Artist34: Lyman Whitaker

Lyman Whitaker is a kinetic sculptor that relies on wind rather than motors to make his pieces move. Similar to my previous blog artist Tom Shannon, Whitaker relies on the basics to make his pieces work.

The beauty of his art is threefold: 1. the simple reaction of the sculptures to the wind, producing intricate kinetic patterns, 2. the craftsmanship behind each piece, and 3. how he uses both of those processes to communicate his ideas. On his website, Whitaker has a page discussing how he and others actually create the pieces. They shape the different metals - stainless steel, copper, etc - to be responsive to the wind. These all tie in well to his overarching concept of respect for the environment. His works reflect the world around them, in color, movement, and form, exposing the beauty found when humans work with, not against, the environment.

Whitaker is another reminder to me of the beauty in the basics. The movement towards minimalism has been pretty apparent over the Summer with both the kinds of art I've been looking at. To me, artists who rely on the simplest objects and processes, seem to consistently produce the most profound results. These minimalist artists channel the intricacies found in simplicity and exhibit these intricacies through their work, and Whitaker gives me another example of the potential for expression found in simplicity.