All Photos By Gail
If you haven’t yet been to the Gene Autry Museum of the American West, you need to add that to your list of cool things to do when you are in the Los Angeles area, because the place is just amazing (bonus: the museum is located directly across a shared parking lot from the LA Zoo.). I had the chance to explore this history-rich landmark in December, when I was visiting family for Christmas, and I had all kinds of crazy fun.
All Photos By Gail
I didn’t get turned on to the unique sculptural style of John Chamberlain until his Spring 2012 Retrospective at The Guggenheim, at which point Chamberlain had only recently passed away. Chamberlain was best known for his dynamic sculptures created with scrap metal from salvaged cars, which are held in many public collections.
This piece, Dorkdorf (1988) is made from painted and chrome-plated steel and is very representative of his style. At this time this photo was taken (July, 2014) it was on exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, though the piece is privately owned, so there is no telling how long it will remain on public view.
John Chamberlain was considered to be a master of creative re-use and he continues to inspire many artists to use found metal in their art. He died at his home in Manhattan on December 20th, 2011 at the age of 84.