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FRONT COVER: Fig. 1. Knight of Tomorrow 542. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 80” x 24” x 17” Siemens CollectionIn the process of being converted to bronze in a limited editionABOVE: Fig. 2. Self Portrait with Blades 197. 1993. photo montage. 8” x 10”

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NOVEMBER 2 - DECEMBER 20, 2006

FLOMENHAFT GALLERYNEW YORK

EXHIBITION TRAVELING SCHEDULE

SOFA 2006, CHICAGO, IL--NOV. 9 - 12--LONGSTRETH GOLDBERG ART

NATHAN D. ROSEN MUSEUM, BOCA RATON, FL--JAN. 7 - FEB. 17, 2007

WINDOWS ON BROADWAY, PORTLAND, OR--MAR. - MAY 2007

QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTER, QUEENS, NY--NOV. 5 - DEC. 14, 2007

LONGSTRETH GOLDBERG ART, NAPLES, FL--JAN. 18 - FEB. 15, 2008

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Fig. 3. Stein with (K)night Figure 470. 2004.wood, metal, leather, fiber, stone. 49” x 19” x 7”

REGARDING STEIN’S KNIGHTS AND GLYPHSAn essay by Joan Marter 1

Knights: Power and Vulnerability

Living and working in TriBeCa, Linda Stein found herself in a disaster zone on September 11, 2001. Residents of lower Manhattan were horrified as office workers fell from the flaming World Trade Towers. Stein was evacuated from her studio, and not able to return for several months. To this day she cannot walk past the “Ground Zero” site. I live in Manhattan, and share her grief, her outrage, and her anxiety about life in a beleaguered and threatened city. New Yorkers ride the subways, and try to remain calm when they hear police sirens. Yet they regularly experience uncertainty about their safety.

Not surprisingly, Linda Stein’s sculpture has taken a new and very dramatic direction since 9/11. Armored figures have appeared in her art—not the “knights of yore,” but female warriors as symbols of protection in an increasingly hostile environment. Like classical torsos, they are sculptural fragments in the tradition of the Venus de Milo. Such ancient figures convey strength and vitality within the body trunk itself. Stein’s figures are similarly powerful. Encrusted with materials (figs. 4-5) 2 that can be viewed as either symbolic or defensive, these sculptures

LEFT: Fig. 4. Knight of Winged Words 524. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 46” x 14” x 5” Falik Collection.RIGHT: Fig. 5. Detail of Knight of Winged Words 524.

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have a dazzling visual effect. One figure in wood seems to hold up her arms in a protective position across her upper body. Others fuse leather and fiber with dynamism and force. Stein has incorporated many materials: copper, brass, steel wire, wood, metal pipes, and stone fragments. There is a suggestion of the rubble from fallen buildings, or debris resulting

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LEFT: Figs. 6-7. Details of Vertical Energy 365.RIGHT: Fig. 8. Vertical Energy 365. 2001.wood, metal, stone. 54” x 17” x 9” Goldberg Collection

from an explosive force, that has been appropriated to arm these figures. Script, coins, hardware, and calligraphic plates are also to be found, and these elements suggest an emerging life—a strength that is salvaged from the ruins.

Larger-than-life, Stein’s figures are both vital and vulnerable. While they convey femaleness, some with breasts and curving torsos, they are monumentally postured and unyielding. Previously Linda Stein created sculptures of wood, metal and stone fused with steel machete blades, transforming violent weapons into linear rhythms and powerful imagery. Here Stein’s figures combine their nudity with the materials of urban experience. Their protective body empowers them, and assures these remarkable images a continuing relevance in our world.

Glyphs: Evocative Fragments and Secret Narratives

As with her current Knights, Linda Stein’s previous sculpture series Glyphs, also evokes artifacts of bygone civilizations. Her brilliant metal objects are a voyage of discovery actually derived from our own world. The secret narratives of these found objects are literally embedded in the works. Stein wants them to appear as though discovered in their current state, but transformed from their original, more mundane, purposes. She makes the surfaces of her constructed works come alive with the vivid color range of metals fully explored. Sculptural constructions feature word fragments, found objects, and

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occasionally sounds emitted through mechanical devices. Stein’s production includes wall panels, mysterious boxes, and talisman-like objects.

With her complex sculptures, Linda Stein comments on the power and variability of objects. Detritus, no longer deemed useful, are rescued from a discarded state and given new empowerment. Stein leads her viewers to rediscover the wonder and enchantment of everyday fragments that are embedded like jewels into the metal surfaces she creates. Some of the found objects have prosaic origins—like small mechanical devices (parts of a clock, for example), drawer knobs, or engraving plates. But they are combined to create a new reality, a

powerfully fresh identity provided by Stein’s imagination. Always there is a sense of mystery, an alchemical process that changes the commonplace into something wondrous. And a glyphic language emerges from a close examination of these sculptures—a broken narrative that needs to be deciphered.

TOP: Fig. 9. Two Women Standing 322. 1999. wood, metal, stone. 37” x 24” x 16” Siemens CollectionBOTTOM: Fig. 10. Overlay 219. 1994, 1999. wood, metal, stone. 32” x 38” x 8”

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LEFT: Fig. 11. Stability 222. 1993, 1999. wood, metal, stone. 78” x 24” x 4”. McCue/Velayo CollectionRIGHT: Fig. 12. Lucky Charm 210. 1993. wood, metal, stone, bone. 29” x 54” x 7”

While at some distances these wall friezes of polished metals and active surfaces may dazzle, it is only on careful inspection, from a more intimate distance, that their secret narratives are revealed. These puzzling forms include phrases, words, and a rich array of objects with multiple associations. Personal narratives for the artist are undoubtedly incorporated, but Stein also opens up the possibility of narratives derived from the viewer’s experience of the work. Like artifacts that will remain as a record of our age, these sculptures await excavation. Through them, the viewer dreams and imagines—bringing poetry to the prosaic. 0

Fig. 13. Knight of Plenty 553. 2006.wood, metal, stone. 47” x 16” x 6.5”

Fig. 14. Knight of Appreciation 559. 2006. wood, metal, stone, leather. 49” x 17” x 8”

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OPPOSITE PAGE: Fig. 15. Knight of Triumph 530. 2005. wood, stone, metal. 48” x 12” x 7”TOP: Fig. 16. Three Knights 543-5. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 14” x 15” x 4” Grimes Collection

BOTTOM LEFT TO RIGHT: Fig. 17. Knight of Peace 535. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 20” x 4” x 2” Fisher-Dolan CollectionFig. 18. Knight Emerged 533. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 22” x 4” x 2” Dash/Lobel Collection

Fig. 19. Knight 520. 2005. Ceramic. 21 1/4” x 4 5/8” x 2” Siemens CollectionFig. 20. Knight 521. 2005. Ceramic. 20 3/4” x 4 1/2” x 1 3/4” Steinberg Collection

LEFT: Fig. 21. Knight of Tomorrow 542. 2005. Proposal for commission in bronze. 132” x 40” x 28”

POWER AND PROTECTION: JAPANESE/AMERICAN CROSSROADS AND THE IMPACT OF 9/11 ON THE SCULPTURE OF LINDA STEIN

A Conversation with Linda Stein by Helen Hardacre 3

HELEN HARDACRE: Linda Stein and I are going to talk about three major issues central to her work. First, Linda will speak about the ways in which her art connects with Japanese religions and popular culture. Second, she will talk about how the concept of protection has permeated her art for three decades. Third, she will discuss how she came to choose Princess Mononoke, Wonder Woman and Kannon as images that reflect her feelings of vulnerability after her 9/11 experience. I will address these issues from an historian’s perspective, commenting on one of the oldest themes in the history of Japanese religions and faith: the longstanding connection between religion and the arts. The significance of this theme is intuitively understood in Japan, but I wonder how many people are aware that contemporary artists in other countries also see this theme as important to their own work. In this conversation I would like to view the art of contemporary artist Linda Stein as a sculptor who looks to the arts of Japan—among other sources of inspiration—for images and symbols of protection, the major theme in her work. I hope you will find this conversation an interesting illustration of the global influence of the arts of Japan, as well as an in-depth look at the works of an American artist.

Linda, to give people a reference point, discuss your current Knight series and let’s talk a bit about this work.

LINDA STEIN: It might be helpful to begin by describing some of the materials I use in my work and my process as I begin a sculpture. I almost never make sketches first. I am usually drawn to a found object in my studio, a piece of driftwood, for example, that becomes the horizontal cross bar between the shoulders, as in Uplifting Moment 562 (fig. 66), from my Asian Armor series. Or I might make a metal or wood template of a torso, onto which I fuse a variety of stone, wood and metals. A wooden bowl may become a breast (back cover), an amalgam of metals may form a pelvic area, stones become hips, license plates form thighs, or leather transitioning from breast to waist. Lately, I am beginning to translate my work into bronze so that my sculpture can live outdoors. Knight of Tomorrow 542 (fig. 21) is in the process

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now of being converted into bronze. As a bronze sculpture it will have the appearance of wood, metal and stone, as will the three bronze sculptures I create for the “Walk of the Heroines” at Portland State University. I created Heroic Vision 561 (back inside cover) as the maquette for this commission.

HH: Now if I may take a step back into the historical perspective before we proceed with a more focused look at your work, let me put this discussion into a Japanese context, the pursuit of the arts as part of a religious path, based on the intuition that the practice of art is a discipline capable of elevating the spiritual level of a human being. For example, religious persons of all kinds have typically practiced calligraphy as a spiritual discipline, and, at least among religious persons of my acquaintance, most practice calligraphy daily, even in an age when email and word processing increasingly make it unnecessary to display one’s handwriting very often. The point seems to be that a beautiful calligraphic style is taken as evidence of a person’s maturity

or spiritual depth.The continuation of the theme into the

twentieth century may not be so well known. Accompanying the modernization of religious life, we find religious associations founded by laypersons who also practiced the arts. Deguchi Onisaburo (fig. 22), who lived from 1836 until 1918, co-founder of an association called Omoto (f. 1892), was also a painter, a potter, and a sculptor. In addition, he was one of the first religious leaders in Japan to incorporate

photography and film, producing films to dramatize his understanding of the age of the gods and the history of the world. Had he lived in our age, we might have found him producing anime as another means to dramatize his ideas. And this is something we will come back to towards the end of our talk, when Linda describes how anime has influenced her art as well.

RIGHT: Fig. 23. Knight Rhythm 551. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 79” x 24” x 13”

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Fig. 22. Deguchi Onisaburo

There is a noise. I go to the door; it is slightly ajar. I have to close it, but as I push against it, I have no strength. Finally I get it to shut, but the large man is coming in anyway. I’m able to hide under the stairway. Does he see me? Will he hurt me? What happened? It is not that (in the door) there is so much resistance to me: there is hardly any. But, even so, I do not have the strength or power to lock the door. And does a locked door make any difference?

But for now can you speak about the art you were making before your current series of female Knights?

LS: In my sculpture over the last 25 years I’ve had a desire to create an archetypal form to metaphorically defend me against an aggressor. It goes back to the dreams I had as a kid (fig. 25) when I was always running away from an intruder, perhaps like the scene from Psycho where Janet Leigh runs from Tony Perkins and hides under a stairway (fig. 24). I craved a figure of protection that would be impenetrable, powerful, aggressive. It would guard me against potential threats, and warn enemies against harming me. It would say, in effect, stand back; don’t come too close; you will be destroyed if you make a wrong move.

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TOP: Fig. 24. Janet Leigh, Psycho, 1960BOTTOM: Fig. 25. Stein’s dream, 10/29/90 4

RIGHT: TOP TO BOTTOM: Figs. 26-27. Stein holding Moon Cradle 172; and Stein working outdoors, both at VCCA, 1989Fig. 28. Excavations exhibit, VCCA, Virginia, 1989Fig. 29. Duality 183. 1989. wood, bone, metal. 42” x 23” x 16”

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HH: When this began to appear in your work, what forms did it take?

LS: In the 1980s, it took the form of an instrument, tool or weapon as with Intrigue175 (fig. 30) and Double Circle181 (fig. 33). While in residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), it began simply with a need to create a

sculpture like Throwing Stick 179 (fig. 31) with extreme verticality. Gradually, it became important for me to hold this

sculpture in my hand or on my body (fig. 26), to walk about with it as if it held magical powers, and conveyed those powers

to me. Stories from Greek and Roman myth flooded my mind as I worked out of doors in Virginia (fig. 27), and before long I was

immersed in a series I later called Ceremonial Scepters.At times, I created them for dancers and

choreographers (fig. 29) and imagined that they belonged to Hermes, Daphne or Apollo. They became ritual objects accompanied by a capriccio (or made-up story), which I wrote to explain how a long-lost tribe used these scepters during

their rites of initiation. Sometimes I made wooden cases for them that opened and closed to allow

the scepter to be hinged inside. Some of my gallery exhibitions were called Excavations

(fig. 28) and next to each sculpture was a description of its ceremonial use and tribal site discovery.5 And wouldn’t you know, at every exhibit, at least one person would ask me where exactly I excavated these pieces!

HH: What a riot. So a theme of protection emerged in your art with your series of Ceremonial Scepters in the 1980s. What form did your work take next?

LS: In the 90s my need for protection found an outlet (fig. 34) in the

TOP LEFT: Fig. 30. Intrigue 175. 1988. wood, metal, stone. 67” x 27” x 23”TOP RIGHT: Fig. 31. Throwing Stick 179. 1989. 62” x 33” x 11”LOWER LEFT: Fig. 32. Moon Cradle 172. 1988. wood, metal, stone. 54” x 17” x 13” LOWER RIGHT: Fig. 33. Double Circle 181. 1989. wood, metal, stone. 27” x 10” x 13”

creation of my series, Blades, sculptures hanging from wall and ceiling. They fused wood with steel machete blades that I dulled by hand. It was in this series (fig. 36) that I introduced a sensual, curvilinear, warm element

that invited the viewer to come hither and be charmed by the gentle sway of the form, before realizing that a potentially lethal weapon was transformed (as with sword-to-plowshare), to make it viewer-friendly.

HH: How long did this series of work last?

LS: It continued until the end of the 90s and

into early 2000, when the machete’s force and threat was softened further as I bent the hard steel of the blade, and even corkscrewed it. Then, the sculpture became part of a musical series. I had a lot of fun with this series. I began to call them Soundings because they incorporated buttons, xylophones, and mbira parts that could be played by the viewer. Gradually, the shape of the machete became less obvious and more subtle. I covered the steel machete blade with various materials. But I had to know it was still there for me just in case. One never knows when one is going to have to start running. I’m reminded of the scene from the movie North by Northwest, where Cary Grant is running across a field to get away from the crop duster that is trying to harm him (fig. 35).

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Fig. 35. Cary Grant, North by Northwest, 1959

Fig. 34. Soho 20 Gallery exhibit, New York, 1991

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Fig. 36. Various Sculptures from Blades Series. See notes 6

a

b c

e

h

d

f

g

ij

k

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Fig 37. Blades Note 195. 1990.wood, metal. 51” x 17” x 25”INSET: Fig. 38. Blades 197. 1991.wood, metal. 18” x 45” x 17”

INSET: Fig. 39. Blades Whip Down 187. 1990. wood, metal, leather, 74” x 21” x 56”Fig. 40. Blades Wall Rope 186. 1990wood, metal, rope. 83” x 14” x 74”

Fig. 39. Wall Installation, sculpture from 3 series:Ceremonial Scepters, Blades and Knights

Fig. 41. Wall Installations from 3 series:Ceremonial Scepters, Blades, Knights

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Fig. 42. Slow Curve 352. 2002. wood, metal, stone. 53” x 18” x 6”Fig. 43. Protection 469. 2002. wood, metal, leather, fiber, stone. 48” x 15” x 9”Fig. 44. Memory 468. 2002. wood, metal, leather, fiber, stone. 62” x 15” x 10”Fig. 45. Curved Connection 357. 2002, 2004. wood, stone, metal, fiber, stone. 50” x 20” x 7” Siemens CollectionRIGHT: Fig. 46. Knight of Acceptance 556. 2006. wood, metal, stone. 47” x 17” x 7”

HH: So, you developed two series on protection from 1980 to around 2000. And then, perhaps not coincidentally, you were personally affected by the events of 9/11. That must have had an enormous impact on your work given all that you have said so far.

LS: A great impact, both artistically and personally. I was with my staff in my Tribeca studio when the police came to evacuate us. We ran northward holding hands, looking behind our shoulders as clouds of white dust enveloped us. Why, I wondered, were they throwing furniture off the Trade Towers? Oh, no. It’s not furniture…

HH: You were evacuated on 9/11 from your home and studio. Isn’t that correct?

LS: Yes. After that day, I didn’t live downtown for eight months. My dreams changed. My waking thoughts were filled with images of tall buildings going poof. Following an unexpected surgery two months later, I fainted after getting out of bed too quickly. I felt in my core that I was the World Trade Tower, neatly and softly falling straight down upon one knee, as I had seen the Tower fall quickly, without fanfare, upon itself.

HH: I would imagine that this caused a serious disruption in your work.

LS: I stopped doing sculpture altogether. I went back to a series of profile faces I had painted many years before. It was comforting for me to focus on the nose, lips, chin and shoulder shapes that were my obsession in prior years. It was as if I was holding my feelings in abeyance as I sorted out my recent experiences. I did Mood Portraits, including ones of Virginia Woolf, Gloria Steinem and Florence Kennedy.

HH: But you did go back to making sculpture. Can you describe how you did and when that was?

Fig. 48. Calligraphic Knight 546. 2005. collage. 42” x 21” x 2.5” Fig. 49. Calligraphic Knight 548. 2005. 3D Limited Edition Fine Art Print. 42” x 21” x 2.5”

Fig. 47. Two Knights with Names and Numbers 540. 2005.collage & acrylic. 22” x 17” x 1”

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Fig. 50. Red Knight 537. 2005. collage & acrylic. 22” x 17” x 1”

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Fig. 51. Knight of the Book 526. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 46” x 17” x 7”

Fig. 52. Knight of Promise 558. 2006.wood, metal, stone, leather. 48” x 16” x 10”

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LS: It took a year. At first it seemed as if I were continuing from where I left off. But that wasn’t so because my abstract work was gravitating toward the figurative (figs. 42-45). I didn’t realize this at first. I didn’t see the very gradual formation of a torso, the expansion of pelvis and hips, the introduction of breasts. The materials I used now had more of a feel of an archeological dig.7

HH: I know you’ve done a good deal of writing about yourart over the years. Were you able to write about yourexperiences on 9/11?

LS: Not for a long time (and, incidentally, I still can’t bring myself to go to the Ground Zero pit). It took three years to put pen to paper. Three years to realize that, in my mind’s eye, the sculptural form I was now creating had become a female Knight, a Warrior Woman with a combination of antithetical qualities like: power/vulnerability, masculinity/femininity, warrior/peacemaker. By scrambling expectations of the masculine, the strong, the fighter, I was attempting in my sculpture to ask questions, agitate, alarm, and arouse a visceral response in myself and in my viewers.

HH: You have spoken of a dialogue with your sculptures. What do you mean by that?

LS: As with my Ceremonial Scepters, my Knights began to communicate with me. As with Knight of Dreams 531 (fig. 49), I felt they assured me protection. They would watch, and wait, and prevent any attack. They became my bodyguards, like the Blades of the decade past.

HH: It sounds as if, in your creative process, the work comes first, intuitively, and then later, after the work is done, you start thinking about models or other images that resonate with your Knights. Is that so?

LEFT: Fig. 54. Quiet Strength 472. 2004. wood, metal, stone, fiber. 51” x 15” x 8” RIGHT: Fig. 54. Offering 374. 2006. wood, metal, stone. 50” x 18” x10”

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LS: Yes, mostly I am responding unconsciously as I work on my sculpture, but, intellectually, there was something about these Knights that gave me pause. How could I create them as warriors when I felt they were symbols of pacifism? How, I wondered could they be fighters in battle when they represented to me everything that cried out for peace? I mulled this over and over until I reached deep into some kind of dense nucleus containing my own traditions and cultural background.

It was then, after years of making my Knights that Wonder Woman came into my mind. This über-female of my youth struck a chord in me and addressed the same issues I was unconsciously addressing in my current sculpture. I began rereading all of her comics and was enthralled with her once again. I was captivated with how each comic book began. Helen, do you remember this? It always started with something like: WITH THE BEAUTY OF APHRODITE, THE WISDOM OF ATHENA, THE STRENGTH OF HERCULES AND THE SPEED OF MERCURY, WONDER WOMAN ARRIVES. NEVER BEFORE HAS THE NEED FOR THIS HERO BEEN SO GREAT. TIME BECKONS, AND THE WARRIOR WOMAN COMES—TO WEAVE HER SPELL AND FURTHER THE CAUSE OF PEACE, EQUALITY AND SECURITY IN A WORLD THAT SEEMS TO BE SPIRALING MADLY TOWARD PERPETUAL WAR.

HH: Oh, I remember her vividly. She first came to America in 1941, at a time when war, with its accompanying fear and insecurity enveloped our country. As a comic book character, she was accessible and popular.

LS: Yes. Remember how she helped the downtrodden, saved the weak, promoted Democracy and represented Justice? Time after time, she battled for us and triumphed over every villain and enemy. She was my role model. And, oh, how I loved her.

HH: Ahh, we were a lot more innocent in those days. And was it then, after you explored your connection with Wonder Woman that you reached to other cultures to make more connections with your Knights?

LS: Yes, I saw a full-length feature animation of Princess Mononoke and felt a similar connection to my sculpture. It was nothing I could have planned. Princess Mononoke is another Warrior Woman--a girl, actually—but this time from Japanese anime. She is fearless in protecting the environment.

HH: Yes. She’s a real favorite of mine. Her character and film became popular at a time when Japan was in a relentless pursuit of economic development at the expense of the environment, and against all that was important and central to the traditions of the country.

LS: Yes, Mononoke confronted evil on behalf of humanity, in spite of her vulnerabilities as an adolescent.

HH: So now you related your Knights to two popular culture figures and we’ve brought the discussion back to the anime that we briefly mentioned at the beginning of the conversation.

LS: Yes, both Wonder Woman and Princess Mononoke helped in my conversation, if you will, with my Knights. I felt by revisiting them, I was better able to understand my reasons for making my sculpture.

Fig. 55. Wonder Woman, Princess Mononoke and Kannon. Fig. 56. Wonder Woman with Knight of Tomorrow 542

HH: And then at some point you felt that Wonder Woman and Princess Mononoke were too specific and representational, and, therefore, didn’t tell the whole story of your Knights. Right?

LS: Exactly. My Knights were more abstract and archetypal. In my sculpture, I sought a more timeless symbol, one that referred to an archaic presence existing for centuries. So what did I do? I began researching for such an historical or religious figure, one that made generations feel protected and safe. The key words for me were protection and safety. I looked for one that promised salvation and deliverance from problems, a sense of morality, a role model. And soon I discovered Kannon.

HH: Yes. Kannon is the Japanese name for the Buddhist Bodhisattva or goddess of mercy and compassion. The Bodhisattvas are sworn to delay their own salvation until all other beings have been saved. Like all Bodhisattvas, Kannon has theoretically transcended sex, but throughout East Asia is frequently represented as an androgynous or female savior, sometimes with many heads and arms that bear symbols and weapons. You have added Kannon as a third symbol of protection. So now, Linda, you are using these three as a reference in your current sculpture?

LS: Yes, because I needed to understand my creative process and chose Kannon, Wonder Woman and Princess Mononoke, three figures from tradition to help me to understand this (fig.55).

HH: And this is the part I find the most fascinating. As I see it, as an historian of religions, struggle is central to your creative process. When the events on 9/11 happened, you were totally shaken and unconsciously you found yourself in need of some referent to help you make sense of these events as they related to your long-term focus on protection and safety. You then reached into traditional and popular culture for ideas and images to help you make sense of your own situation. You were rebuilding yourself from your need for protection by infusing yourself with strength. These female icons, if we may call them that, may have helped you to find the visual representations you needed in order to rebalance and continue to make art.

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Fig. 57. Knight Twist 562. 2006. wood. 60” x 19” x 7”

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LEFT: Fig. 58. Asian Armor 560. 2006. wood. 49” x 19” x 7”ABOVE: Fig 59. Heroic Inspiration Montage 569. 2006. 6” x 7.5”

LS: Perhaps, for me, these three archetypal symbols of strength, protection and morality merge with the fourth figure of my Knight sculpture and a fifth figure, which is me. I tried to express this visually in a montage, and with a short QuickTime movie I made called Heroic Inspiration.8

HH: Are you aware of all of this while you are creating your sculpture?

LS: Well, not really. In fact, I listen to mostly nonfiction books on tape while I do my art, preferably biographies. Frankly I’m not exactly sure what propels me to get there. Though I think I am in charge of what I do, I don’t really have as much control as I might think. I can create my own world. I can make things big or small or blue or purple. And so I may feel I am in the driver’s seat. But, you know, I might really just be the chauffeur responding to an internal voice that pushes me to turn right, left or go straight ahead.

Fig. 60. (K)night Figure 470 (also see Fig. 3.) and Poem of 2004

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HH: This bottom part, the pelvic area, certainly seems shield-like to me. Talk about your other sculptures.

LS: Well, others, like Knight of Hope 552 (fig. 61), Knight of Plenty 553 (fig. 13), Knight of Dreams 531 (fig. 62), Knight of Triumph 530 (fig. 15), seem more archetypal to me, perhaps because they are more androgynous. In their abstractness, they encompass all my thematic goals as an artist in this Warrior-Woman series, including having an archaic or ancient feel, without being as time-specific or contemporary as Quiet Strength 472 (fig. 53). But this is how I feel when I look at my work. The viewer might feel differently.

Fig. 61. Knight of Hope 552. 2005. wood, metal, stone. 79” x 21” x 14”

HH: Well, let’s shift gears here and have you talk about the individual sculptures. How do they differ for you as the creator? Does each Knight express a different aspect of protection?

LS: They have different personas as I am creating them, but much of the time, as I said, I am not aware of this as I work. After they’re completed, they each may take on a “personality” for me, or bring to mind certain characteristics, such as fragility or power. For instance, it was after creating (K)night Figure 470 (fig. 60, 3) that I wrote:

A Figure Naked albeit Vested in FineryDefenseless ArmoredVulnerable Invincible.A Monument Sewing Template Gesture ofLife’s Tease Random Precise.A Warrior Still yet CommandingThrust into Battle Strength Fragility.

HH: Can you tell us more about this sculpture?

LS: As I look at this sculpture and let my eyes travel up and down its materials and textures, I feel that the upper portion, which is raw, stained wood, is naked and exposed. It reminds me of a sewing model before being draped with fabric by the tailor. The black leather, on the sculpture’s left side, feels more confrontational to me, as it transitions to the lower part and prepares me for the take-no-prisoners toughness and grit of the lower, shield-like part, which is a burst of all kinds of metals. To me (K)night Figure 470 also demands a visceral as well as a visual response. I see the inside, the guts of the figure.

HH: Knight of Winged Words 524 (fig. 3) is very powerful to me, and yet very elegant at the same time.

LS: When I gaze at it, I have the feeling of being in the presence of a soldier who is “at attention” while being ribboned and honored, perhaps for saving a town from attack. I like its feminine curves and its androgynous strength.

HH: Your use of letters and calligraphy is very intriguing to me. I see how you fuse words into your work. Where did this interest in writing come from?

LS: Since childhood, I have loved calligraphy and writing. I used to pester my sister and parents as I created and changed my handwriting. I spent hours and hours deciding how to sign my name. I even worked as a sign painter and owned a calligraphy business. In Calligraphic Knights 548 and 549 (figs. 48. 49), limited edition prints, I used torn pieces of envelopes addressed in fine calligraphy. Here’s another example of my fascination with contradictions. On the one hand I want my work to be timeless, abstract, ancient, archetypal, and at the same time I’m using specific, time-bound elements of everyday life: coins, keys, license plates, hardware, and calligraphy plates on copper, zinc, steel, magnesium and brass.

HH: I find that there is an enigmatic quality to your having the embedded words both in hard metal and in reverse.

LS: Well, you probably know that printing plates must be in reverse, so that when they are pressed onto the paper they will appear correctly. I like the semi-legibility of this reversal. I’ve called many of my sculptures Glyphs, because the word brings to mind an ancient writing system. It would ruin it for me if the words were complete and totally accessible.

HH: So then, in looking at your sculpture, I see exquisite writing but cannot easily read it. In a way, it makes it more magical.

LS: Yes, art can indeed be magical. 0

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RIGHT: Fig. 62. Knight of Dreams 531. 2005. wood, stone, metal. 51” x 15” x 7”

Selected Solo Exhibitions 2008 LINDA STEIN – THE POWER TO PROTECT: SCULPTURE OF LINDA STEIN, Longstreth Goldberg Art, Naples, FL (scheduled)2007 LINDA STEIN – THE POWER TO PROTECT: SCULPTURE OF LINDA STEIN, Nathan D. Rosen Museum, Boca Raton, FL (scheduled) LINDA STEIN – THE POWER TO PROTECT: SCULPTURE OF LINDA

STEIN, Queens College Art Center, NY (scheduled)2006 LINDA STEIN – KNIGHTS, SOFA, Chicago, IL; Longstreth Goldberg Art LINDA STEIN---WOMEN WARRIORS: THE YIN AND YANG, Flomenhaft Gallery, NY LINDA STEIN--HEROIC SCULPTURE, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, Jim Thorpe, PA LINDA STEIN - WONDER WOMAN REBORN, The Art Mission Gallery, Binghamton, NY LINDA STEIN - HEROIC VISIONS, Longstreth Goldberg Art, Naples, FL 2005 LINDA STEIN - “(K)NIGHT WATCH,” New York University, Broadway

Windows, NY2004 LINDA STEIN - THE FACE: AN OBSESSION (three decades), Morgan Gallery, Smith College, Northampton, MA1998 LINDA STEIN SOUNDING BLADES, Spiva Art Museum, Joplin, MO1996 MUSICAL BLADES, Cortland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown, MA1994 LINDA STEIN BLADES, Jamaica Arts Center, Queens, NY1991 BLADES: TRANSCENDING AGGRESSION, Monmouth County Arts Center, NJ BLADES: REVERSING VIOLENCE, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Window on Broad, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA BLADES: A PSYCHOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT, Fairleigh Dickenson University, Edward Williams Gallery, NJ BLADES IN NEW YORK: A MULTI-MEDIA ENVIRONMENT, Soho 20, NY1989 STEIN ENVIRONMENTAL EXCAVATION, Becton Hall Gallery, Fairleigh Dickenson University, NJ STEIN EXCAVATION, Presented by mayor-Elect David Dinkins, gallery of Manhattan Borough President, NY1988 CHAIRS AND OTHER CONSTRUCTIONS, Borough of Manhattan Community

College, NY1977 PROFILE, Gallery Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL1975 CONSTRUCTIONS, Gallery North, Scarsdale, NY

Selected Two Person or Group Exhibitions2004 WREATH INTERPRETATIONS, Arsenal Gallery, Central Park, New York, NY BOX SHOW, Concepto Gallery, Brooklyn, NY SMALL WORKS SHOW Gallery Merz, Sag Harbor, NY SMALL WORKS, Boltax Gallery, Shelter Island, NY2001 OVERVIEW, Blue Gallery, Santa Fe, NM2000 TEXT: WORD AND IMAGE, Firehouse Gallery, Nassau Community College, NY DEALER’S CHOICE, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY1999 GALLERY ARTISTS, Nabi Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY METHODS & MATERIALS, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY1998 BRIDGE: NEW YORK, Sakai City Museum, Japan POINT, LINE & PLANE: DRAWING AND SCULPTURE, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY1997 TO THE END AND BEYOND, Nabi Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY DIMENSIONS, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY SHOWCASE EXHIBITION, The Alternative Museum, NY YOUNGER ARTISTS, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, NY DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, Millennium Gallery, East Hampton, NY1996 FORM AS FUNCTION, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY THE ALJIRA NATIONAL 2, Aljira Contemporary Art Center, Newark, NJ1995 LINDA STEIN / NANCY GROSSMAN, Cortland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown, MA BOXED AND BOUND, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY A MATTER OF SYNTHESIS, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY SACRED AND PROFANE, Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY1994 CONSTRUCTIONS, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, NY1992 IN THE TRADITION II, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, NY THE NEUROTIC ART SHOW II, Artist’s Space, NY INVITATIONAL, Art in General, NY BLADES & CHAIRS, Novo Arts Gallery, Boca Raton, FL1991 TOTEM, Curated by Timothy Eaton, Museum of Boca Raton, FL (catalog) INTERIOR IMPULSE, Curated by Howard McCalebb, Aljira Contemporary Arts Center, NJ1990 WOOD: THE EXTERNAL MEDIUM, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, NY PUBLIC MIRROR, Clocktower Gallery, NY BAD GIRLS, Curated by Corrine Robins, Aljira Contemporary Arts Center, NJ 1989 EXCAVATIONS Campe Gallery, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, VA FROM TOOL TO MYTH, Curated by Fred Wilson, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Triplex Gallery, NY1988 REVIEW / PREVIEW III, Aljira Arts, NJ1987 THE WREATH: INTERPRETATIONS, Arsenal Gallery, NY1986 AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY WOMEN ARTISTS, Galerie Triangle, Washington, DC, (catalog) TRIBUTE TO GREATNESS, Essex Community College, NJ (catalog) THE LIVING ROOM, INVITATIONAL, Fourteen Sculptors Gallery, NY1985 REVIEW ’85 / PREVIEW ’86, Aljira Arts, NJ1981 Profile Gallery, NY1978 Radcliffe Gallery, PA1977 Orion Gallery, NY1975 XI International Biennial of Graphic Art, Moderna Galerjia, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (catalog)

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hunterdon Art Center, NJ Bergen County Community Museum, NJ Hudson River Museum, NY Union Carbide, Manhattan1974 Waddington Gallery, London Zella9 Gallery, London Molten Gallery, London Galerie Seder, Paris Nouvelle Gravure, Paris Drexel Gallery, Manhattan

Selected Public Collections and CommissionsPortland State University, Oregon (outdoor commission of three bronze sculptures)Spiva Art Museum, Joplin, MissouriTown of East Hampton, Entrance to East Hampton Airport (outdoor commission)Museum of Boca Raton, FLVirginia Center for the Creative Arts, VAAmerican Savings and Loan Association, Inc., FL (commission)Borough of Manhattan Community College, NYBud Merle Associates, FLDimensional Builders & Associates, Inc., FL (commission)Hamilton Realty Corporation, MAJenny Curland Associates, Inc., FLNational Home Builders & Development Corporation, MANewark Public Library, NJRockland National Bank, NY

EducationMaster’s Degree, Pratt Institute, NYBachelor’s Degree (Cum Laude), Queens College, NYPratt Graphics Center, NYArt Students League, NYSchool of Visual Arts, NY

Selected Press: Newspapers, Magazines & Journals 2006 October 16, Newsweek, Behind the Schemes, by Devin Gordon, pp.74-75.

October 13, Downtown Express, Falling for Borat: Tribeca Artist Details The Big Dupe, by Linda Stein, cover and pp.29-30.

October 9, New York Post, The Borat Trap’s Big Catch: How a fake Kazakh fooled a feminist, by Andrea Peyser, p.11. June 21, Times News, Something for everyone at new Jim Thorpe exhibit, by Karen Cimms. May, ARTnews, Vol. 105, No. 5, Linda Stein, Longstreth Goldberg Art, Naples, FL, by Donald Miller, pgs. 171-172. Summer, CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, Vol. 23, No. 2, Essays by Stein, Front and Back Cover with color photos, pp. 75-79, includes four photographs. May-June, Harvard GLR/Worldwide Magazine, Vol. XIII, No. 3, “Linda Stein: Sculptor of the Warrior Woman,” Linda Stein interviewed by Dr. Helen Hardacre, Text and 4 color photos on pp. 30-31 April 6, Press & Sun Bulletin, color photo on cover of “Good Times” Entertainment section, “Artist Chat Tonight” text and photo on p. 3. Spring, The Bridge, Vol. 1, Issue 4, “Sculpture evokes benevolent power,” text and photo on p. 34.2005 August 5, Dan’s Papers, “South O’ the Highway (and the North too),” by Ally, pg. 43 July, The East Hampton Star, “Linda Stein: An Artist of Contradictions,” by Sheridan Sansegundo, Arts Section Cover (C1) with color photo, with text and smaller black & white photo on page C5 May 13, Dan’s Papers, “Max Ernst, Eric Fischl and Linda Stein in New York,” by Marion Wolberg Weiss, pg. 56 November HLFQuarterly, Vol. 6, No. 3, “Knights, A Sculpture Series After 9/11,” by Linda Stein. Cover & pgs. 39-53, 11 color photographs including cover.2004 December 10, Dan’s Papers, “Art Commentary,” by Marion Wolberg Weiss, pg. 66, 1 photograph August 13, Dan’s Papers, “Summer in the City: An Art Critic’s Journal,” by

Marion Wolberg Weiss, page 83, 1 photograph July/August Inside OUT, “Art Scene - Linda Stein” Cover & p. 30, 2 color

photographs, including cover. January HLF Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 1, “Intrigued by the Face” by Linda Stein. Cover & pp. 40-60, 20 color photographs including cover.2003 September 26 Dan’s Papers, “Art Commentary” by Marion Wolberg Weiss, p.49 2001 January A&U Magazine, “Writing a History of Tears,” by Lester Strong, pp. 38- 45, photograph2000 Winter HLF Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 4, “The Machete Blade: An Artist’s Search for Security & Strength”, by Linda Stein, Cover and pg. 43-62 & 148, 16 photographs, including cover1999 December 10 Dan’s Papers, “Art Commentary,” by Marion Wolberg Weiss, p.47 November 25 The East Hampton Star, “At the Galleries”, by Sheridan

Sansegundo, p. III-4, photograph November 25 The Sag Harbor Express, “Nabi’s Greatest Hits”, p.11, photograph November 24 The East Hampton Independent, “Nabi Gallery”, p. B8, photograph April 8 The East Hampton Star, “From the Studio,” by Rose C.S. Slivka April 4 The New York Times, “Art Review, Guild Hall,” by Phyllis Braff, Museum

p.6, photograph 1998

August 21 The Joplin Globe, Missouri, “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” Cover, pp. 1D & 8D

July 23 The Southampton Press, Southampton, “Dazzling Celestial Sculpture,” by Eric Gershon, p. B9, photograph

June 11 The East Hampton Star, East Hampton, “Art Is Up At The Airport,” by Sheridan Sansegundo, Arts Section III Cover, p. III-4

June10 The Independent, East Hampton, “Curious as to What This Is?” p. B13, photograph

May 20 The Independent, East Hampton, “Airport Sculpture Finished,” by Steve Ferrari, p. 8

May 12, Town of East Hampton Press Release, “Stein Completes Airport Commission for Outdoor Sculpture”

March 3 Downtown Express, Manhattan, “Curves of a Machete Central to the Art of Linda Stein,” by Traci Kampel, p.12; Includes one photo

1997 September 3 The Independent, East Hampton, “My Blades Are My Body Guards,” by Linda Stein, p. B12, includes one photograph1996 Fall Women’s Caucus for Art, National Update, Vol. 7, No.3, “Blades Are My Bodyguards: Why I Make Machete Blade Sculpture,” by Linda Stein, p. 4, includes two photographs October 3 Provincetown Banner, “Bladed Boom Box 277,” p. 20, includes one

photograph1995 Winter 1995/96 Calyx Art & Literary Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 2, “Linda Stein: Machete Blades and Beyond,” by Marcia Newfield, p. 75-79; includes four photographs1994 October The World and I, “Machete as a Medium: The Art of Linda Stein,” by Stephen Henkin, pp.144-149, includes four color and one black & white photograph April 19 The Village Voice, Vol. 39, No. 16, “Is Bad Good or Bad?” by Arlene

Raven April 3 The New York Times, “Transforming Machetes into Works of Art” March 20 New York Newsday, “Entertainment Best Bets,” by Greg Gattuso1993 May/June New Directions for Women, Vol. 22, No. 3, “Sculptor Recreates What Scares Her,” by Marcia Newfield, p. 17.1992 April 5, The News (Boca Raton - Delray Beach - Boynton Beach - Deerfield

Beach), “Unusual Furniture”, by Skip Sheffield.1991 Sept/Oct Art Papers, “Totem,” Vol. 15, No. 5 by Chris Hassold, p. 38.

July 11 Boca, FL, “Modern Totems Charged with Primitive Power,” by Diane Scott, p.11.

July 8, The News, Boca Raton, (also Delray, Boynton, Deerfield) FL, “Totem” Opening Draws Impressive Crowd to Museum,” by Sarah Pollak, p. 8.

June 30, Sun-Sentinel, FL, “Primitive Art Conjures Up Familiar Faces,” by Roger Hurlburt.

June 21, The Palm Beach Post, FL, “Primitive and Powerful,” by Gary Schwan, p.25.

June 23, Sunday Star Ledger (Newark, NJ), “Furniture Isn’t Taken for Granted at Exhibition,” by Eileen Watkins.

June 21 News Transcript, NJ, “Sculptor Turns Weapons into Original Works of Art,” by Kathleen M. Horan.

June 3, The News, Boca Raton, (also Delray, Boynton, Deerfield) FL, “Stein Exhibit Opens at Boca Museum of Art,” by Sarah Pollak, Cover, p. 18, 20.

May 8 Art Matters, Philadelphia, PA, “Education Matters,” by Peter Helfrich. March 22 Star Ledger, Newark NJ, “Art,” by Eileen Watkins.

Feb 16 Week Ahead, Fairlawn, NJ, “Linda Stein.” Feb 13 Hackensack News, Garfield, NJ, “Linda Stein to Open Blade

Exhibit.”1990 Mar 4, The New York Times, “Two Shows, ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘Personal Visions’,” by Vivien Raynor. Feb 25, Sunday Star Ledger, Newark, NJ, “ ‘Bad Girls’, ‘Personal

Visions’ Present Women’s Works,” by Eileen Watkins.1989 Dec 1, Star Ledger, Newark, NJ, “Environmental Excavation.” Nov 24, Dateline Journal, “FDU Hosts Stein Sculptures.” Nov 21, Observer, “Sculpture Exhibit at FDU”. Nov 15, South Bergenite, “Sculpture Exhibit to Open at FDU’s Becton Gallery.”1987 Dec 17 New York Newsday, “Nouveau Wreath,” by Avery Hunt, p. 10-11.1981 Feb 9 Boca Raton News, “Artist Uninhibited by Dimensions,” by Skip Sheffield.

Selected Essays for Exhibition Catalogs2004 JOAN MARTER - Sculptures by Linda Stein. SHERRILL REDMON - Introduction for Exhibition Catalog for Morgan Gallery, Smith College: Linda Stein, The Face: An Obsession, Three Decades. LINDA STEIN - Notes on My Obsession. Essay for Smith College Exhibition Catalog. 47 Pages, 44 Color Images. SALLI ZIMMERMAN - Exhibition Catalog for Linda Stein.2002 JOAN MARTER - Linda Stein: Portraits in Mood (Also in Smith College Catalog, 2004).1999 MARCIA NEWFIELD - Power & Vulnerability: The Art of Linda Stein.1998 PHYLLIS BRAFF - Stein’s Outdoor Sculpture Welcomes Visitors to the East Hampton Airport. LISA PANZERA - Stein Outdoor Airport Sculpture.1994 LESTER STRONG-BLADES by Linda Stein. 1989 CORINNE ROBINS - Linda Stein’s Sculptures. ROBERT CRADDOCK - REGARDING THE ART OF LINDA STEIN. DR. RONNY COHEN - Linda Stein BLADES. GEORGE W. STAEMPFLI - Linda Stein.

Selected TV, Radio and Film2006 November, Linda Stein appears in “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” Twentieth Century Fox. Week of October 16, Linda Stein scheduled to appear on “Inside Edition,” Fox TV October 9, Linda Stein interviewed on CNBC, “The Big Idea” by Donny Deutch. April, Linda Stein interviewed on “The New Yorkers,” Channel 26.2005 June, “Linda Stein’s Sculpture,” LTV Long Island Television, 50 minute interview by Haim Mizrahi., May, “Truth for a Change” - Cable Channel 34, Produced by Joseph Friendly, 18 Minute airtime of interview with Stein at Broadway Windows.2004 November, “Truth For a Change” - One hour filming, by Joseph Friendly, of Stein’s Studio & event honoring Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, Reaching Critical Will (WILPF), United for Peace and Justice, Western States Legal Foundation, Women In Prison Project.1997 September, “Linda Stein’s Sculpture,” LTV Long Island Television, 1 1/2 hour interview by Frazer Dougherty.1996 October,” Linda Stein’s Sculpture,” Provincetown Radio, interviewed by Cy Fried. December, “Stein’s Sculpture,” WGBB Long Island Radio, interview by Marcia Rosen for A Woman’s Success.1989 November, “On The Line”, WNYC Radio, Linda Stein, Nan Goldin and Holly

Fig. 63. Self Portrait. 1964. crayon on paper. 22” x 17”

Fig. 64. Self Portrait with Blades. 1993. phototgraph. 8” x 13”

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6. Fig. 36:a. Softcurve 312. 1998. wood, stone, metal. 19” x 18” x 8”

Barnet Collectionb. Dance 200. 1991. wood, metal. 20” x 28” x 10” c. Corkscrew Sweep 285. 1997. wood, metal, fiber, stone. 13”

x 30” x 6” Cook/Coss Collectiond. Slow Motion 192. 1990. wood, metal. 39” x 55” x 37”e. Electric Guitar 202. 1991. wood, metal. 34” x 27” x 9”

Schweitzer Collection f. Xylo Twist 271. 1996. wood, metal, stone, xylophone. 27” x

28” x 16” Roizen Collectiong. Violin Arc 198. 1991. wood, metal, stone. 37” x 32” x 7”

Stelboum/Stephens Collectionh. Xylo 351. 2000. wood, metal, stone, xylophone. 23” x 24”

x 6” Sanders/Warshow Collectioni. Boom Box 277. 1996.wood, metal, musical box with

batteries. 42” x 31” x 12”j. S-Curved Shield 290. 1997. wood, metal. 17” x 25” 7”k. Flight 191. 1990. wood, metal. 56” x 49” x 33”

7. See Calyx, Summer 2006, Volume 23, Number 2, p. 51.8. In Heroic Inspiration 568, 2006, a one-minute QuickTime movie,

Stein plays with fusing her three cultural figures along with her Knights sculpture and herself.

Credits

Catalogue Production: Matt LopezCatalogue Editor: Deborah EminCatalogue Photography: D. James Dee, New YorkFig. 65 Photography: Bert Miller, FloridaCatalogue Printing: Triple Crown Printing, FloridaEdition: 10,000ISBN: 978-0-9790762-0-6

Exhibition Coordinator: Eleanor FlomenhaftFlomenhaft Gallery, New York

2006 Linda SteinAll rights reserved

Notes

1. Dr. Joan Marter is Distinguished Professor of Art History, Rutgers University. She is a member of the International Association of Art Critics, USA Section.

2. Stein admits to being “super-organized,” and for many years she has added numbers to the titles of her art to help with cataloguing and archiving her work.

3. Dr. Helen Hardacre is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University. She is the author of seven books and numerous articles.

4. For more of Stein’s writings on dreams, see HLF Quarterly, Winter, Haworth Press, Vol. 1, No. 4, “The Machete Blade: An Artist’s Search for Security & Strength,” pp. 43-62. Also see Blades, a 10-minute video that Stein created with Tom Zafian who was the Director of Photography for this sensual film.

5. In Stein’s capriccio for her Excavations series, she has a number of made-up stories describing a long-lost tribe which existed many civilizations ago. For the VCCA exhibit in 1989, she wrote:

The tribe of men and women who created these scepters and the triumvirate of oracle pieces (of which we have two) came late to the site. They were originally a nomadic people with great skills at weaponry and tool making. Over the generations they turned from a war-like existence to a peaceful agrarian way of life in which all members of the community were valued equals, and the natural elements were treasured as parts of a sacred whole. The excavated sculptures in this exhibition were re-workings of tools and weapons into ceremonial forms that have become symbols of protection that celebrated rites and passages experienced by the tribal community. They were used mainly in ritualistic dance during communal fetes. The cases used to house and transport these scepters were venerated as well, especially those incorporating Glyphs revealing important places and events.

In this exhibition, the description on the gallery wall next to Intrigue175 was:

This curved and convoluted scepter was used in the most sacred and holy of ceremonies, the resurrection ceremonies of the beginning of spring Heavy and portentous, this piece embodied the animism so central to the beliefs of this culture. The scepters, when held, seemed to come alive in the arms of the bearer, to take on a life of its own, indeed to dominate the proceedings. This scepter embodied the spirit of health, joy and safety.

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Fig. 65. Stein at a Museum. 1970s.

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THIS PAGE: Fig. 67. Heroic Vision 561. 2006. wood, metal, stone. 21” x 6” x 3” Three larger-than-life bronze sculptures have been chosen as the central outdoor commission for the $4 million “Walk of the Heroines” at Portland State University in Oregon. This is the project’s maquette.

BACK COVER: Fig. 68. Knight of Wishing 557. 2006.wood, metal, stone, leather. 48” x 16” x 6”

Fig. 66. Uplifting Moment 565.2006. wood. 76” x 28” x 13”

FLOMENHAFT GALLERYNEW YORK

ISBN: 978-0-9790762-0-6