Feature Articles

October Issue 2002

McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC, Presents Sculptures by Frederick Hart

South Carolinians have the opportunity to celebrate one of their own at a rare exhibit of sculpture by Frederick Hart, one of America's greatest figurative sculptors, at the USC's McKissick Museum. Frederick Hart: A Celebration of Spirit will be on view at the Museum through Jan. 20, 2003. This unprecedented showing of Hart's work will feature 20 of the artist's acrylic, bronze and marble dust/resin sculptures.

The exhibit also will feature nearly two dozen photo and text panels to tell the story of a boy who was raised in post-World War II Conway, SC, was accepted to USC in the ninth grade because of his exceptional test scores and who went on to create some of the nation's most magnificent sculptures. Among these are Three Soldiers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the monumental bas relief Creation, which frames the entrance of the west facade to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Dr. Joan Hinde Stewart, dean of USC's College of Liberal Arts, said the university is fortunate to be able to share an exhibit of Hart's work with students and the state. "Traveling exhibitions of Frederick Hart's work have been rare," said Stewart. "It is a privilege for the College of Liberal Arts and the university to share Hart's sculpture with South Carolinians and to showcase his artistry at a time when there is a resurgence of interest in representational sculpture. Hart's sculpture and vision embody the core classical studies, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education - art, religion, philosophy and history."

A native of Atlanta, GA, Hart was born in 1943 and came to South Carolina at age 3 to live with an aunt in Conway after his mother died. By age 16, he had dropped out of high school and been accepted to USC, where he studied for a semester before moving to Washington, DC, to continue his studies and to work as an apprentice, including several years with the National Cathedral. He worked with master sculptors Giorgio Gianetti, Felix de Weldon (Iwo Jima Memorial), Carl Mose, Don Turano and Heinz Warnecke.

Hart's interest in, and passion for, representational and figurative sculpture was not popular among artists of his generation, who were drawn to abstract art. His vision, skill and artistry were more reminiscent of Rodin and the great Italian sculptors of centuries past than of his contemporaries.

At age 31, Hart won an international competition to carve what would be the most significant piece of American religious sculpture in the 20th century. His task: to carve a series of sculptures for the west facade of the National Cathedral. The Creation Sculptures took Hart 13 years to complete. The massive work features three life-size statues of Adam, Saint Peter and Saint Paul and three relief panels, titled Creation of Night, Creation of Day and Ex Nihilo (literally. "out of nothing").

A maquette, which is a smaller sculpture of a larger sculpture, of "Ex Nihilo will be featured in the USC exhibition. Hart described his masterpiece as a "single expression of creation, as the metamorphosis of divine spirit and energy... the figures emerge from the nothingness of chaos, caught in the moment of eternal transformation."

Hart followed The Creation Sculptures with a very different public sculpture of great historical and social significance. In 1982, he was commissioned by the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial Fund to create a representational sculpture to accompany the contemporary designed Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. His bronze, life-sized sculpture, titled Three Soldiers, features three American soldiers gazing across the lawn at the wall and captures the youth, spirit and innocence of the men who served in Vietnam. A bronze maquette of Three Soldiers is included in the USC exhibition.

Early in his career, Hart experimented with clear acrylic resin, wanting to apply classical principles of sculpting and figurative design to a contemporary media. In time, he mastered the new medium and achieved his goal of "sculpting with light." He patented his revolutionary technique of embedding one clear acrylic sculpture within another.

Hart said he was attracted to clear acrylic resin because of its translucent qualities and spiritual nature. "In stone, the figures emerge from a solid mass," he said. "Here (in clear acrylic) the figures are opaque and disappear into the light, creating a spiritual relationship between light and form and a sense of mystery around being and non-being. The new technology allows for the creation of sculpture made of pure light - the very symbol of Christ."

One of the greatest examples of Hart's acrylic works is The Cross of the Millennium, a magnificent crucifix that he unveiled in 1992 in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church. Five years later, Hart presented a unique casting of the one-third life-sized The Cross of the Millennium to Pope John Paul II in Rome. A cast acrylic of the sculpture will be featured in USC's exhibition. Unlike anything created before, the sculpture captured the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. When looking face on, the viewer sees the star of Bethlehem. Embedded is the figure of Christ crucified on the cross, with his head uplifted, capturing his triumph over death.

Proud of his South Carolina roots, Hart returned to USC in 1993 to receive an honorary degree. Six years later, he died at the age of 56.

For more information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the museum at 803/777-7251, or visit the website at (www.ela.sc.edu/Hart.html).

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