COVER: Radcliffe Bailey / Sculpture / June 2012

Radcliffe Bailey, Untitled, 2010. Glitter, felt, feather, and wood, 49 x 14 x 11 in.
Photograph: Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY.

Connecting Rhythms: A Conversation with Radcliffe Bailey
Text | Rebecca Dimling Cochran

Excerpt:

Rebecca Dimling Cochran: This goes back to the objects that you use. I find it interesting that you return again and again to particular objects, such as railroad tracks, lanterns, piano keys, top hats, sailboats, trumpets, and baseball bats. Certain things seem to resonate with you. What is it about these objects?

Radcliffe Bailey: I think that I am trying to find symbols for myself and trying to create deities for myself. When I’m dealing with painting, I’m focusing on the color, the photograph. The photographs become the deities. Sometimes they recur, but the paint changes. When I’m dealing with sculpture, objects come up—the baseball, the trumpet, and the piano keys—those are my tools. Then there are moments when they collide and have their own concert. Sometimes I think that I have a band, my band, and sometimes I have an orchestra with a lot of different people playing. Sometimes I’m playing with just two people, and sometimes I’m playing solo. When it’s solo, it’s very minimal. I think about it like that constantly.

Pick up a copy of Sculpture magazine’s June 2012 to read complete interview.