CHARLES SIMONDS
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was a part of Mental Earth. I asked the artist to write a few words that wouldemphasize the "versatility of clay:' Here is part of his response:The most recent piece that will be in the show, Two Streams, isintended to explore some similar issues as the others you mention.Which to me are "sculptural" issues of, for instance, how to implymore space beyond the object (as if the landscape continues beyondthe configuration of the sculpture itself). Thus, like the others,attempting to offer "glimpses" of a narrative, vignettes of a largerstory in time (narrative) and space (sculptural landscape). The otherscombine these concerns with other content issues as regardsconflations of body, land and energy (twists, smears etc.). Beyondthis, in the show are the other works (two tabletop pieces, GrownWalls, which looks like a flower made of brick walls and a morerecent one, Ruined Blossoms) which explore issues of mixedmetaphors in my work of building and growing .. .. There will alsobe the Growth House drawing from 1975.Two Streams is "a little house for Little People;' a bit more European, more than abit more elegant than the early dwellings Simonds constructed in the East Side ofNew York in the Seventies. It fits its new context, and led me to my final question.I asked Simonds whether he still works in the streets. This was his answer:I still work in the street when I do an exhibition in a new city. Usually Ijust go out and do it without allowing it to be publicized, since if it is, itprovokes souvenir seekers from the art world. In Valencia, I worked inan area called Malverosa, a popular community that still has the oldbuildings that were used to construct and warehouse boats. 21
Growth House. 1975, ink on paper, 25 3/4 x 29 1/2 inchesA seasonally renewable Dwelling made of earthen bricks with seeds in side.As the seeds sprout. growth transforms the built structure; the Dwelling isconverted from shelter to food and is harvested and eaten.ENVOIBecause this is an essay on the thought and art of Charles Simonds, rather thanan art historical treatise, there are no footnotes. Some of the original e-mails,however, are included as an appendix to this catalogue. This is not because thereis no bibliography on Charles, but because he had to have been the source ofthese writings. He is still the source for questions bearing on his oeuvre, which,since he remains a productive artist, comprises works of a kind that early writerson him could not have imagined. As the most recent writer, I have had access tohis most recent thoughts, which are contained in a series of e-mails, respondingto my questions. This has proved indispensable, since the meaning of the centralwork in the exhibition, Mental Earth, could not have been fathomed without thearcane revelations in his e-mail of September 10, 2011. "Mental Earth" would bean ideal title for his work in toto, consisting as it does of clay that embodiesthoughts that at the very least compass philosophy and psychoanalysis. In anycase, thee-mails have been my archive. But in addition, he has given me accessto a kind of artistic autobiography, which casts light on everything he has done.My approach to the work is in the first instance philosophical, and in thesecond art critical. Charles writes in an e-mail that the problem of actionsperformed without volitions has concerned his concept of art making. I havemade it a central question in my system of philosophy, especially in my book,Analytical Philosophy of Action, which has, as its pendant, AnalyticalPhilosophy of Knowledge. It is not that these are authoritative, but only that Iam conversant and sympathetic. It would be the rarest of art historians to havethought about such questions. The same could be said about artists. This makesCharles a singularly original figure in contemporary art. I am deeply grateful tohave had the opportunity to address Charles Simonds' work from within.22- ARTHUR C. DANTO
- Page 2: CHARLES SIMONDSMENTAL EARTHGROWTHS
- Page 7 and 8: This essay concerns the thought and
- Page 10 and 11: I asked Simonds if the distinguishi
- Page 13 and 14: visit him and discuss an exhibition
- Page 15 and 16: elongs with philosophy and religion
- Page 17: Mental Earth, 2002, metal, polyuret
- Page 20 and 21: material (material reality, meant p
- Page 24 and 25: -.&~~~
- Page 27: 26 Two Streams. 2011. metal. polyur
- Page 31: 30 Grown Walls, 2011, wood, plaster
- Page 35: 34Tumbleweed, 1993, porcelain. 9 x
- Page 38 and 39: Structures: Linear, circular and sp
- Page 41 and 42: 40Gallery, Art Department, Los Ange
- Page 43 and 44: 42Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany.
- Page 45 and 46: 44Set and Situations, The Museum of
- Page 47 and 48: 46__ . "Charles Simonds: Le batisse
- Page 49 and 50: SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONSLes Abat
- Page 51 and 52: September 10, 2011Dear Charles,You
- Page 53 and 54: ARTIST'S STATEMENTSFor the man in t
- Page 55 and 56: AFTERWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS54Knoe
- Page 57: 1....\. )OBDLER &- ESTA8·L tSHED 8
was a part of Mental Earth. I asked the artist to write a few words that wouldemphasize the "versatility of clay:' Here is part of his response:The most recent piece that will be in the show, Two Streams, isintended to explore some similar issues as the others you mention.Which to me are "sculptural" issues of, for instance, how to implymore space beyond the object (as if the landscape continues beyondthe configuration of the sculpture itself). Thus, like the others,attempting to offer "glimpses" of a narrative, vignettes of a largerstory in time (narrative) and space (sculptural landscape). The otherscombine these concerns with other content issues as regardsconflations of body, land and energy (twists, smears etc.). Beyondthis, in the show are the other works (two tabletop pieces, GrownWalls, which looks like a flower made of brick walls and a morerecent one, Ruined Blossoms) which explore issues of mixedmetaphors in my work of building and growing .. .. There will alsobe the Growth House drawing from 1975.Two Streams is "a little house for Little People;' a bit more European, more than abit more elegant than the early dwellings Simonds constructed in the East Side ofNew York in the Seventies. It fits its new context, and led me to my final question.I asked Simonds whether he still works in the streets. This was his answer:I still work in the street when I do an exhibition in a new city. Usually Ijust go out and do it without allowing it to be publicized, since if it is, itprovokes souvenir seekers from the art world. In Valencia, I worked inan area called Malverosa, a popular community that still has the oldbuildings that were used to construct and warehouse boats. 21
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