The Stories Objects Tell

a group exhibition curated by Kristen Marchetti
March 14 - April 14, 2022

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Rhode Island Hall - 60 George St. - Providence, RI

Jon Laustsen

“A Collection: Magic Futures, Broken Pasts; Broken Futures, Magic Pasts”
Multiple components made with epoxy clay, concrete, wood, plaster, wax, wire, aluminum foil, pigment, aerosol paint, acrylic paint
2022

When I began making sculpture in earnest as a student, my work with concrete and steel at the time came about through a set of questions about histories of monuments and memorials in light of present-day hopes and sorrows. Through that work came an appreciation for creating work as though un-buried, found, discovered, unknown, and yet suggestive and vital. My artwork has taken twists and turns since, all connected in some way to this subjective thrust for art-making.

The abrupt shift in present-day life at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by new and resurgent horrors, brought my work over the last two years right back to those fundamental questions. In the process of creating this collection, I have become rejuvenated by the fascinating intersections between archaeology and visual art. Namely, intersections in the practices of archaeology, the practices of creating visual art, the objects found (and studied) in archaeology, and creating found objects. The wind turbine has become a motif, a symbol, a sculptural hand-built muse for incorporating themes of re-generative energy, wind, breath, and memorializing loss. Thrust into unknown futures where the wind-turbine sculptures reflect back to us a future-past was perhaps a center-point around which the creation of this collection revolved.

Thanks to a visit to the archives, I learned of a surprisingly overlooked technique of hand-building sculpture directly over a lost-wax prototype. A process that probably lead eventually to mold-making. I thoroughly enjoyed creating just such an element that is represented here in the collection. It was an emotional treat to do so using a particular wax saved from those early student days.