Brandon Vickerd
Birdboy
2019

Name: Birdboy
Brand: Brandon Vickerd
Price: 12000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Brandon Vickerd has in the past explored anthropomorphic hybridity and technological impetus through taxidermy and mechanics. For the Wrong Place, Wrong Time exhibition, the artist revisits these themes, this time putting bronze casting in the spotlight. Vickerd imagines anachronistic and incongruous juxtapositions of this material, which is reminiscent of both antique statuary and modern public monuments. These associations provoke laughter or discomfort, and they detonate in the space of the gallery as well as in the urban setting in which a large part of its production is destined. This is undoubtedly where the contextual and temporal inconsistencies evoked by the title of the exhibition reside. Inspired by the material tradition of bronze, the artist relies heavily on references to Greek mythology, which he likes to subvert. With Atlas (2019), Vickerd makes a reversal of the famous story of the bearer of the globe. Rather than bravely supporting the weight of the world, the Titan seems assailed by multiple spheres that hide the top of his body, leaving only his distinguished shoes and his dress pants. The sculpture Flora Hominis (2019) illustrates a transitional state between the human and the plant whose detail evokes the metamorphosis of the nymph Daphne into a tree, once immortalized by Bernini. The artist presents here a fragmentary study of this monument commissioned by the Royal Botanical Gardens of Burlington, Ontario. While the statue aims to honor the founder of the place, the latter is made paradoxically unrecognizable by the vegetation that proliferates on his face. In this way, Vickerd replaces the heroic celebration of his subjects with a partial occultation of their identity. The sculptor deftly adjusts to classic themes the signifiers of the disappointed promises of modernist ideology. On the 50th anniversary of the first US moon landing, Oblivion (Dead Astronaut # 2) (2019) takes a harsh look at the conquest of space. The skull bursting from the astronaut's helmet, along with the US flag emblems and the NASA logo that appear fossilized in the bronze surface, acts as a memento mori of a nation's dream of greatness. The ensemble is simultaneously a relic of the Cold War and the optimism of the last century in terms of technical progress. Through these games of dissimulation and revelation, the artist exacerbates the formal and the thematic tensions at the heart of his sculptures as much as he makes fun of them. The various social outfits that he puts on stage, from the corporate suit and tie to the spacesuit and the riot police equipment (Riot, 2019), suggest the symbolic power associated with these archetypes while signaling their inescapable finality. As such, Vickerd gravitates somewhere between Ovide and Kubrick in his critical exploration of the past and his lucid anticipation of the future.

Creator:

Brandon Vickerd (1977, Canadian)

Creation Year:

2019

Dimensions:

Height: 50 in (127 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)

More Editions & Sizes:

Edition of 2Price: $12,000

Medium:

Concrete

Movement & Style:

Contemporary

Period:

2010-

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Montreal, CA

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU4765349922

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Brandon Vickerd

Brandon Vickerd is a Hamilton based artist and Professor of Sculpture at York University, where he also serves as Chair of the Department of Visual Arts and Art History. He received his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1999) and his MFA from the University of Victoria (2001). Purposely diverse, his studio work straddles the line between high and low culture, acting as a catalyst for critical thought and addressing the failed promise of a modernist future predicated on boundless scientific advancement. Whether through craftsmanship, the creation of spectacle, or humor, the goal of his work is to provoke the viewer into questioning the dominate myth of progress ingrained in Western world views. Vickerd has extensive experience in large scale public art projects that seek to engage a diverse audience. A recent public performance Dance of the Cranes (Edmonton AB and Washington DC ) consisted of a choreographed dance performed by multiple high-rise construction cranes perched on top of buildings in the respective downtown cores. Staged for Nuit Blanche Edmonton and Capitol Fringe in Washington DC, these projects were the culmination of a collaborative partnership with the crane operators and developers that operated on the site. These projects are an example of collaborating with non-arts professionals to develop a project that was meaningful to both the participants and the audience. The resulting performances created the sensation that the entire city became a stage for performance, effectively immersing the audience within the spectacle. Most recently Vickerd was awarded a commission for a permanent installation by the Edmonton Arts Council. The sculpture, entitled Wildlife, consists of two bronze figures that appear to be citizens leisurely going about their day. However, upon inspection the figures reveal themselves to be composed of squirrels, raccoons, foxes, owls, and other animals working together to appear human. Humorously referencing cartoon clichés, this sculpture invites a thoughtful reflection on our relationship to nature. Wild Life challenges viewers’ perceptions by making a seemingly mundane scene extraordinary: an average-looking person morphs into a conglomeration of animals that is both shocking and intriguing and reveals the extraordinary possibilities beneath the mundane we take for granted. Vickerd has received numerous awards and grants from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Arts Council.