Ken Thompson has something to say about global warming, and it isn’t pretty.
The Illustrated Facts of Global Warming is the in-progress sculpture series by the master sculptor. Using rough materials and inelegant designs, Thompson’s latest works depict isolated scenes of damage and chaos reminiscent of images seen during hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, the latter he experienced firsthand. For each piece, Thompson constructs a destroyed or damaged representation of an object, typically a house, and installs it into a crudely shaped plate supported by branch-like legs. The complete effect appears coarse, despairing and treacherously balanced, which is part of Thompson’s goal.
“As far as basic art composition and elements go — texture, space, form, shape and all that — that’s all there. But I also want people to feel uncomfortable when they look at these pieces,” he says.
To aid with that unease, Thompson shaped the pieces primarily out of mild steel, which gives the sculptures a harsh, pessimistic sensibility. “I always like a material that fights back, that’s not just compliant. You want to have a bit of a struggle there,” he says.
This latest series shares a kindred design with one of Thompson’s previous series inspired by images he saw during Hurricane Katrina. That series was characterized by smaller pieces with brittle aesthetics. Each piece was built from fragile materials like string, toothpicks and cardboard. Thompson gave the pieces provocative titles, like “George wants to give you a new home,” and “FEMA is going to make everything better and tie it up in bow.” The Katrina exhibit “was just the notion that spurred me on to go ahead and make these new pieces,” he says.
Getting Political
Thompson explained that most of his work follows a Popeye-inspired philosophy of “It is what it is,” i.e. there’s no grand message hidden within the pieces. However, this policy isn’t an absolute for him, and The Illustrated Facts of Global Warming is one such exception to the rule. “Sometimes there’s things that I can get real political about, that I get up off my chair and go, ‘Listen, this isn’t right.’ And that’s when I’m inspired to do things like these pieces or the Katrina pieces,” he says.
Currently, Thompson has started six pieces which are housed in the gallery section of Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Gallery, which he founded. He joked that the series is “made, but not finished,” in that he knows what needs to be done to complete the series, he just needs to do it. These plans include creating at least seven more pieces and using weathering techniques to further sully the sculptures.
He’s in no rush, though; the exhibit isn’t scheduled to premiere at the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan, until the beginning of October. “You’re not late so long as you’re done at least five minutes before the deadline,” he joked.
In the meantime, Thompson is working on multiple commissioned pieces, some in-progress, some in the prep stages. Recently, he also curated the annual Dogwood Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit in Knoxville, Tennessee, where, through the Midwest Sculpture Initiative, he helped bring in international artists for the first time in the show’s history.
Ultimately, the freedom he’s afforded is what motivates him, and Thompson doesn’t plan on giving up this freedom any time soon. “Sculpture gives me the opportunity to do whatever I damn well please.”
Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Gallery is located at 11993 East US 223, Blissfield, MI. The gallery is free and open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm.
