About the Artist
About the Artist
Fielding Brown has been creating sculptures in wood and multimedia since his retirement as Charles L. MacMillan Professor of Physics at Williams College. He holds the BA and MA degrees from Williams College and the PhD in physics from Princeton University. He has spent a lifetime as teacher of undergraduates and as a grant-supported research scientist.
Solo Exhibits
Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA, April 2009, 12 pieces
Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA, March-June 2006. seven pieces
Fox Hill Village, Westwood, MA, October 2009. 13 pieces
Fox Hill Village, Westwood, MA, October 2007. 16 pieces
Fox Hill Village, Westwood, MA., January 2005. 12 pieces
Fox Hill Village, Westwood, MA., January 2002. 14 pieces
Joint Exhibits
St Botolph Club of Boston, May 2009. With photographer David Akiba, Boston Public Library exhibitor.
Cultural
Center of Cape Cod, June-July 2007. With photographer Paul Wainwright.
"Sharp Lines
and Mystic Shadows."
Juried Shows and Memberships
National, Juried, Prize Show, Annmarie Garden (AMG), Solomons, MD, June-September 2008.
AMG is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, DC. Two sculptures accepted.
Cambridge Art Association, September-November, 2009. Juried Show
Cambridge Art Association, November, 2007-January, 2008. Juried Show (110 works Selected out of 700)
North
Shore Art Association, Gloucester, MA, 2007,
Juried Show
Cambridge
Art Association, October-November 2006, Juried Show (47 works selected
out of 330)
University of Massachusetts,
Boston Campus Center, September-December 2006, Juried Show
Mill Brook Gallery,
Concord, NH, June-October, 2006, two pieces, Juried Show
Member of Cambridge Art Association, Juried membership
Member of New England Sculptors Association, Juried membership
St. Botolph Club of Boston, November-January 2005, Juried Show
St. Botolph Club of Boston, January-February 2004, Juried Show
Lynn Arts Gallery, Lynn, MA, Fall 2003, Juried Show
Ferncroft Hotel of Danvers, MA., Fall 2003, Juried Show
sponsored by Barn
Workshop of Danvers. Four pieces included.
St. Botolph Club of Boston, May 2001 and January 2003, Juried Shows
Other
Commissioned
Sculpture, “Bicycle Wreck #2”, 2009, Private Collection
Commissioned
Outdoor Sculpture, “88”, for Lifeworks, Inc. (SNCARC),
Westwood, MA, 2007
"Unforeseen Consequences #2", Permanent Collection, St. Botolph Club of Boston
Cambridge Art Association, October-November 2005, Juried Show: “Juror’s
Choice-Sculpture”
Walsingham Gallery of Newburyport, MA
Northstar Gallery, Grafton, VT
Artist's Statement
How does an artist think like a scientist?
Having spent a long career as a physicist, and now a short one as an artist, I can answer this question. Artists and scientists both are motivated by the desire to create or discover things new to human experience. The scientist is driven to reveal unknown knowledge of the physical world, what lies beyond present understanding. The artist seeks to create visions of form, color and space not previously seen.
Experimenting with a new art medium is like inventing a new and special instrument. When I imagine and envisage a new art work, I plan the steps of its execution and invent whatever I need to produce it. Each day in my shop means solving some new problem. For example I’ve had to find a way to glue wood to aluminum, or how to anchor dacron kite strings to my laminates. Michelangelo is said to have "seen" the David within the uneven block of marble that was given him to carve. His vision and desire to create led him to the famous result.
My sculptures are abstractions of lines and curves. Each of my sculptures originates as a set of mathematical equations typed on the keyboard of my computer and displayed as a moving curve on my screen. What matters is visual pattern: symmetries created and broken. Parallax between lines within a sculpture leads to changing patterns as one moves about; each piece is fluid and varied. Although my pieces originate as abstractions, I often give them plausible representational names upon completion. Of the many possible patterns that I create, I choose those that I find appealing and at the same time buildable. These I form into real lines and real curves in 3-D space.
My curves are formed by laminating thin strips of wood, paper, fiberglass, plastic or sheet metal, a technique that exploits the elasticity and flexibility of these materials. A stack of thin strips is prepared with glue applied between layers and is then wrapped onto an armiture to replicate the computer image. When the glue sets, a ridged curve results. Straight lines are formed from wood dowels with angles and stick lengths determined by computer. String sculptures use dacron kite string and imbedded eyelets. Aluminum clad sculptures are suitable for outdoor display.