Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) began the Hourloupe cycle in 1962. At the time the artist was 61 years old and had been painting for 20 years. In the beginning the cycle consisted of drawings and paintings, but Dubuffet, wishing to give them greater “corporality,” transformed the flattened images into three-dimension, creating what he referred to not as painted sculptures, but rather “drawings which extend and expand in space.”[1] It was for the architectural dimension of his work that Dubuffet would earn the American Institute of Architects’ medal, the only honor that he did not turn down during his lifetime.
The Hourloupe cycle, characterized by three predominate colors: red, white, and blue with sinuous black lines representing a major exploration of three-dimensional space influenced by the artist’s interest in architecture and, as Daniel Abadie explains, by his desire “to design monumental sculptures as a dialogue with passersby.”
http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2008/11/jean-dubuffet-at-pace-wildenstein/
this third picture i took at the center for performing art in Louisville kentucky. these figures are an early influence of scculpture and art for me because i grew up seeing them when my mother would take me to the ballet.
the viewer can absorb infinitely for meaning from art work once aware of the arists, social, and historical context. some things i am learning all about in my design class at metro.