Kenneth Baskin

Kenneth Baskin

kbaskin@mcneese.edu | http://kennethbaskinsculpture.com

Artist Statement:

The investigative properties of the Crucible Series are focused upon the idea that through Alchemy we are trying to explain and define the structure, laws and functions of the universe and our place in it. Alchemy is most popularly known for the idea that through extreme heat we can change, transform or convert one substance into another. The crucible is the object that contains the elements as they undergo transformation, making this the main tool of the alchemist and one of the main focuses of my creative research.

The crucible coupled with human curiosity and ingenuity created the industrial revolution leading us to the modern mass-produced world we live in.  Our capacity for invention has become the means for mass production and an accelerant in the performance of human tasks. This interdependence of humans and machines altered cultural conceptions and the two became intimately conjoined.

Within this current body of work, I am exploring the integration of actual and abstracted industrial parts into homologous interrelationships. Metaphorically, my sculptures reflect aspects of these interrelations through: balance and instability, domination and submission, tension and ease, opposition and compromise. It is through this dynamic of push and pull, give and take, that the spontaneity and structuring of these interactions takes place.