Do more on ArtsConnectEd
 
Untitled
enlarge image
 
 
 
garden view
 
 
+ Share This

Untitled
Jene Highstein
1987-1988
granite


American artist Jene Highstein studied philosophy, painting, and drawing before turning to sculpture in the late 1960s. He began to carve stone sculptures in the 1980s, exploring new aspects of large rounded shapes, mounds, and spheres. The three massive monoliths (a single large stone often in the form of an obelisk or column) that form Untitled are carved of granite from a quarry in Pennsylvania. After shaping the stones, the artist scored their surfaces with a series of parallel grooves using a diamond-tipped circular saw, then chiseled out the stone between the saw cuts. The compact, rounded forms remind us of large rocks found in nature, yet they have clearly been shaped by the artist's hand. The sculpture suggests totems carved in homage to an ancient universe, or boulders cast down from the sky like meteorites. Highstein's abstract works are intended to provoke a range of associations regarding nature and culture, and he prefers that the viewer discovers his or her own meanings and interpretations.



Text Citation
Text for Jene Highstein, Untitled (1987-1988), from the curriculum guide The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: A Garden for All Seasons, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1998.
Object Details
Dimensions:  overall 108 x 48 x 28 inches
Classification:  Sculptures; Sculpture
Owner:  Walker Art Center
Accession Number:  1989.62.1-.3
Credit Line:  Acquired with funds provided by Martha and John Gabbert, Joanne and Philip Von Blon and the National Endowment for the Arts, 1989