: Sometimes museums ought to have exhibitions that are fun, as well
as artistically interesting. "Beyond the Frame: Impressionism
Revisited, the Sculptures of J. Seward Johnson, Jr," on view at
the Corcoran Gallery of Art through January 5, is an often
humorous, generally engaging show that surely fills that bill.
The artist-in-charge freely admits that his life-size tableaux,
although based on serious study and arduous effort, also reflect
his whimsical sense of humor. This is the first museum exhibition
of the intriguing work of this unorthodox sculptor consisting of
18 large sculptures recreating Impressionist and
Post-Impressionist paintings by Gustave Caillebotte, Mary
Cassatt, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and
Vincent van Gogh.
The works exhibited are mixtures of figures modeled in metal and
then painted, three-dimensional objects -- some sculpted and some
props -- and backdrops generated on computers by assistants that
recreate the settings of the paintings. Viewers can see the
finished versions from a perspective that corresponds to the
original painting -- the so-called "sweet spot" -- as well as
from innumerable angles that reveal touches added by Johnson.
Johnson, 73, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical
fortune, is a free-spirited man who left the family business to
become a painter. He took up sculpting in the late 1960s. To date
he is best known for ultrarealistic, life-sized bronze sculptures
of everyday people doing ordinary things that inhabit parks and
public spaces, including Rockefeller Center and five sites within
the nation's capital.
David C. Levy, the Corcoran's president and director, observed in
introducing Johnson recently that he is "probably the best-known
sculptor in America...People know his work and like it...He is
also probably the most controversial artist in America."
A genial man with an irreverent, playful sense of humor, Johnson
works hard -- with the help of assistants -- to turn out these
works derived from famous canvases. But he never seems to take
himself -- or his creations -- too seriously. "It's a lot of fun"
working on the pieces, he says. "Art is supposed to be fun," he
adds, stressing that he wants to share his enjoyment with others.
By applying automobile paint to solidly-crated metal pieces, he
makes possible the "ground rules" outlined in the Corcoran's
exhibition guide: "DO photograph, touch, pose, imagine!" the
three-dimensional tableaux.
"I am recreating the artist's subject, not his work," Johnson
emphasizes. "The artist painted only part of what he saw. What is
beyond the original frame is my territory, and I have tremendous
amount of fun deciding what else to include."
As explained by the Corcoran's Chief Curator Jacquelyn Days
Serwer, who organized the show, Johnson's works are "recreations
with additions." Based on historical research, the add-ons to
masterpiece paintings range from the witty to the bawdy and can
constitute subtle or major alterations. Lecturing at the Corcoran
recently, Seton Hall University art professor Petra
ten-Doesschate Chu said that Johnson has "deiconicized" these
masterworks.
In "Confrontational Vulnerability," Johnson's version of Manet's
infamous "Olympia," 1863, visitors literally enter the
courtesan's boudoir through beaded curtains. Its period
furnishings set off the provocative demeanor of the naked woman.
The titila-composition beckons visitors to pose for photographs
in various relationships with Olympia.
In another unconventional canvas that shocked Nineteenth Century
Paris, "Déjeuner sur l' herbe," 1863, Manet depicted two clothed
men nonchalantly picnicking in a parklike setting with a nude
young woman with a partially-draped female in the background. The
sculptor's take on the celebrated painting, which he calls
"Déjeuner Déjà Vu," contains the same elements with the added
feature that observers can walk all around the place, viewing the
figure from all angles.
Manet, says Johnson, was "trying to surprise and shock viewers. I
thought if I made a sculpture of the same subject it would work
just as well 100 years later." From the delighted reactions of
Corcoran visitors, it is clear the sculptor has succeeded.
In addition to the advantages of the Corcoran's spacious
galleries, which give most works room to be appreciated on their
own, one of the museum's top treasures, Cassatt's elegant
painting "Young Girl in a Window," circa 1883, is hung adjacent
to Johnson's painted, cast-aluminum recreation of it. This offers
an opportunity to compare the original canvas with the sculptor's
interpretive creation, "Lap of Choice."
Perhaps the most compelling sight in the exhibition is "Welcome
Home," based on Johnson's interpretation of van Gogh's celebrated
"The Bedroom," 1889. The three-dimensional version captures the
skewed perspective, oddly-shaped furniture and vivid colors of
the original canvas, and offers a bed so inviting that visitors
flop on it to have their pictures taken. "I take naps...here
sometimes," Johnson admits with a laugh.
The sculptor could well have had this tableau in mind when he
observed that "People have fun interacting with these pieces."
Adds Chu, "Who would not want to sit on van Gogh's bed, [or]
stroke Olympia's leg....?"
Several Renoir paintings of couples dancing stimulated Johnson's
sculptural interpretations, including "A Turn of the Century"
(based on "Dance at Bougival," 1883) and "Whispering Close"
(recreating "Dance in the City," 1883). They encourage visitors
to come close and feel part of their pleasure and graceful
movements.
For many, the standout in the show is the expanded version of
Renoir's famous "Luncheon of the Boating Party," 1880-81. In
"Were You Invited?" the sculptor has recreated the original,
jolly group of 14 guests and then added a whole new section,
populated by Johnson, Red Grooms and three friends. They are
busily "drinking up all of Renoir's wine," says the sculptor. It
is a delicious scene.
"I am playing with icons," Johnson declares. In doing so, he is
bringing to life these Impressionist masterpieces in an
entertaining and often informative fashion. By literally inviting
visitors to walk into a Monet landscape, visit a Caillebotte
scene, sit in on a Renoir repast or sidle up to a Manet nude,
Johnson's three-dimensional versions open up new ways of seeing
familiar paintings.
While few would contend that these are great works of art, Seward
Johnson's carefully crafted tableaux do approach masterpieces in
a fresh manner, encouraging new ways of seeing the paintings. By
making his work humorous and accessible, Johnson offers a fun
experience, something museums could use more of these days.
The 127-page catalog is illustrated with 100 color reproductions
and a pop-up section replicating Manet's "Déjeuner." It includes
an informative essay by art historian Chu, an interesting
interview with Grooms conducted by curator Serwer, quotes from
Nineteenth Century critics and Johnson on most works, and
Corcoran public relations chief Jan Rothschild's helpful
examination of Johnson's complex creative process. Published by
Bulfinch Press in association with the Corcoran, it is a good buy
for $35.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is on 17th Street at New York
Avenue NW. For information: 202-639-1700 or www.corcoran.org.
