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Printer-Friendly ModeArmatures on display
July 19, 2005 —
The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University is displaying armatures of the late Michigan-based sculptor. The exhibition, "The Armature Revealed," will remain on display until Saturday, Sept. 24.
An armature is a framework that serves as a support core for a clay sculpture and comprises most of the sculptural form's mass. With an armature, a minimal amount of clay can be used and the sculpture is more physically stable.
Fredericks' armatures are composed of various materials. The large scale armatures are composed of wood laths attached to a wooden framework, and shaped polystyrene foam. The smaller armatures are wire skeletal forms wrapped around piping.
After Fredericks' death in 1998, the Museum received most of the contents of his studios, including armatures, as well as tools, equipment, and sculptures.
Dominating the central area of the gallery is Fredericks' full-scale armature of "Black Elk: Homage to the Great Spirit." Composed of wood lathes on a framework, it stands over 13 feet high, the largest of the armatures on display.
Fredericks was commissioned to design a small sculpture of "Black Elk," which was used to raise funds to construct the Tower of the Four Winds in Black Elk-Neihardt Park on the high bluffs west of Blair, Neb. He enlarged the sculpture to full-scale in the late 1990s.
Also included in the exhibition are armatures of some of Fredericks' well-known public works, such as "Star Dream," "Juggler Clown," "Baboon with Baby Chimpanzee," and "God and the Rainbow."
The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum is located in the Arbury Fine Arts Center. Summer hours (through Labor Day) are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the museum at (989) 964-7125.