Ideas behind “Cast Shadows”:

1. The process of casting iron is a fleeting event that leaves residue in different ways. Works submitted address this phenomenon in various way.
2. Artists who utilize cast iron produce “permanent” products in iron not only as work unto itself, but also as document to the event.

3. Iron casting process is connected to a long history of metal art, industry, and human history. Cast iron artworks are in a sense living in the shadows cast by this rich past. As well, contemporary artists are casting their own shadows onto those around and into the future.

4. There is a digital relationship between the curators from Illinois and North Carolina. There is a line like a cast shadow from a sundial that goes back and forth between Denton and Akagawa, two gnomon.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

James Dudley


Found Object
Cast iron and steel. 36” x 12” x 10"

Iron casting is about a community of men and women coming together. Artists work together not only to produce finished pieces but also to create dialogue and share ideas that could be passed on. This entails communication through hard work, dedication and a hint of insanity. It is during the pouring of reaction molds that I feel this culminate the most. The intensity of the iron hitting wood and creating such chaos as the metal explodes; though the process is actually ordered and controlled. Most important is that it is shared amongst students, teachers and friends.

Found Object combines my own aesthetic with my love for iron casting and reaction molds. This cast iron piece comes from the first laminated plywood reaction mold I have made, and truly one of the most powerful experiences I have had. I highlight the chaotic surface of the iron in the piece. Much of my work deals with industry’s relationship with nature. This piece shows how despite all efforts of control, the results of the iron are unknown as the metal reacts as it would in nature, violently and uncontrolled.  
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