Artist 15/20: Tom Clark

"I try and present each statue with a dignity that comes from a life worth living". This is a quote from an artist who whether I like it or not has greatly influenced my home. Why some people collect little animal figurines, or beanie babies, this man's sculpted figurines are what litter my house. They were the collecting addiction my mother suffered from. Though I can't say I don't appreciate them. I attribute my very down-to-earth view of magic and fantasy to her vast collection of gnomes. Every single one of them indeed has an expression of utter contentment with their tiny and simple lives. These aren't your average, tosh, Travelocity, garden gnome but a very specific style created by a single man. Tom Clark.

Tom Clark isn't just limited to gnomes. He's done over 1000 figurines including figures from history, myth and literature. However, because it is the work that has most influenced me, I'm only going to focus on the gnomes. Much of his work ties seamlessly into the book, The Secret Book of Gnomes, by author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet. This book also inspired the short-lived television series the World of David the Gnome...whom I'm sure in turn inspired the Travelocity gnome. They all have the pointy hat, wool or burlap cloths, and typically have a long white beard (assuming they're male). But an odd thing to consider is that according to the mythology, these are NOT figurines but life sized sculptures of gnomes.



Now now, I know because of the general collectability of his works that they once again fall under Kitsch but what are you going to do. They made my mom happy. Her name is Naomi and her nickname is Gnome or Gnomie (though she will always be Mom to me). And even though I'm a sap for saying this; when my mom was happy I was happy. So needless to say I hold a great amount of appreciation for Tom Clark's work. If I recall correctly his sculptures are typically made from some sort of plaster made from acorn shells. Because of this they are always the same brown hue. I'm not sure I've ever heard of another artist using this material. But his gnomes are never conventionally beautiful. Not only is his work very rustic looking but I've never seen a figurine of his that I might consider "sexy". But the important thing is just the jolly expressions they all have and that really does make them beautiful in their own right.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 by Amidanah Rohmah · 0