world , but of entire galaxies . Behind the door of a vintage sewing box , the viewer discovers an orb , created by fi lling a balloon with black epoxy . This balloon , intended to hold helium or air , is now fi lled to near explosion with a dark and heavy mass . Once the epoxy has dried , the balloon is cut away . However , the new object retains some of the balloon ’ s characteristics . Like the balloon , the newly created orb seems close to exploding at any minute , yet it is permanently frozen in time , unable to defl ate or to expand further . This contradiction of a balloon that cannot and will not explode , resides within the confi nes of a decorative box and is wrapped with a wooden burl . The discarded piece of oak that encircles the orb seems to prevent it from escaping its cell . Despite its static nature , there is an air of movement about this piece . The orb desires expansion and escape , but the oak burl will not allow it . There is so much activity , so much struggle taking place behind the closed doors of this sewing box . It is the same for humankind , as the struggle to be free is so often hidden behind intricately decorated locked doors .
Maxwell Hartley ’ s impressive sculpture work with discarded industrial materials is the loud , prophetic cousin to his found object pieces . If Hail Mary Full of Grease is the humble nun working tirelessly to improve her community in small , quiet ways , then Hartley ’ s 2008 piece , Vessel , is the boisterous street evangelist proclaiming “ The end
is near !” Hartley , the visitor , the sage , and the artist , recognizes that both methods are required to reach humankind and affect change : the striking , large-scale , “ loud ” pieces and the subtle , understated , “ quiet ” pieces .
Vessel is that loud piece , one the viewer cannot and must not avoid . Despite utilizing traditionally industrial materials , it is a surprisingly human piece . The use of life-size human fi gures cast in urethane foam is deliberate and powerful . Vessel is a sculpture that holds each viewer accountable and undeniably screams , “ This is about you ! This is about all of us !”
In his book , In Abandon , Hartley explains that “ We are a species predominantly occupied with movement . We have helped our planet evolve into a system ideally suited to distribute specifi c bundles of matter about its surface for consumption .” Vessel forces the viewer to question his or her role in this system of consumption . Are the human fi gures gears in the mechanism of “ progress ,” moving the system along and creating more things to consume ? Or are the fi gures trapped inside the consumption machine , prisoners desperately trying to escape a system of their own creation ?
Black Cloud , India ink on paper stitched to frame
Hartley reaches out to humankind via his artwork , both the loud and the quiet pieces working together to warn against the pitfalls of the superfi cial . But he does not visit this universe only to deliver a message
Vessel , wood , steel , paint , cast urethane foam , photo by Steven Alvarez
Orlando Arts & Culture , v . 2.2
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