Sculpting History

     Most sculptures are not interactive.  Most sculptures do not grow, change and mature as they are appreciated by their audience.  Most sculptures do not move.

     Matthew Dehaemers' sculptures are different.

     Dehaemers is a professional sculptor living in Kansas City, Kansas.  He visited Northwest on Jan. 24 for a trio reasons.  He judged the Juried Art Competition. He spoke to two senior sculpting classes about starting life as a professional artist. He also gave a presentation on his work, and his personal philosophy.

     Glen Williams, a professor in the Northwest art department, introduced Dehamers as, "truly talented." Dehaemers finished products are more than just beautiful symbols.  They are living statements whose lives grow due to a truly symbiotic relationship with their audiences.  This unique quality is not by accident, nor is it superficial.  It finds its root in the very first steps of Dehaemers process.

     Dehaemers is often initially inspired by history or recent events. Choosing a topic is only the first step in the process.

      "People think of the finished work as a single art piece, but that piece is really just documentation. It's the result of the process," Dehaemers said. "I do a lot of research. I'll become interested in a point in history or a specific community topic. After that I do a lot of three dimensional drawing in my head.  I start to make little models with simple materials to just give me something I can spin around and look at from different sides. It's interesting, when I show someone a final work I wish I could show them what it was before.  I think people would find it fascinating.  The process is really a big part of what I do."

     This process is a demanding one.  It takes up much of his time.

     "I have a full time job doing the actual work, and then there are all the hours I spend thinking about it," Dehaemers said, "With having a family I have to learn to put a control on that."

     Despite the rigors of his calling, it is one that Dehaemers has always been pulled toward.

     "At home I always had these projects and things made out of whatever I could get my hands on," Dehaemers said. "In elementary we would have drawing contests on rainy days when we couldn't go outside. One day after I'd won one of these contests she asked me, ‘Would you be willing to bring a project to teach your classmates?' So the next day I came armed with paper plates. The idea was to create this rocking horse that would actually rock. Petrified, I got up in front of the class and said, ‘Everybody, fold it in half.' They could all do that. Then I said, ‘Now everybody cut out the body of the horse.' Everybody just looked at me like, ‘what?' That was the first time I really became aware of a difference between me and my peers."

    Since then, it is safe to say Dehaemers has grown as an artist.  He has grown to the point where his art transcends mere aesthetic and becomes part of the people who experience it, and they become a part of it. All art says something, but Dehaemers seeks to create active dialogue with his projects. 

     "I think of people as my art medium, instead of just the physical medium.  A material has its limitations.  With people there's a never-ending possibility, a never-ending opportunity."

     One of the clearest examples of this is Dehaemers' work Significance of Moment.  Significance of Momentis a large head carved from wood.  In the forehead there is a screen that alternates between different interviews Dehaemers' did with Alzheimer's patients. A file drawer extends several feet out the back of the head.  In this drawer are nearly 3,000 folders.  People seeing Significance of Moment are encouraged to make a small donation and then take a folder and fill it with their precious memories that they want to remember.  Some people just write down a few sentences.  Others went so far as to take their folders home and filled them with photographs and trinkets.  These folders are then open to the public to browse through.

     "I set the ball rolling and they add to it," Dehaemers said, gesturing calmly. "I want everybody to layer on their thoughts, both positive and negative.  My goal is not to give people a specific statement.  It's to say, ‘This is what I'm thinking about. What do you think about it?'"

     Dehaemers work is unconventional. He uses his imagination in order to involve people in learning about themselves and each other.  This creates pieces of art that are truly alive.

      "People think about art as stuff in a gallery, but it's a living part of our world," Dehaemers said. "Art is intertwined in everything we do."