NARRATOR:
Michael Todd lives and works in Southern California, but his sculpture is tied to the cool, formalist aesthetics of New York City. In Hansel he pays homage to the great Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann.
Todd says he has always been attracted to Hofmann’s paintings. He sees them as reconciliations of opposites: the hard edge and the painterly stroke. Hansel beautifully contrasts circular and rectilinear elements, holding them in a delicate balance with two crossed bars. Metal plates and short tubes lend weight to an otherwise almost ephemeral structure. All shapes are tied together, creating visual tension as well as structural support.
The sculpture, made of brushed aluminum, seems a bold, industrial construction. Todd conveys the idea that sculpture does not have to be centered or densely organized, but may have an open structure that ranges over a wide area.
Hansel
1970
Michael Todd (American, 1935-)
On View
Details
- Artist Name: Michael Todd (American, 1935-)
- Title: Hansel
- Date: 1970
- Medium: Brushed aluminum
- Dimensions: 91-1/2 x 163-1/8 x 56-3/4 in. (232.4 x 414.3 x 144.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of the Artist
- Accession Number: P.1973.18
- Copyright: © Michael Todd
Object Information
Mr. & Mrs. William Fadiman, gift 1961 to;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1961-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1961-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.
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