A Conversation with Neil Goodman

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If you think you are familiar with Neil Goodman’s large scale sculpture, then Neil Goodman in the Park will prove a revelation. The installation at the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (going on now through October 2011) provides viewers with an opportunity to re-assess the artist’s hand. Goodman placed the five artworks in an open, grassy glade interspersed with trees and flanked by shrubs near the university’s east entrance. In this setting, contrasting with the riotous backdrop of the hedgerow, the sculptures reveal the artist’s attention to detail and his unerring sense of original, articulate composition.

But first you have to find them. Unlike the typical tradition of sculpting from mass, Goodman generally sculpts with a refined line: beautifully controlled and modulated line. Matte black and cast in fiberglass, the artist’s energetic line might recall sumi e brushstrokes, almost calligraphic in their articulation of form against the lush green surroundings. Four of the five pieces are displays of what the artist does best: creating sculptural presence from empty space. Never merely an outline, these linear pieces are forms which define space, and more particularly, volume.

As you approach the open side of Wind, the artwork beckons you forward to step through its open “door,” and hesitate as you stand between the sculpture’s “leaves.” Here, the edges of the sculpture disappear from your peripheral vision and you are forced to crane your neck to follow the line and in this process survey the space – the volume – in which you stand. Of course, this piece, like several others in the group, works as a framing device as well, providing a focus for our gaze as we survey the installation.

Ray and Alcance (translated from Spanish, Alance means ‘Reach’) are the two most clearly related works. While Ray appears pyramidal, it is actually missing a third “foot”; Goodman has casually referred to the piece as “jaws” and the gaping opening could be a stand-in for a toothless Great White’s grin. Unlike Wind, the scale of Ray discourages entry; the space is uncomfortably angular and the apex of the vertical section stands at about the height of an adult. Here again, the artist has orchestrated our physical response to space and implied volume.

However, Alcance is different altogether. It is significantly larger and its legs, catching the light on their curved flanks, seem to pulse. Modulated edges hint at interior movement of water or, perhaps, the growth pattern of some sort of stalk. Where Ray is all about open angles, Alcance is all about closing in, as if the piece is about to snap shut when we venture too close or too far inside. Its cantilevered, acute triangles seem to push the limits of self-support to the point of uncomfortableness.

Other works provide formal contrast. Ballast is almost the anti-Goodman work. Visually heavy, massed, and repeating, the piece makes formal reference to Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column — though without directly quoting it. Four Corners builds on the simple theme of shifting the center of gravity of an ‘X’, creating movement and surprise as you examine the many interrelationships of form that occur as planes and lines overlap, intersect, and rearrange themselves with one-another.

Walking among these works, the visitor will quickly recognize an inviting presence. In this setting, we can begin or renew our acquaintance with this artist’s sculpture and enjoy the counterpoint of natural form which surrounds it. Experiencing Neil Goodman in the Park presents us with an opportunity unavailable within the confines of a gallery: the time and opportunity to search for and discover these almost invisible artworks within the landscape. Goodman asks us to move inside the work, to physically become part of his vision. We are happy to do so.

“A Conversation with Neil Goodman” will take place in Sherman Recital Hall on the Governors State University Campus Thursday, November 11. The event is part of the Solo Exhibition Series presentation of Neil Goodman in the Park, which is on view at the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park through October of 2011.

Neil Goodman in the Park and the artist’s visit have been made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Harris Bank.