My ‘stark vulnerabilty’

Work by Andy Moerlein at Boston Sculptors Gallery. He’s based in Maynard, Mass.

He says:

“Men are always expected to be ‘Age Defying Superheros.’
 
”As I add years to my very physical life, I am finding my limitations creeping inward ever so slowly. As a sculptor of large work, my pieces demand a wearing and persistent physicality. In my art I confront ideas and challenge different media – using my stamina and strength, my mind and memories.
 
”As I contemplate the endless and seemingly pointless things I do as an artist – as I meander around and try to process what I am experiencing. As I work to understand myself in relationship with the greater world around me, it seems the goal posts are always moving. A toil without end. Yet I relish the work. Perhaps as much as my results. It is a joy to work with my hands and mind every day.
 
”As maturity becomes evident, and those about me age and die, I am confronting a stark vulnerability that I have lived my life rather oblivious to.

“Frankly, at the start of this exploration, I struggled with my own modesty. I drew in masks and settled on clay reliefs as a medium. As I needed better renderings, I shot self-portraits. When I needed impossible positions, I collaged photocopies together. Through the hours of work, I became immune to my self exposure. My collages became more than references and I recognized them as works on their own.’’

Maynard in 1879, at the height of the Industrial Revolution.