Dan Webb

The work of Dan Webb is one of true mastery of a media.
The three pieces I choose to focus on are all instances of time being frozen and immortalized in the rigid and beautiful static material of wood.  This truly plays with one's mind, able to convince them that the piece is really what it is depicting, were it not visibly crafted out of wood.




The piece titled: Drop is a block of wood 13" by 13" and 15" tall. The top 2 inches is carved into the crowning splash of a water droplet just after it has hit the water. This shot is one that has been attempted to capture in photography may times throughout history and is the most extreme example of a single instant frozen in time.  The realistic nature of the droplet, the use of the rings of the wood aligning with the ripples of the drop, and the thick layer of wood finish over the top makes it seem so fluidic and liquid.
(left)









The piece titled Sleeper is a slab of wood with a regular sized sleeping pillow carved into the top. The pillow has indented on it the impression of a human head, imitating the fleeting moment after one raises their head and the pillow puffs back up into shape. The smoothness of the wood references the malleability of fabric, making it seem as though it will rise back into shape any second.
                              (right)




I Love You is a piece that is a wooden rendering of a foil helium balloon with cursive lettering etched into it spelling "I Love You" on the front.  In the same way that the fabric of Sleeper is so accurately depicted, the creases and crinkles of the foil on the form and the ripples of what would be the seam along the side make the balloon seem so realistic that it looks absolutely weightless. If the piece were to be painted in metallic paint one would never be able to tell that t is cared out of solid wood and is extremely heavy.  Balloons such as these are only inflated for a single day and are afterwards discarded and thrown away, along with however strong of a statement is designed onto it, unless preserved mortally in solid carved fir.





Speaking of the work technically, each of these three works shows a complete mastery of woodcarving as a practice.  This level of depiction is something notable by not only artists, but also anyone with capable knowledge of woodworking as a craft. A simple furniture craftsman or contractor would be able to see these and have a grasp at the sheer amount of time and difficulty in creating this form through these means.
The most astounding part of Dan Webb's work is the contradictory nature of what it appears to be, such as liquid or fabric or weightless, rather than the heavy solid wood one can tell it obviously is.

The most resonatory statement Webb made was his tendency to work 'backwards' from the regular system of creating work. In his years at Cornish he said that he was being taught to create the idea/concept, and then formulate a statement about it and only then begin to create a physical work to get that point across. His natural way was to simply to the physical work, only taking into account the logistical and technical process of creating the sculpture, and let the conceptual aspects form afterwards.  This aligns very well to my own nature, in that I do not really know the meaning behind my work when i first begin to create it, only how i want it to be made. In hindsight, the conceptual value is easier to see after taking into account and experiencing the process of creation.