Cast Shadows: Matt Amante

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.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Matt Amante

Mohu Stone

Iron and Walnut, 21” x 10” x 8”

The word, “Residue” captured my attention when reading the description for this show. When thinking about this word and the process of casting iron, the residual effects on my body came to mind. The fumes from iron pours have become more of a concern to me especially when foam is vaporized, as it is in this sculpture. Outside of the effects that vapo-casting has on me, there is also the residue left on the environment. These two concerns highlight the irony and possible hypocrisy of my casting forms like this.

This is a direct reference to “Scholars’ Rocks.” This is a Chinese tradition that dates back to literati artists of the Song Dynasty who select these stones as, “Objects of Aesthetic Contemplation.” They have ties to religion, meditation, and are intended to show reverence for nature. I also intend to make objects that show reverence for nature and have contemplative aspects. The irony stems from the fact that to make this intended compliment towards nature and natural processes, I use a process that potentially harmful to myself and to the environment.