Artist turns trash to treasure

Jonathan Hicks, Staff Writer
Published On: 10/ 7/2008

The saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” springs to mind when viewers step into the Birmingham Museum of Art sculpture pit and investigate the large-scale “junk” pieces by Alabama-born artist Charlie Lucas.
Discarded bike parts, car parts, chains, wires and rusted construction materials are all usable items for Lucas. His found objects at first sight might appear merely bland assemblages or the same old random, haphazard folk art so quickly praised in contemporary art circles, yet prematurely classified as a style of Southern low-brow art.
But it’s actually more than the stereotype. It’s rather personal and a good use of material.
Lucas’ work, a withering account of his past and emotions about social conditions, is dark and rusted in color and appearance, but seemingly unthreatening to delicate sensibilities.
The pieces appear to be other things at first glance, like a set of hubcaps or an ironing board, because that is what they initially are until he places a creative touch on them by turning them into symbolic or literal references to his own family and heritage.
Walking down into the colossal gravel-filled pit, the first piece that will surely catch the eye is titled “The Blue Fish,” which is an amalgamation of found metal scraps and parts that have been welded together in the form of a fish.
A blue board takes on the damaged appearance of driftwood and spans the tail of the fish, helping to enhance his possible aquatic intention.
The piece of essentially more substantial meaning, given its subject matter and the overt nature of the artist to center it around family, is the one titled “My Old Great Grandfather,” a figurative abstract look at Cane Jackson, Lucas’ great-grandfather.
The rust, auburn, and blue colored piece holds a strong vertical center starting from its raised circular base up to its elevated wheel.
The wheels represent the wheels that Lucas’ grandfather made.
Along with family and animal subject matter, there are also expressions of experiences and relationships explored by the artist.
In works like “The Jackson Brothers,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Wild Man,” the artist appears to focus on the details of the material as well as the subject matter.
The metals appear almost completely coated in rust and decay, bringing to the subjects a sense of fragility but permanence.
Overall, the 12 works presented in the museum’s sculpture pit present the viewer with an eye full of recycled memories, encounters with others and a visual abstraction formed into a centered thought and focus.
“Charlie Lucas: The World Through My Eyes” is on display through the Fall.

Email: jonathanm.hicks@gmail.com