Cullen Sculpture Garden Analysis

Analysis of the Steel Artworks in the Cullen Sculpture Garden
The sculptures that adorn the acre-wide Cullen Sculpture Garden are not just an exhibit. They are an experience. They are to be walked amongst, and viewed as they are exposed to the elements. Light, shadow, weather, all play a part in how they are viewed throughout the day. In essence, no one sees the exact same sculpture. In full light the trees still dapple the sculptures with shadow. Metallic sculptures cast dark shadows. The steel sculptures especially challenged the viewer to interpret its meaning.
There was Alexander Calder’s The Crab created in 1962. It is made from a bright red painted steel. It has no realistic resemblance to a crab. Instead, it is a crab translated into
Far from trying to transcend the natural setting, the sculpture seems to already be beaten and worn by the elements. It is a slab of stone, slightly curved. It is corten steel, with different colors of black, blue, purple, white, and various other grainy shades. Of all the pieces in the garden, this one seems least like a piece of art, and more like a misplaced piece of décor. The most surreal of the pieces in the garden is Frank Stella’s Decanter. It is metal affixed to a straight backdrop. There is a broad silver ring, with a backdrop of twisting blackness, and striped triangles created in such a way that they seem to have the depth of cones. Lastly that stood out is David Smith’s Two Circle Sentinel. It is a myriad of square sheets, curving scraps, and two circular adornments. The “sentinel” resides on a square podium. Outside the ridges of metal cast dramatic shadows on the steel, and it would no doubt look amazing in the rain, with water running down one ridge to the
Like the gardens it is an interactive piece. The silver ring represents the glass decanter. Black metal seems to spray from it, and bubbly, wavy shapes act like spills. The flat sculpture seems to have depth to it, and movement, since it may splash down at a moment’s notice. The artwork invites interpretation. It demands it. The setting is not static, it is made to change, vary, and affect the pieces throughout the season. The steel works are abstract and boldly placed, all in the open rather than tucked into a corner. The Crab is one of the most prolific sculptures in the garden, and it conveys a great sense of freedom. The limbs are fluid and varied, as if it could move in any direction at a moment’s notice. It is spread out, huge, but also delicate, commandeering the full range of its space. It seems to emerge from its shell in full flight. Trusspiece represents civilization. In a garden filled with natural pieces, this sculpture is both mundane and utilitarian. It serves a purpose, though this purpose is momentarily displaced as it resides in the grass. Its dimensions are slightly distorted, so that it is not a normal beam that is laid out. The distortion is intentional. It calls the viewer to examine something that has been seen as ordinary for so long, all its extraordinary qualities have long since been overlooked. In other words, it takes a piece of civilization outside its context, to invite the viewer to marvel at