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Imagine a
show dedicated to Popeye and his fans? This is exactly what Jim
Budde brings to us in his current collection of work.
Embracing a variety of formats including sculptures, cylindrical
vessels, tea pots and wall relief, Popeye’s World is one with
which we can all identify. One filled with friends and rivals,
dreams and desire, adventurous follies and daily struggles.
The artist is particularly inspired by
the Popeye theme having grown up in Red Bud, Illinois, a small
town about thirty miles from Chester, the birthplace of Popeye.
His connection to everyone’s favorite sailorman lay dormant until
it was revived through this work, bringing with it fond memories
of Budde’s father’s employment at the Sparta comic book factory
and his enjoyment of the Popeye comic books his father would
sometimes bring home. The artist believes that inspiration never
dies, but has a way of lingering until the moment it is needed. He
refers to this as his “artistic spinach”.
The totemic structure of Budde’s
sculptural pieces creates a vertical hierarchy in the narrative
while the strong graphic effect in the cylindrical vessels
encourages the viewer to sequence around them. All the work is
cone 5 stoneware with cone 08 low-fire glazes that the artist
formulates and fires in oxidation.
This is a show devoted to Popeye,
one of the best loved personalities in the world! |
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James Budde is Associate Professor of Art at Boise State University, Idaho.
He received his Master of Fine Art from California State University,
Fullerton. James Budde
Budde's work explores psychological and emotional themes with a humorous
edge. He creates works in a realist as well as an abstracted style of
sculpture. Budde wants his work to have a "fresh and unedited feel to it"
and a "feeling of entity," something that exists in its own reality with an
imposing or lively presence. |
One Black Rat
Ceramic, 2003
23" x 17½" x 26"
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As the Crow Flies
Ceramic, 2003
31" x 25" x 11"
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Chowchow Boogie
Ceramic & Aluminum Resin, 2002
32" x 20" x 8"
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Satisfied Monkey
Ceramic, 2001
18" x 14" x 18"
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Africa
Ceramic, 2001
36" x 1 6" x 10"
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More More More
Ceramic, 2001
22" x 14" x 8"
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Eve
Ceramic, 1999
29" x 23" x 11"
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Beg
Ceramic, 2001
19" x 17" x 7"
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Indicates Item has
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