As one of the leading kinetic sculptors of the 20th century,George Rickey produced a number of intriguing worksthroughout his lifetime. This fall, the McNay Art Museum featuresthese works in George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture: A Retrospective.Running October 1, 2008 through January 11, 2009, this exhibitdisplays 47 of the kinetic (moving)sculptures inside the new galleriesand sculpture garden of the newJane and Arthur Stieren Center forExhibitions.
The retrospective, which made itsdebut at the Vero Beach Museum ofArt in Florida last spring, encompassesall major pieces from Rickey’sbody of work. From Crucifera III(1964), a six–foot wide starburst oftiny steel squares, to Six Randomlines Excentric II (1992), a tall stainlesssteel sculpture with blade likearms that move elegantly with thewind; the exhibition showcases thefamed fluid motion Rickey’s modelsreveal on a breezy day. The harmonybetween machine and nature, alwaysthe constant theme in Rickey’sworks, was drawn from many influencesthroughout his life.
Born in South Bend, Indiana in1907, the son of an engineer and thegrandson of a clockmaker, Rickeynaturally developed an early interestin machinery. In 1913 the Rickeyfamily made the move to Scotlandwhere his father furthered his engineeringcareer with Singer. Living in a maritimetown inspired the family to take up sailing, where Rickey firstdiscovered the intricacies of movement found in nature. The gentlemovement of the boat on the sea in conjunction with the power ofthe wind was forever imprinted into Rickey’s being and would laterserve as inspiration for his work.
Rickey realized his passion for history and art and went on tograduate with a degree in history from Oxford in 1929. Immediatelyfollowing, he furthered his training as a painter, unaware of the factthat he would later devote his life to kinetic sculpture. During WorldWar II, Rickey found mechanical inspiration upon being draftedand assigned to a United States Army Air Corps engineering teamas part of an effort to improve aerial navigation of the fighter planes.It would be this project combined with the influence of famed artistAlexander Calder’s kinetic works that would forever change hisvision of art.
Although Rickey began his sculptureand design work in the 1950’s, it wasalmost a decade before he reached abreakthrough in his designs. In the1960’s, he transitioned from intricatemobiles to large–scale models in additionto making the move from Louisianato New York when it was becoming theepicenter of modern art. It is from thisperiod until his death in 2002 that hisart evolved to capture the imaginationof the observer.
These are the pieces at the center ofthe exhibition at the McNay. Takingcues from nature and mechanics andcombining them in what appears tobe a simplistic design in his sculptures,Rickey’s works suddenly transform totake on an entire life of their own withthe slightest breeze. The winding andwielding of each individual part of thesculptures is perhaps what is most intriguingto the eye. In essence, thesedesigns are part of a continuing musicalcomposition with each melodic movementcompletely dependent on the directionand speed of the wind.
The constant progression seen ineach piece of the Rickey traveling exhibitionadds yet another dimension to theMcNay’s collection of modern art. The works enhance Rickey’spiece Horizontal Column of Five Squares Excentric II, part of theMcNay’s permanent sculpture collection. Located in front of theMcNay’s Spanish Colonial house, standing at the center of a pool ofcool, blue water, the kinetic sculpture seems to dance as each squarepivots and turns to the tune of a blustery afternoon. But, in order totruly understand the simple yet complex nature of Rickey’s work, hissculptures must be witnessed first–hand.
