as Sanctuary he uses primitive techniques to create his final work. Sanctuary is basically a stick connecting a box that anchors what is on the other end of the stick, a wheel. The wheel can move, but its movement is restricted, symbolic of human life. His work contributes to society as a whole as it teaches us many moral lessons such as the two mentioned.
Puryear uses common materials such as wood, tar, wire and various metals to create forms that reference traditional crafts and building methods and, at the same time, formalist sculpture. Puryear’s work is often associated with Minimalism, although the artist himself rejects the minimalist ideal of complete objectivity and non-referentiality. Of minimalism he once said, “I looked at it, I tasted it, and I spat it out.”
His works are held in the collections of the Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, The National Gallery of Art, Walker Art Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
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