fonic blast is a line of merchandise 100% inspired by the Sculpture Soup series of sculpture by Maine artist, JBONE. Each sculpture in the series is a celebration of the idiosyncrasies of the English alphabet. With the ability to capture the reader’s attention with ambitious wit, the series holds much potential as an educational vehicle.
What is Sculpture Soup?
Sculpture Soup is a series of sculptures that straddle the intersection of humor and intellect with their expression while celebrating some of the idiosyncrasies of the English alphabet. The forerunner of the sculpture family is Iron e, which was created in early 2013. JBONE had in his possession about five ton of raw material with a rich patina and local history. The iron used in the construction of an industrial penstock had formerly been installed on the bed of the Saint George River in his home town of Warren, Maine. It served as part of the system that allowed the former Georges River Woolen Mill to be powered by the passing water. This mill had previously been the economic engine of the small town for over a hundred years.
JBONE had a desire to create a sculpture that would not only express the beauty of the raw material and all that it represented, but, also capture and celebrate some of the influence that spending time in the abandoned penstock had on countless teens growing up in Warren.
The original Iron e still at the Work In Progress stage……how much do you love that natural texture??
Over the next few months multiple possibilities were entertained. Then JBONE began to play with the word “iron”. Once the connection to “irony” was sparked JBONE knew he was closing in. Suddenly the two different subjects being celebrated were enhanced with the observation that one of those very teens spending time in the penstock would appropriate this very material decades later to create fine art. This sculpture created with the raw iron from the penstock in the form of a lower case e wrapped it all up very nicely. Here is Iron e still warm from the studio in May of 2013.
Response to this sculpture was overwhelmingly positive and immediately viewers would comment “You should do the whole alphabet!”. JBONE was reluctant at first, however, it wasn’t much more than a few weeks before he began conceiving other letters in his head.
This process was applied through the entire English alphabet; the form of each letter in upper or lower case would influence the form of each sculpture, the phonics of the pronunciation of each letter would be contained in the title of each sculpture, and lastly, a twist of humor was typically introduced in the form of pun, euphemism or entendres. Beyond that, JBONE deliberately created the sculptures with a wide range of raw materials and methods of process. It was now “Game On”.
As fate would have it, the vowels were a straight forward group of letters to begin with. JBONE was taught that the vowels were A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. So, he figured Y Knot include the Y. Before 2013 came to an end JBONE had a sculpture to represent each vowel in the alphabet.
Original members of Sculpture Soup consisted of the vowels. In this early image Cheery O and Y Knot have not been painted yet.
An upper case A was formed with steel window sash salvaged from the American Can Company in Portland, Maine. A piece of glass was fit in the triangle above to create Sash A.
Utilizing the cross-section of an I-beam for the form, JBONE welded directly on the surface of the web of an I-beam the details of an eye ball and blood vessels to create Bloodshot I.
Welding four exhaust elbows together to create a donut, JBONE applied a wide smile and eyes to create Cheery O. He would go on to paint the O a Caucasian skin color and colored the eyes blue as a tip of the hat to European chaps saying “Cheeri-o”.
A form in the shape of a U was used to lay and arrange a wide variety of screws when creating Screw U.
And, remember JBONE’s theory on inclusion of the Y…He took a chunk of #8 re-bar that was also salvaged from the American Can Company and tied it up to create Y Knot. Not an easy task…..the stars were lined up that day.
Over the course of three years the entire alphabet was created and in September of 2016 JBONE’s fresh series of pop art known as Sculpture Soup was introduced to the world with a self-curated solo show at The Emery Community Arts Center at the University of Maine in Farmington. The exhibit featured over forty sculptures, showcased indoors and out, and lasted for two full months with JBONE traveling to Farmington on several occasions to answer questions and get a sense of reaction in real time.
Sculpture Soup was met with much interest and enthusiasm. Viewers were quick to offer critique and three things were very clear.
The exhibit was fresh and captivating
There was an overwhelming sentiment the the series would be a great instructional vehicle in art and English classes
That young and old alike would be anxiously awaiting for merchandise.
Early efforts with this venture will focus on the Iron e and the f-bomb. Art fan and customer feedback will help to determine the order in which new products are introduced. Leading up to the solo show at UMF a small book was published with the series of works in various stages of completion. The plan was to have a second volume published after the show with minimal changes before publishing a spiffed up volume. Stay tuned for that opportunity in the near future. And, there are still some 10” tall f bombs with bases available for purchase. These sculptures are signed and numbered and will stand the test of time!!
Visitors to the Sculpture Soup exhibit at the Emery Community Arts Center at University of Maine at Farmington.