Claudia O Driscoll on thu 6 feb 97
The ceramics instructor here is interested in finding out all she can about
the work of Steven Destaebler. She wants to know how he works and
something about the concepts behind his work. Can anyone out there
help us?
Thanks!
claudia (claudiao@clackamas.cc.or.us)
Dannon Rhudy on fri 7 feb 97
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
The ceramics instructor here is interested in finding out all she
can about
the work of Steven Destaebler.
Claudia,
You can find information on him in Art Index, there will be
references to articles, exhibitions, catalogs, etc.
Happens that DeStaebler is (for just this semester) teaching the
sculpture classes at Alfred right now. He taught in California
fo a long time, previously. He grew up in Missouri, spent summers
in Bedford, Indiana when a boy. (All those limestone outcrops
that he looked at seem to be there in his work...).
For some of his early figurative pieces he used to lay huge
slabs of clay out on the floor, get underneath it and push
outward against the clay, forcing the figurative image/suggestion
from beneath to get that emerging sort of image. And he mostly
works from the back pushing out, still. Right now he is working
mostly in bronze, however, because the tensile limitations of clay
were too limiting for some of the things he wanted to do. There
has been something fairly recent in American Ceramics, I THINK...
Dannon
Sandra Dwiggins on fri 7 feb 97
There are several books available on this metal sculptor. I was not
aware that he worked in clay as well. He would be covered in any
survey of 20th century scupture. He does monumental metal--very
exciting surfaces. Try Books in Print/your local library/the art deparment
at your college/university and the college librarian who is the library's art
bibliographer--all these people could be very helpful.
Sandy
Craig Martell on fri 7 feb 97
At 06:58 AM 2/6/97 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>The ceramics instructor here is interested in finding out all she can about
>the work of Steven Destaebler. She wants to know how he works and
>something about the concepts behind his work. Can anyone out there
>help us?
>
>Thanks!
>claudia (claudiao@clackamas.cc.or.us)
Hi Claudia: There was an article some years back in CM about Stephen and
his work. As I recall, it was pretty complete and well written. Check the
Readers Guide to Periodical Lit. in the library for the date of the issue as
I can't remember when it was. But I DO remember reading it. At that time,
Stephen was living in Berkeley, Ca. and was teaching at UC Berkeley. He has
done some huge pieces that are in a BART Transit Station somewhere in the
bay area. There are photos in CM.
Stephen also did an article for CM titled "The Inside of the Outside", which
I thought was very powerful and insightful and will give you an idea of some
of the stuff on his mind. I definitely recommend this article to anyone
interested in inner thoughts expressed as art and the workings of such.
I'll try and locate these articles and pass along the dates, but it might
take some time.
Regards, Craig Martell-Oregon
Vince Pitelka on sat 8 feb 97
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>There are several books available on this metal sculptor. I was not
>aware that he worked in clay as well. He would be covered in any
>survey of 20th century scupture.
Sandy,
I don't know who you are thinking of, but it is not the Stephen DeStaebler
referred to here. He is and always has been a clay sculptor, and it is only
recently that he is focusing on bronze work, as Dannon Rhudy pointed out in
her post today. She has first hand knowledge of his current doings, having
participated in an intensive workshop with him and Doug Jeck at Alfred this
past summer.
DeStaebler's work can be found in some contemporary sculpture surveys, as he
has received considerable attention in the New York art world, including a
major exhibition at the Whitney, but he is still a victim of the general
prejudice against clay sculpture in the mainstream art world.
It is interesting that so many sculptors who are known for work in
traditional sculpture media (bronze and stone, from the precedents of the
Greeks, Romans, and Renaissance Italians) have also worked in clay (Louise
Nevelson, Barbara Hepworth, Picasso, Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore, Alexander
Archipenko, etc.), without any negative effect on their careers, and yet
artists who begin in clay have such a hard time gaining the widespread art
world attention they deserve, even if they shift to traditional sculpture
media. Mary Frank became well-known for her printmaking before her ceramic
sculpture received major art world recognition.
I'm starting to ramble . . . .
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Eleanora Eden on sun 9 feb 97
Hi Vince and All,
DeStaebler did a group of chairs/benches that used to be in the lobby of
the UCBerkeley museum. Hope they're still there I'll be sure to look
for them in April when I get my few days home.
Eleanora
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 eden@maple.sover.net
[the address fga@world.std.com is temporary. My mailbox at
eden@maple.sover.net still works -- do not change address books]
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