In Longwood University's lengthy tradition of loaning artwork to display on campus, Greenwood Library has a new sculpture facing Brock Commons. The piece, a spiral of short cedar beams, lies on the concrete square. Its handsome, rust colored wood and polished stock contrasts warmly with the grass and the brick building.
On Wed., Jan. 25, Robert Winkler, the sculptor responsible for Greenwood's new aesthetic partner, spoke about his art in Hiner Auditorium at 6 p.m. A nationally known artist featured in exhibitions around the country, Winkler finds it important for people to know that the arts can be appreciated daily. He also introduced himself as a sculptor, to some extent, interested in both new media and painting. But more than anything, Winkler is interested in the ideas behind art that he presented as the main reason for studying and reading the art of others. This gradual education is part of the way our own ideas get permission to exist.
Holding a captive audience of a few dozen students in Hiner, Winkler stood in front of a podium in a dark suit. About medium height, he's a man with an oval face, glasses and thinning black and silver hair. Inflected with a slight, somewhat perverse sense of humor, Winkler talked about topics such as growing up in Ohio, traveling to Italy, working and living in New York and his favorite artists. Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, sculptor Richard Serra and painter/printmaker Frank Stella were some of the artists Winkler said he could both live with and respect.
Meanwhile, Winkler explained that his sculptures – each starting out with a smaller than scale model called a maquette – are not particularly mathematically driven excluding the possible inclusion of Chaos Theory and fractals. Teaching students about methods of gathering material, working on a piece and how to develop as an artist, Winkler answered questions and expanded far into the specifics of a career from cedar to rice paper and aluminum as media. He also presented the choice of functional pieces and the career decision of being either an artisan or an artist.
During an interview after his presentation, Winkler explained a bit more about himself. When it comes to his art, he said, "It's what I want to do." He cited a fascination for "making things," spanning from childhood when, sculpting a polar bear and drawing on his blind grandmother's butcher paper, Winkler planned out his young imagination. Working in New York as an artist, Winkler also admitted his wish to share the status of his favorite influential artists.
When talking about material, Winkler further proved the viability of his wood art, which if maintained, could last "a hundred to two hundred years," but said that "material isn't really that critical. Even though it's important, it's secondary. The piece I want to make drives what material I can use."
Examples of Winkler's artwork can be found on the website eflux.com. His visit was made possible by the Longwood University Art Department, Longwood Center for the Visual Arts and the Vice President and Provost offices among others.
