Art Museum Visit - William DuBose

For my museum visit I looked at the “Traveling Man” in the Deep Ellum area of downtown Dallas. I choose this piece because I had the pleasure of watching it be constructed every day and watching something of this magnitude come together was a great experience.
The outlines that I notice are the sharp outlines of the body and the head when looking from a certain angle. I don’t believe that the lines were used to orient the viewer to look in a certain direction but rather just clearly define a body shape. The lines in the piece do not lean towards being thin or thick due to the piece being a sculpture in the round. The lines used in the piece were very curved and flexible. The artist used the smaller birds to pull the whole piece together. The body was emphasized to a great effect and the legs and arms were made very long to create a lively feel to the piece. From what I can tell there are relatively few implied lines used in the piece. One implied line is the way the man is looking at the bird in his hand.
The majority of the shapes represented if not all are volumetric in shape. All of the pieces are of an organic origin. The walking man seems in a joyful mood and is displayed by his stride and facial expression. In relation to space the object is a full eye view. There is a lot to take in when viewing all that is involved in the workplace. When standing directly below the object you do feel dwarfed.
Since the object is outside the only light that is used during daylight is sunlight. This does not create a focal point for the viewer automatically. At night, however, there are lights that focus on certain portions of the art piece and display it with an upward facing light. This will make the object feel bigger than it really is. The artist uses only the grays of the steel on this art piece. This creates a very simplistic look and does not complicate the art piece. The only portions of the art piece that contain color are the lava stones beneath the sculpture. The gray structure is calming to the viewer. The majority of the texture of the sculpture is smooth. The steel panels that were used were polished to give more of a glossy look. There are potions that are rough near the meeting points of the panels and where the rivet bolt heads stick out. The legs and the arms both carry the smooth and somewhat ribbed features with using the rings to build the legs and arms.
There is a lot of balance in the object. First, it is proportional to a life-like object. The bird in the hand in relation to the man is proportionate. The straight and curvy lines on the walking man represent an eclectic and fun style while the bird the smooth lines and curves represent a relaxed and calming feel. My eyes were first drawn to the unique head. This was due to the way it looks so real but also incorporates many artistic touches as well. My eyes were next drawn to the bird on the hand. It then draws the viewer down to the base and the various items on the ground. There are many places for each of the viewers to look.
The only repeated elements that I see in the sculpture are the birds that surround the main walking man as well as the one that he is holding. Also, circles are used a lot in the art piece. The eyes are formed by cutting holes through the headpiece as well as ears that are in a circular shape. The legs and arms retain the circle aspect. I believe that the use of this repetition unifies the piece rather than try to grab it together. They are well placed in the piece and have a purpose. Also, the rivets create an outline of a human like shape. All the patterns used are subtle but also stand out on their own. The object that is created is three-dimensional. The small birds that surround the walking man are proportional in size. There should not have been too many limitations to using steel panels as the medium. The box structures for the body are a lot thicker than the limbs to create a realistic look much like a human.
The sculpture is in the round, meaning that it can be viewed from any angle. The challenges that were presented to the artist were how to make a stride of an object look so artistic. The object was created by adding panels and building upwards, an additive process. The tools used to create the object were steel polished panels and bolts. There was also many grinding and polishing tools used to complete the structure. I would call this object greater than life-size, standing a massive 40 feet tall.
I believe that the “traveling man” represents the livelihood and the traveling to the arts district of the Dallas area. There are some artistic and music aspects mixed in with the design. This sculpture was designed by a graphics design company and many of their personal touches were placed in the design. The structure is made entirely of polished steel. This gives the structure a glow that really highlights the features at night. The panels are held together by rivets. It is a very welcoming structure. Numerous bridal pictures have already been taken on or near the walking man.