Art: Frederick Hart

Sculptor of light

By F. Andrew Taylor

When plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall were first announced, they were not greeted with the same enthusiasm the work now enjoys. The great black walls bore no resemblance to previous war memorials, which, by and large, were depictions of soldiers in heroic stance. When the work was unveiled, however, there was a power and poignancy that was undeniable, and the controversy faded away.

When Frederick Hart's addition to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated 2 1/2 years later, it seemed so comparatively traditional that it ruffled nary a feather. If Harts "Three Servicemen Statue" had gone up first, I firmly believe it would have been just as shocking as the wall. While the work is in the traditional material of bronze, the poses of the figures are less than martial. Hart captured the haggard look of exhaustion and wariness that typified the war. These are not dashing figures in pressed dress uniforms gazing with steely-eyed determination at the horizon. These are men who've just trudged through two weeks of paranoia-inducing jungle. Despite that, he manages to evoke the dignity and heroism of those far too young men who fought and died there.

Unfortunately, there are only maquettes of that work in this show. Apparently, it isn't available for loan. That doesn't prevent this from being an impressive collection of the sculptor's work. There are small models of larger monumental works as well as early full-size castings of a large installation. Two long glass cases hold an instructional piece on the process of sculpture casting, including the actual molds used.

While the bronze and stone works are brilliant enough to warrant the show, it's the later cast acrylic works that most viewers will find themselves drawn to. They are fascinating pieces that are difficult to describe. They are transparent. Most of them feature a convex element, typically a figure on the leading edge of the sculpture, with a second concave element on the back. There is a certain amount of optical illusion to them. The concave image is in fact a convex image from the viewing side. The effect this creates in a dreamy, mystical work with ghostly images within. Hart found a way to take the most tactile of the arts and infuse it with light, air and an ineffable spirituality.

Hart has passed on, so it will fall to other artists to explore this medium further. They'll have a hard time surpassing this master.