"I create a provacative tableaux depicting a litter ridden wasteland and the unfortunate that dwell there" Richard J. Hinger
"I create a provacative tableaux depicting a litter ridden wasteland and the unfortunate that dwell there"
Richard J. Hinger
"ECO/Sculpture from discards,recyclables and objects/galore assembled/textured//painted as a social commentary." Richard J. Hinger
' A candy colored clown they call the Sandman tiptoes to my room every night, just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper Go to sleep everything is alright'. Roy Orbison - In Dreams
This series from sculptor Richard J. Hinger, incorporates twenty works, each containing a ventriloquist dummy surrounded by various objects set into assorted vessels including hat, suit, violin, camera and guitar cases, suggesting a sense of journey. With the dummy such as Charlie McCarthy, Jerry Mahoney or Mortimer Snerd as the central character, each work invites you to speculate on its particular circumstances. At closer look it can be noted that each piece is named after a song by Roy Orbison, a unique songwriter who had a tragic life and was known for his melodramatic lyrics and masterful storytelling.
Hinger has used ventriloquist dummies in some of his earlier works and found the result to be eerily provocative, inspiring him to devote a series to them. He uses the cases as a vessel to encapsulate circumstance, emotion and tradgedy in order to tell a story.
"I Close My eyes and I drift away.. into the magic night, I softly say.. A silent prayer.. like dreamers do"
"Social Commentary with found/objects"
To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.
~Schumann
Lehighton Letters is a series of works created for public libraries worldwide by found object sculptor Richard J. Hinger. Works from Lehighton Letters, named after the artists PA birthplace, are on exhibition in London, New York City, Paris, Washington D.C. and 30 other public libraries. These new works are made from salvaged signage letters inlaid with assorted commonplace objects, and spell out inspiring words such as READ, BOOKS, and ART.
Richard J. Hinger, a self/taught artist for 25 years, makes sculptures out of used and discarded items. His Environmental Art has been met with enthusiasm and has captured the attention of people of all ages and backgrounds. The positive response from the libraries and the viewers have been inspiring, and the Lehighton Letters sculptures have spurred an interest in this new form of Eco-Sculpture.
Libraries are cultural centers, and it is very gratifying that my art works can be viewed by all kinds of people through these libraries. My art tells stories that everyone can relate to in their own way. I hope it encourages reading, storytelling, recycling, and creativity while promoting an earth friendly message.
"As a self-taught assemblagist/sculptor, I create vibrant and provocative works of art from the products of mans throw-away culture. I search for commonplace discarded objects and discover unique resources containing collectibles and relics to utilize in the sculptures which then become part of a thematic series. Like the objects I work with, my themes vary considerably, but the common thread of my work is the urgency of visual statements concerning American consumerism, environmental awareness, political icons, and the medias steady search for the newest sensation. Though my work is serious in nature, with the infusion of color, texture, and content, it maintains a whimsical and seductive perspective on Western culture."
"Lehighton Letters 2010 40 libraries with art that inspires Reading, Recycling and ART " Richard J. Hinger
While standing in line at a grocery store, assemblagist Richard J. Hinger spotted a 1-1/2 inch shopping cart magnet. And the found/object wheel in his head began turning. Still captivated by the powerful image of the shopping cart, Hinger couldnt resist but create another series of his ShopAround sculptures.
It was quite a challenge to work in such a minute scale but in time twenty new works were assembled, crusted, tarred and doused in color and gloss.
At any size ShopAround is loud and clear , when giving its message on mass consumption of goods and products. In the ever growing world of mass commerce and hyper/marketing, the Micro Division works still exuberantly convey the artists thoughts and beliefs and the role they play while embedded in rolling displays.
Ranging in size from 3 to 4 inches its hard to tell the scale in the photographed image but the serious whim still remains. At any size, perplexing thoughts and visions are brought to life from these works.
ShopAround Apartment Works is a scaled - down installation of the artists original ShopAround series. The twenty pieces came to life due to the continued need to create after a temporary move from a large studio to a 3-foot by 3-foot patio closet.
I have always loved to create large works for their sheer impact, and it took some adjusting to work on a smaller scale, states Hinger. This was a very satisifying and more accessible series than I anticipated at the advent of its creation.
Like the original series, these unique works resonate to the spend- and discard-syndrome firmly established in our genetic code, and speak to a generation captivated with consumerism. At any size , the sculptures sarcastically scream for your undivided attention and invite you to contemplate our role in our hype-driven, mass consumption of products.
Is your shopping cart full? The ShopAround series proposes this question to an American culture obsessed with consumerism. Created over three years of collecting, assembling, texturing, painting and glossing, artist Richard Hinger uses the shopping cart theme to attract observers and encourage their own interpretation and consideration of the priority we give shopping and the effect it has on all of our lives.
The American Dream is alive and well as long as your shopping all the time, says Hinger.The spend and discard syndrome is firmly established in us, almost as part of our genetic code. We are becoming like human shopping carts. Thats what the sculptures suggest to many people - a metamorphosis into what we do with our lives.
Hinger adds, The carts are symbols of our cultures acquisitiveness, rolling collectors of the latest fashion, the current fad or the next sensational product. The shopping carts are easy to read receptors of our new Buyological Psychoperdium Function which is triggered by the tactile sensation of the shopping cart handle in both hands or the sight of the particularly pleasing image of an e-commerce cart on a new flat screen display.
Our connection to Hingers carts can be uneven and tenuous, or full bore and strong. This series invites us to contemplate our psycho-social connection to the cart and evaluate the extent to which we are engulfed by it.
Welcome to Neon God, a thematic series of found-object sculptures which document and realign our connections to American products and scrutinizes the media’s marketing of culture.
Typewriters, the implanted spine in this series, are the channels for ideas, news, entertainment, and marketing fed by the media. Perverted and manipulated, the information becomes reconfigured into exploitative propaganda. Protests of this phenomenon and of the massive dose of sexual innuendos, encourage use of tobacco and alcohol and the saturation of news by the communications industry are evident in such 3-D pieces as Nicotinus Maximus; See U, See Me; Boozin’ Mc Loozin’; and Brain Drain.
Hinger breathes new life into objects as the packaging oozes from a variety of keyboards, plastered in oscillating textures and intense colors, and depicting the results of sensationalism created by corporate media.
These works prompt us to examine how what we think and value is so intimately tied into our social programming through the media.
."Ive always wanted to reach people from all parts of our society and hope that the work hits close to home with a variety of audiences who are able to draw something meaningful from my work.
Richard J Hinger"
Originated at a center for high school at risk youth, Talkin Trash was created by Hinger with more than 100 student apprentices over a two year period. The students had a profound effect on the series not only naming it, but creating works that express the world as it is seen and lived by them.
The student/artists immediately felt that the art was about the real world. It didnt take long before they were assembling, texturing and painting. They were able to experience how a vision can come to fruition with creativity, planning, focus and teamwork.
Many familiar with homelessness, hunger and rejection and regarded as social castaways themselves, the students were able to take discarded items and create something of meaning and belonging. In undulating textures and vibrant colors of the environmentally conscious works like All in the Dumpster, Waste Deep, Kacti Katie and FiveJiveAlive , you are pulled into a feeling of whimsical discomfort. Humor and irony resonate as you are reminded of how our throwaway habits continue to thrive on many levels regardless of our common social and environmental concerns.
Talkin Trash was a concept the kids could really relate to. It can be a scary world as it is, but imagine being a teenager living on the streets among modern freaks, deviants and predators."Ive always wanted to reach people from all parts of our society and hope that the work hits close to home with a variety of audiences who are able to draw something meaningful from my work."
Installation
in·stal·la·tion noun \ˌin(t)-stə-ˈlā-shən\: a work of art that usually consists of multiple components often in mixed media and that is exhibited in a usually large space in an arrangement specified by the artist
Tableaux
1: a graphic description or representation : picture <winsome tableaux of old-fashioned literary days — J. D. Hart>
2: a striking or artistic grouping : arrangement, scene
3: [short for tableau vivant (from French, literally, living picture)] : a depiction of a scene usually presented on a stage by silent and motionless costumed participants
OdDs aNd EnDs
These are works that fit in no theme or concept. They were created only by the interest in a found object or found thought and thus was
transformed into an artwork. If the work catches some momentum and more works are created then a new series might emerge.
There is no ryme or reason to these works only that they were conceptualized and created by the desire to spin another story with found/objects. This is a fun series for me and I will look forward to seeing a completed series of Odds and Ends.
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