John Eden, “Manglers’ Mirrors I & II” 8.75” X 7.5” X 4.25” Two Slate Black Bronze Sculptures 2009-2011

 

Is “Manglers’ Mirrors” Significant?

By John Eden

“Manglers’ Mirrors” is comprised of two separate (sister) bronze wall pieces that are meant to be hung in tandem as a single wall installation. The wall placement is significant in that the empty space between the two elements are equal to each piece’s individual widths, thereby evoking a third, missing center element and they are hung noticeable below eye level. The title “Manglers’ Mirrors” comes from the Nineteenth Century laundry machine used by my father’s great grandmother (who stayed in London) and these pieces are meant to be Janus-style votives to my immediate grandmothers, both of whom were single

parents during the 1930’s (one in Oklahoma and the other from Texas); both worked themselves and their children through those impossible times, doing “woman’s work,” like ironing by the piece at home. In more general art historical terms, the piece references artists’ tradition of depicting women ironing* and more specifically, Man Ray’s ready-made flat iron with nails attached to its face, ironically titled “The Gift”1. and Jasper Johns’ abstract painting titled “Weeping Women.”2. Similar to Johns’ version, my irons’ handles have been abstracted away, leaving identical wall mounted iron shapes with ink black mirror surfaces that reflects downward onto the spectator’s torso, referencing both gender and attention to the viewer’s clothing. I imagine a ‘Laundress’ would always be aware of wrinkles and stains on clothing, reflecting an occupational

tick, like artists who can’t help looking for surface flaws or at the sides of other artists paintings for whatever compulsive reasons. I believe the piece itself can be read, on its own without my assist. When seen in the installation setting, the entirety of the piece clearly reads as a somber memorial on an intimate scale of an in-home devotional. The stark white wall surround, the dual side by side placement, the gothic-like iron shapes that clearly reference the laundry tool, and the reflective black surfaces that mirror each other and their surroundings all conjoin to create reflective portals. This piece wasn’t about achieving victimhood status for the matriarchal members of my family, but rather acknowledging more generally that being in this world requires certain concessions or sacrifices by all, that no one goes through unscathed. I doubt either one of my grandmothers ever felt heroic in any way, they did what was required of them on a modest, day by day basis. I also doubt my family’s story is more unique than most, it’s just that I have taken the time to learn and honor those details. More often than not, we take for granted the realities that could only be our ancestors’ hopes and dreams. I’m intrigued with the notion of sacrifice by one generation to and for the next, which seems to be happening less and less in our narcissistic culture of immediate gratification and family dislocation. As an artist who has experienced repeated political disillusionments during my lifetime, I have become increasingly opposed to art that is predicated on temporal issues that will, over time, lose purchase or resonance due to the fluid nature of the human condition. I am interested in the ongoing artists’ tradition of exploring the elemental aspects of the basic human condition, which is a continuum that I can believe in. It took two years to realize this sculpture; I started it in 2009 and completed it during the fall of 2011. The prototype was constructed from aluminum sheeting laminated to

sculpture foam; it was then shaped, filled in with polyester putty3. and given multiple sanded layers of polyester primer overcoats.4. Finally, the surface was completed with multiple layers of red, then black lacquer on top of which multiple layers of clear lacquer were sprayed to create the illusion of depth.5. A casting mold was then used to duplicate the piece in bronze.6. The problem with bronze casting is that it is very imprecise, in that the surfaces are never absolutely flat and hairline cracks often appear. This project required a great deal of time and effort, grinding down and then adding back material as was necessary to create truly undistorted evenly contoured planes so that the final sculptural pieces could be plated with a flawless Slate Black Chrome mirror-like surface.7.

My Father’s mother; Wynema Brown was born May 23, 1893 in Kanawha, Red River County, TX. Died June 18, 1980, Williams, CA. Seventeen year old Wynema (born into a Northeastern Texas farming family with 6 sisters) was picked up at her family’s farm along the Red River bordering Oklahoma, by a 33 year old “arranged” husband, via horse drawn buggy and driven back to their new home in Liberal, Kansas, on a 10 day trip across 482 miles of what had just become Oklahoma, camping out along the way. My Mother’s mother; Anne Belle Hughes was born April 12, 1898 in Gainesville, Ozark County, MO., Died Nov. 22, 1990 Williams, CA. Buried Vaught Cemetery, Poteau, OK. She raised seven children in Eastern Oklahoma. Her husband, as an todler, was “given away like a dog” (his own words from a local newspaper clipping) to a Choctaw family who treated him well in what was then Indian Territory. He was raised speaking Choctaw and only learned English later as a second language. My mother was just shy of twelve when he died in 1934 from blood poisoning, leaving his widow and their seven kids (five boys & two girls) to fend for themselves during the height of the Great Depression. One year later, FDR's "New Deal" administration decided that ‘excess’ livestock across the nation should be destroyed for whatever policy reasons, 'Government men came out and shot the cow' leaving my grandmother's family without their primary source for milk. Their main staple of buttermilk on cornbread was changed into a more extreme version of a Grapes of Wrath reality of white flour biscuits made from water only with no milk products. This was a major contributing factor for their eventual "Okie Diaspora" to California.

*Louis-Leopold Boilly, “Young Woman Ironing” early 1800’s *Edgar Degas, “Woman Ironing” early 1890’s *Pablo Picasso, “Woman Ironing” 1904

1. Man Ray, “The Gift” 1921 2.Jasper Johns, “Weeping Women” 1975

3. Two photographic views of the sandwiched sculpture foam and aluminum sheeting prototype with studio reflections.

4. A photograph of the polyester primer prototype in the first polished stage 5. A photograph of the prototype with red lacquer that eventually became black.

6. A photograph of one half of the casting mold. A early photograph of one bronze piece with a high polish front surface and rough edges.

7. A detailed photograph of the final bronze sculpture