STANDING OWL lBy Thomas Houseago

Presentation by Lorna, Maddie, Austen, and Julia

Thomas Houseago was born in Leeds England in 1972 and currently works and lives in Los Angeles, California

ABOUT THE SCULPTOR

Thomas went to school at Jacob Kramer Foundation College in Leeds, St. Martin's School of Art in London, and the De Ateliers in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Houseago says that for some people the Standing Owl is unacceptable for them because it isn't as serious as his other sculptures. One thing that Houseago likes is having a show where the audience responds in very different ways.

SCULPTUE-SCULPTOR RELATIONSHIP

Most of his pieces are complex and can be interpreted in many different ways but for this sculpture it is more him making an Owl the best he can rather than something complex and interpreted differently.

Houseago’s other more “serious” works

INTERESTING DETAIL

When you first see the owl in person you may not notice that the owl is cut in three pieces. The reason he decided to cut the owl in three pieces was to possibly make the viewer think into the reason of placing the three pieces where they were, what signifies each piece and what is inside.

There isn’t one way to see just the sculpture in one whole, but rather several different details and pieces together. Creating different levels and pieces adds more complexity to the piece.

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Another possible reason was the artistic influences that Thomas had throughout his life. When Thomas was younger he went to three art schools. He took influences from all three of his schools and made them into three different pieces to signify the importance of this sculpture and show how he has come along as a great artist and amazing sculptor through his success in his schooling.

INTERESTING DETAIL

When the viewer is first introduced to this sculpture, he/she sees an owl sculpted out of bronze.

When facing it, a sense of symmetrical balance comes into line between one side (hollowed eye/healthy feathers/neat slabs) and another (caved in/sickly/messy structure). This could represent life and death or different perspectives from person to person.

LANDSCAPE

There is also a symmetrical split down the back of the sculpture

This sculpture is placed high up on a hill, like an owl in a tree, and makes the viewer more personal with the owl than if we were looking up at it from the ground.

The owl is surrounded by trees, and is secured in a patch of fernlike plants, planted in random places. Three trees create a triangular shape around the owl, creating a place of shade and serenity.

There is a rope closure around it, which makes the viewer walk completely around the owl and gives more time to think. The title of the sculpture is “Standing Owl I”, but we, as viewers, are not allowed to physically stand next to it, which might show that we are supposed to view it from afar, rather than notice the smaller details.

LANDSCAPE AND INTERACTION

The most revealing detail of “Standing Owl l” is not on the actual sculpture, but rather the fact that owls are know to be the free flying predators of the night, and yet the sculpture is firmly placed on the ground. Also this sculpture is one of the few at storm king with a rope barrier around it, which combined with the tall trees surrounding the statue from the sides and above creates a sort of cage for this poor trapped owl.

REVEALING DETAIL

The trees, along with the foliage inside the rope, are not just a enclosure for the bird, they also show a calm forest setting not unlike the natural habitat of an owl. However, the owl is not behaving normally, for it is standing on the ground instead of perching in the branches of a tree. This peculiar, abnormal behavior of the ‘owl’ reveals a very interesting contrast.

REVEALING DETAIL AND CONCLUSION

Setting of the owl sculpture (with rope barrier and trees)

Thomas Houseago brilliantly portrays many complex ideas through this single sculpture. By way of many different details “Standing Owl l” shows contrasts, symmetry, nature, and greatness.