Seward Johnson When Then Becomes Now

The sculpture’s name is When Then Becomes Now. It was created by Seward Johnson Jr. back in 1992. At first glance there is not much to see. It it just a woman sitting under a tree, drawing. But it really is a great work of art, created by a wonderful artist. First and foremost it is naturalistic. You could tell it is supposed to be a human, and it looks very accurate. It is also has a hint idealism in it. When looking at her face you can’t see any sort of blemishes or wrinkles. It basically looks like the perfect person. This may be intentional or it could be a part of the model. The statue is cast in bronze and was created with a mold of a real person. This is why it looks realistic. The technique of casting and painting is called “trompe l’oeil. Which is a style of painting that makes things look like the real objects they portray. That is why you can be tricked into thinking that it is a real person if you look at it fast or from far away. For example, if you look at her sweater she is wearing, you have to touch it to make
So it is hard to interpret any underlying message. But everything has some sort of underlying meaning. What I saw was an idea of art within art. The artist loves art so much that even his creations love art. The creator, creating and then the created, creating. Johnson was known for his sculptures of people doing everyday activities. This woman is drawing, and although it is not an everyday activity for everyone, it is for Johnson. This is an expression of himself in another person. Although there are many copies of this artwork, what each one is drawing is different. For instance the one I am talking about is drawing a tree line but other ones have her drawing mountains or rivers. So it is also a celebration of nature. She is sitting under a tree, pencil in hand drawing the world she lives in where ever she finds