Marsha Pels

Artist: Marsha Pels
Art work: To Breathe, To Walk
In the piece by Marsha Pels called To Breathe, To Walk, we see a two section sculpture made from painted cast bronze and iron, flame-worked Pyrex glass, and several found object. The size of this piece is about 68 inches high, 62 inches wide, and 18 inches thick. At a distance this art piece looks to be the outline of an invisible human with a single objects appearing around the head, which have been formed to represent the humans head, neck, and shoulders. This object around the head has lots of negative space creating, up close, a nonrepresentational form. It is not until the viewer stands back and views the piece from a distance that the nonrepresentational wires that have been connected together actually create a form that many people can recognize as a set of lungs. Towards the bottom of the sculpture we see a pair of knee high boots. The boots are bronze in color and give off the feeling of being well warn. While the straps on the outside of the boots appear to be holding the boots in place. Preventing them from being able to move at all. As if this invisible person is being held in one spot. The colors found  within this piece are very warm and are reflected through out this two piece sculpture!
        This piece has many points of view. When it is viewed up close it is nonrepresentational and slightly disorganized. When viewed from afar we see the lungs, the outlined figure, and the travel boots as one. The minds eye creates the outline of the human. It fills in the gap that the artist has created between the boots and the lungs with a human form. The elements surrounding this figure are what creates the figure. The flow of the wire to create veins and arteries are what makes this piece flow and breathe! While the boots hold the figure captive.