Pre-Writing Assignment #4

Fallen Dreamer, a sculpture by the Wichita native Tom Otterness, is, of course, a giant head. However, it is much more than that when one examines the history of Otterness’s work and his own comments on the piece.

Fallen Dreamer was made in 1995 and has always been at the Sheldon Art Museum. However, there are two other copies of Fallen Dreamer. It is made of bronze, which is typical of Otterness. Fallen Dreamer is, however, untypical of the rest of his work. Otterness is usually not a subtle artist. One of his best known works, Life Underground, is a comic sculpture of a sewer alligator biting a passerby. Another one of his works, Herring Eater, casts a large shadow on a road in the Netherlands. Comparatively speaking, Fallen Dreamer is not large (although, proportionally speaking it is enormous), nor is it comical. It is subtle, subdued; unique. It is the welcoming piece to Sheldon, a museum full of art that is unique. With uniqueness comes misunderstanding and controversy. Otterness himself is no stranger to misunderstanding and controversy (especially his sadistic “Dog Shot Video”), and Fallen Dreamer is an outpouring of that controversy. I was correct in my original analysis. Fallen Dreamer refers to the dreams and misunderstanding that inherently flow from the art world.

However, in order for an art object to appeal to the masses, it must be universal. This fact is not lost on Otterness, who says of Fallen Dreamer, “I always think of large monuments [such as Fallen Dreamer] as being symbols of society.” He intended the sculpture to speak of society as a whole—not just the art world. This is the purpose of the ambiguous title. It asks audience members to think about “fallen dreamers” throughout the history of our society. Our minds turn to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, even Benedict Arnold; men who died before they could see their dreams fully come to fruition. Because Fallen Dreamer was sculpted so recently and its intended message is so universal, it is difficult to see how the message could change over the last fifteen years. However, I was correct in the original message of the piece. Those who dream often fall; society will not and inherently cannot tolerate deviation from the norm.

Works Cited:
Wikipedia; “Tom Otterness,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Otterness#Early_career

Mamiya, Christin J, “Fallen Dreamer” (from the Sheldon Art Museum) http://books.google.com/books?id=bs3rFfPLdOEC&pg=PA224&lpg=PA224&dq=fallen+dreamer+sculpture&source=bl&ots=TIfaeRIl3U&sig=sub98uvLuvf95ZD2UMLLoiQ8jmY&hl=en&ei=LkLKS7CWFImosgOIrJG6Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=fallen%20dreamer%20sculpture&f=false

Sheldon Art Museum Tour Slideshow, http://www.sheldonartgallery.org/photos/tours/otternessfallendreamer.pdf

In the previous post, I analyzed three of the most obvious rhetorical appeals made by Fallen Dreamer. In this post, we will look at some of the less obvious rhetorical appeals made in Fallen Dreamer and examine their impact on the
argument being made.

The first thing we will analyze is the physical composition of Fallen Dreamer. Since it is made for outdoor display, it cannot be made of wood, ceramic, or other fragile materials. Thus, it is made out of bronze, which is an alloy of copper and (usually) tin. In the case of Fallen Dreamer, it is a dark brownish-gold, almost black. Molding the sculpture with a dark metal subtly adds to the weight of the argument. In the American culture (the sculptor of Fallen Dreamer was, after all, American), dark colors are subconsciously associated with solemn emotions and depression. Thus, the darkness of the metal in Fallen Dreamer cause the viewer to subconsciously attach dark feelings to the sculpture.

In addition to being dark, bronze becomes green when it weathers. In this particular incarnation of Fallen Dreamer, there has been limited weathering on the neck and forehead. This gives the statue an old feel. This causes the viewer (if he/she notices it) to view the sculpture as an old object. In our culture, older objects are given special attention as important. Thus, the weathering causes an audience member to give more attention to Fallen Dreamer than he would otherwise give. The choice material, through coloring and aging, gives Fallen Dreamer a far more serious feel than a giant, disembodied head usually would have.

The second unobvious rhetorical device employed by Fallen Dreamer is context. It is the only sculpture on the steps to the Sheldon Art Museum at the University of Nebraska. It is, in a sense, a welcome mat. It is certainly odd that a giant head is the welcoming piece for visitors, but it also speaks to the nature of the art museum.

Sheldon contains mostly abstract art. The art it contains and the artists who created the paintings and sculptures are often misunderstood. They are seen as outcastes in their cultures. Although most of them did not meet violent deaths, in a sense the artists in Sheldon were (or are) fallen dreamers. They have great dreams for their artwork, yet were ostracized by their peers. Their dreams were, indeed, fallen. Fallen Dreamer speaks to their pain, and asks visitors to do the same.

While Fallen Dreamer is a welcome mat for Sheldon, it is also out of the normal path visitors take. It is in the center of the stairway, which no visitors use. Students enter the museum from the right side of the staircase, non-students enter the museum from the left side. There is no direction from which a visitor can approach the middle without going out of their way. This speaks to the nature of fallen dreamers. Unless they were heroically killed in bringing their dreams to fruition, no one really cares. Audiences pass by with hardly a glance.

There are obvious elements to Fallen Dreamer that everyone can see. However, a deeper examination of the sculpture can reveal subtle and intentional decisions made by the artist and museum to amplify the message of this piece of art.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but the first thought an audience member has when looking at Fallen Dreamer is, “It’s a really big head without a body.” This is true and rather obvious, but it also speaks to the devices used by the artist.

The most important aspect of Fallen Dreamer is the context in which it appears. This is not the original sculpture, nor is it the only copy of Fallen Dreamer. This particular version appears on the front steps outside the Sheldon Art Museum at the University of Nebraska. The fact that it appears on the steps is significant—it is a sculpture visitors just glance at on their way into the museum. Before I selected this sculpture for this assignment, that is what I always did. I believe it speaks to the intent of the sculpture. Nobody cares or pays much attention to the death of a dreamer, unless those dreams have been fulfilled. His body and dreams simply become a curiosity, something people pass by on the way to studying men (and women) whose dreams have been fulfilled.

Another interesting characteristic of Fallen Dreamer is the title. Not to sound racist, but through the facial features of the head makes it obvious he is black (I can’t say African-American; there is no guarantee he is either African or American). Despite not having any historical background provided about the figure, using a black subject causes an American viewer to remember the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. Of course, the title of Fallen Dreamer immediately calls to mind the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Through the title and use of racially specific facial features, the artist calls to mind a dark period of American history.

Although there are specific thoughts that come to mind of the American viewer, the artist also uses amplification through simplification. Other than the most basic facial features, there is nothing specific in the subject’s face. We are allowed to paint our own image on his face. We are allowed to think about our own dreams, and what would happen if we fell attempting to bring those dreams to fruition. We are also asked to wonder what he dreamed. Was he a dreamer in the sense of Hitler—a monster that shocked with world with his brutality? Or was he a dreamer in the vein of William Wilberforce—a statesman that dedicated his life to the freedom of others?

Of course there are many more technical elements to Fallen Dreamer. However, it is necessary to analyze the piece as a whole before breaking down the minutiae of it. The first three things a viewer notices when viewing this particular copy of Fallen Dreamer are the context it appears in, the title and how it relates to the subject’s race, and amplification through simplification.