John Hughes:
Sculpture
July 10 – August 15, 2021
Opening Saturday, July 10, 12-7pm
Reception, 5-7pm
Work available online
John Hughes, untitled, 1993
Short of being able to answer the the big questions (like “why are we here?” and “what is the meaning of life?”) our species has enjoyed a relatively whole and concise image of its fundamental nature for millennia. A significant branch of the root of this understanding has been the notion of humans as toolmakers—creatures who address their needs and desires by first making things which increase their capacity to affect and engage their world. This notion of self as toolmaker functioned meaningfully and equally well in both individual and communal realms of understanding.
Times have changed, however. As a species, human beings seem to me to be in an awkward phase developmentally and evolutionarily. For starters, the idea of ‘toolmaker,’ no longer functions as well for individuals as it does for humans in general. Most people buy what they need or want, rather than making things for themselves.
The most potent inventions / tools of our time—computers, spacecraft, and other complex computer driven technologies—are the result of the combined efforts of literally countless individuals, most of whom never met one another or had even an inkling of the whole project. In fact, the pressures and expectations of modern life make it unrealistic, if not prohibitively difficult, for one to address his / her / their needs in a mostly self sufficient manner.
John Hughes is an internationally renowned composer, kora player, percussionist and vocalist whose style crosses myriad cultural boundaries and fuses disparate influences. Playing ancient traditional instruments not often heard in the United States, many of which he builds himself, John takes his audience on an intimate musical tour of universal expressions of joy and hope that soothe and up-lift the spirit. Whether playing elegant and stately pieces from the classical repertoire of the Jeli’s (Griot’s) of West Africa or original compositions, John’s kora playing has an uncommon beauty that is, at once, exquisitely detailed and bold. His signature pieces are rhythmically nuanced and laced with syncopations that cascade off the strings into whirlpools of mesmerizing sound.
Also a sculptor, dancer, instrument builder and educator, John holds a B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art of Temple University and the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, England and an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. John has studied the music song and dance of West Africa for over 28 years, training with numerous master drummers and dancers from Guinea and Mali, including Mamady Keita and Famoudou Konate. As a Kora player, John is totally self-taught and has, thus, developed a style all his own. Having intently studied traditional kora music for 10 years before he even touched the instrument, however, his playing is deeply rooted in the ancient Mande tradition.
John Hughes
untitled, 1990
steel, birch, copper, wax, cotton, iron oxide, chalk, graphite
32 x 32 x 74 inches
$10,000
Decidedly, the basic flow of meaning in the lives of modern human beings has changed dramatically from that within which our collective self image coalesced and took root. The development of a new concept of what it means to be human, relevant and appropriate to our modern lifestyles, seems to be lagging painfully behind. The evolution of our physical bodies, also, has failed to keep pace as evidenced, for example, by the plethora of physical ailments which can result from habitually working at a computer: eye strain, carpel-tunnel syndrome, psychological dysfunction and cellular disruption by electromagnetic fields, to name a few. The result of all of this proverbial getting ahead of ourselves, has been a cultural and spiritual breakdown of the most insidious sort; a systematic dissolution of the foundation of our lives occurring on a level just outside of many people’s awareness. Generally speaking, humankind has unwittingly cast itself adrift without a functional paradigm for being human, leaving many grasping desperately for meaning and wholeness.
John Hughes
untitled, 1993
steel, leather, copper, maple, brass, wax, nylon
26 x 46 x 26 inches
$10,000
If the external world of human culture, thus, fails to provide a functional and generative spiritual underpinning for being human or directions towards wholeness, we must seek and create these things within. The progress of this journey is to unfold consciousness and to give it form. In the service of wholeness, I seek to supply my inner-self with that which the outer world provides in insufficient quantity or quality. Towards the same end, I strive to furnish, in the outer world, that which my inner-life is lacking. Both aspirations are essential and compulsory. They are concerned, equally, with the transformation of individuals and community in a manner that favors well-being. Both are subjects of a prime directive—a genetic and metaphysical imperative: GROW!
~John Hughes
