Big Man Going to the Arms Race
1984
1984
|
Oak 81 x 63 x 21 in 205.7 x 160 x 53.3 cm John and Mary Pappajohn Art Collection and Foundation |
In Big Man Going to the Arms Race,
Surls clarifies the nature of the inner demon. "It is the will to
power which drives war and personal aggression in a patriarchal
world. Here the figure hangs suspended with a sword like phallus.
Surls describes the work as a meditation on 'going to war and liking
it, fighting battles for the wrong reason' and notes that it applies
equally to the macro level of politics and the micro level of
individual psychology."
-Eleanor
Heartney, from Splendora: A Love Story in the publication
"James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977-1997."
