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April 2016
Interview Al Glann Tucson |
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Al Glann. Photo by Joe Brown
Al Glann is an award-winning sculpture who has his work permanently installed at locations in several U.S. states, Canada, and Europe. He is a native of Ohio where he began his art education. After several years as an art professor at the Art Institute of Phoenix, he relocated to Tucson and began working full time as a studio artist six years ago. His sculptures are created primarily from bronze and steel. He is represented by several galleries in Arizona and other states.
SAN: After having made the big move from Ohio to Arizona, what made you decide to relocate to Tucson from Phoenix in 2010?
Al Glann: Well… actually it was a woman I was involved with at the time, she had a house here and I thought it would be a good time to break from teaching and devote all my energies to working on my art. I quit my teaching position, sold my house and moved to Tucson. In the end, the relationship didn’t last, but I made it to Tucson which has proved to be a very good move on my part, it forced me to a full time artist with very little back up.
SAN: When you first began your art education, did you gravitate immediately toward sculpture or did that come later?
AG: I went to art school to become an illustrator and graphic designer. I spent 7 years working full time in the field and freelanced for another 20 years while I was teaching. Design is design, and I always had a passion for working three-dimensionally. In the mid 80’s I started to spend more time creating sculpture vs. two-dimensional work, it became my priority. When I moved to Arizona in 1996 I focused on my sculpture in my personal time and taught Graphic Design at the Art Institute. In 2010 I finally had the opportunity and desire to take a chance on working full-time as an artist and figure out how to make a living at it.
SAN: What is it about working in three-dimensions and working with metals that attracts you as an artist?
AG: I love the dimensional aspects of sculpture; we live in a three-dimensional world so my art has to have some dimension to it. I love design, I taught it for 29 years, and it is a part of who I am. Early on I decided that I wanted my sculptures to be basically indestructible. If they fell over, they would break whatever they hit but they would be fine. I love to work with steel; it does what I want my images and forms to do. I can twist it, bend it, grind it, weld it, texture it, and shape it to get the look I want. I have worked with a variety of other media but I always come back to steel. The bronze horses are originally created in steel then we make molds and then cast in bronze.
SAN: After having made the big move from Ohio to Arizona, what made you decide to relocate to Tucson from Phoenix in 2010?
Al Glann: Well… actually it was a woman I was involved with at the time, she had a house here and I thought it would be a good time to break from teaching and devote all my energies to working on my art. I quit my teaching position, sold my house and moved to Tucson. In the end, the relationship didn’t last, but I made it to Tucson which has proved to be a very good move on my part, it forced me to a full time artist with very little back up.
SAN: When you first began your art education, did you gravitate immediately toward sculpture or did that come later?
AG: I went to art school to become an illustrator and graphic designer. I spent 7 years working full time in the field and freelanced for another 20 years while I was teaching. Design is design, and I always had a passion for working three-dimensionally. In the mid 80’s I started to spend more time creating sculpture vs. two-dimensional work, it became my priority. When I moved to Arizona in 1996 I focused on my sculpture in my personal time and taught Graphic Design at the Art Institute. In 2010 I finally had the opportunity and desire to take a chance on working full-time as an artist and figure out how to make a living at it.
SAN: What is it about working in three-dimensions and working with metals that attracts you as an artist?
AG: I love the dimensional aspects of sculpture; we live in a three-dimensional world so my art has to have some dimension to it. I love design, I taught it for 29 years, and it is a part of who I am. Early on I decided that I wanted my sculptures to be basically indestructible. If they fell over, they would break whatever they hit but they would be fine. I love to work with steel; it does what I want my images and forms to do. I can twist it, bend it, grind it, weld it, texture it, and shape it to get the look I want. I have worked with a variety of other media but I always come back to steel. The bronze horses are originally created in steel then we make molds and then cast in bronze.
SAN: You’ve described your “Horse” series of sculptures as “gestural 3-dimensional drawing(s) with metal.” You are very successful at portraying the essence of the horse-in-action in your work. Even the horses at rest seem to be on the verge of movement. How are you able to reduce this complexity down to simple, elegant lines that convey such strong movement?
AG: I have always loved the essence drawings and paintings of Sumi brush. Having learned it and taught it for a number of years, it has always intrigued me as an artistic expression. What is the least amount you can put down to describe a character, a person or in my case a horse. What lines define the anatomy, the energy, and the personality? What artists put into their art is part of their soul; this is what you see and connect with. I’m from the Bauhaus design philosophy, “less is more.” I think the viewer has to become more involved with my work because they have to complete the image.
AG: I have always loved the essence drawings and paintings of Sumi brush. Having learned it and taught it for a number of years, it has always intrigued me as an artistic expression. What is the least amount you can put down to describe a character, a person or in my case a horse. What lines define the anatomy, the energy, and the personality? What artists put into their art is part of their soul; this is what you see and connect with. I’m from the Bauhaus design philosophy, “less is more.” I think the viewer has to become more involved with my work because they have to complete the image.
Al Glann_Bucking Spirit_
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Al Glann_Grazing_
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Al Glann_On Fire_
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Al Glann. Wild Spirit_
SAN: How and why did you make the decision to powder-coat the steel in some of the horse sculptures, making them a red or blue color, and others are left in the natural bronze or steel state?
AG: That was a challenge. I talked with another artist friend Bob Hartl about color on my pieces. He sent me a great image of a bronze branch in a reflecting pool with bright orange leaves, the effect was great. I know color because I taught Color Theory for 12 years and had a great teacher as a student.
I spent two months creating a six foot steel horse that I was going to take in and have sandblasted and powder coated a bright chromatic red. I took a big chance on it and it worked. I went back in and painted the interior a complementary gray to set off the exterior lines of the horse. The effect was exactly what I wanted. Six weeks after I took it to my gallery in Palm Desert it sold.
Al Glann_The Seer_
SAN: Your smaller series “Creatures” has some exquisite pieces, chief among “The Seer.” Do you plan to do more in this series, especially of birds?
AG: The Ravens have been a nice continuation of the horse series. According to Native American lore the Ravens are considered the spirit brothers of the horse.
They are smart and I love shimmer of their feathers, they are a work in progress. I’m also looking at Hawks, Falcons, and Owls in the future.
SAN: Tell us about your totems? What are the themes conveyed in these pieces? It’s interesting that your “City” series seems to have a totem-like appearance. Do you see a relationship between the native-American influenced Totem and the City series?
AG: I first saw a totem at the age of 5 and I think it just stuck in my head. I have always been attracted to the Native American symbols and felt that they had a strong spiritual connection to me. To me they are environmental markers that define a space, time, and a history. All my shapes on my Totems have a symbolic reference to nature and family. The addition of the cut agates add another dimension, when the sun hits them they really light up.
AG: I first saw a totem at the age of 5 and I think it just stuck in my head. I have always been attracted to the Native American symbols and felt that they had a strong spiritual connection to me. To me they are environmental markers that define a space, time, and a history. All my shapes on my Totems have a symbolic reference to nature and family. The addition of the cut agates add another dimension, when the sun hits them they really light up.
Al Glann_A Promise to Mother Nature_
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Al Glann_Vision in the Desert
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Al Glann_Madison Avenue_
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Al Glann_St. Francis_
SAN: In your “Figures” series, some figures are more concepts or ideas portrayed in a human form and others are actual historical figures. How do you decide which characters or ideas to portray in your figure sculptures?
AG: I have hundreds of sketches on that series. In the early days of developing my sculpture they became my figurative dimensional expressions of what was inside my mind.
From people I have known, to characters in a book, to characters I created. I would sketch on any piece of paper whenever I had time, especially when I sat in faculty meetings, : ))
I could do another 20 or 30 figures if I had the time.
AG: I have hundreds of sketches on that series. In the early days of developing my sculpture they became my figurative dimensional expressions of what was inside my mind.
From people I have known, to characters in a book, to characters I created. I would sketch on any piece of paper whenever I had time, especially when I sat in faculty meetings, : ))
I could do another 20 or 30 figures if I had the time.
Al Glann_Poetry in Motion_ Photo by Rob Cross
SAN: On social media, you have documented a large public work piece to be installed at Stone Canyon Country Club in Oro Valley. How is this piece coming along?
AG: “Poetry In Motion” is finished and installed at the Stone Canyon Country Club in Oro Valley. It was one of those projects that keep you up at 3 am wondering how you will solve the next problem. I talked to a couple of steel fabricators and they both quoted me ten times what my budget was to create the final. So… this farm boy figured out how to design and create it on a shoestring. It took three months and the last six weeks it was 7 days a week. I am happy with it and proud of it and thankful for the people that helped make it happen.
SAN: Your sculptural work has been linked to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, two of Americans most famous architects. How do you understand that relationship of your sculpture to their architecture?
AG: To me great architecture is sculpture that can accommodate people; I used to teach a 3-D assignment that related to architecture. You are dealing with shape, form, direction, space, positive & negative shapes, dominance, sub-dominance, and sub-ordinance. The trick is to make them all work together to create the statement you want to make. I have spent quite a few hours walking around and through the Disney Concert Center in downtown LA. I think a lot of artists have a sense of architecture in them.
SAN: Occasionally there are references to your paintings but there are no images of paintings on your website. Do you have any paintings you’d like share with us?
AG: I guess I’m a little private about my paintings. I take them to some of my shows and show them at my studio but I’m still in the development stage in a few ways. It is what I do when I need to get away from sculpting and put paint on metal. I am still developing my voice in that area. One of these days they will be out there full force, I just need a few more hours in the day or a few more days in the week.
SAN: You are a resident of Metal Arts Village, and you will be participating in the April 9 and10 Heart of Tucson Art Open Studios tour. Do you perceive a shift toward mid-town Tucson as an arts destination?
AG: I believe there is a great potential to the mid-town Tucson as an artist destination. It is hard for artists to create that buzz because we are all working so hard on our own art and what we need to do individually, that it is hard to pull together as a group. We run into that problem at Metal Arts Village. Tucson is a wonderful source for great art, it is just getting people to understand that we exist right here. You don’t have to go to LA, London, Beijing, or Florence, find out what is going on just down the street. The local does not make the artist, the artist makes the local. And yes, I have been to all these cities and seen the art there.
SAN: This is a question we ask all artists we interview. What do you think would be make life better for artists in our region?
AG: Getting out to the people who live here full time and part time and let them know the full range of talent the exists here in Tucson. There are great artists and great works being created right here in Tucson, Arizona.
SAN: Finally, feel free to comment on anything not discussed here.
AG: What we as artists put out there is part of our soul. It is what we share with whomever takes the time to actually look and connect with our work. We bare our souls to share what we have spoken. May it touch your heart and feed your spirit.
See more of Al Glann's work at http://www.alglannsculptor.com/index.html
AG: “Poetry In Motion” is finished and installed at the Stone Canyon Country Club in Oro Valley. It was one of those projects that keep you up at 3 am wondering how you will solve the next problem. I talked to a couple of steel fabricators and they both quoted me ten times what my budget was to create the final. So… this farm boy figured out how to design and create it on a shoestring. It took three months and the last six weeks it was 7 days a week. I am happy with it and proud of it and thankful for the people that helped make it happen.
SAN: Your sculptural work has been linked to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, two of Americans most famous architects. How do you understand that relationship of your sculpture to their architecture?
AG: To me great architecture is sculpture that can accommodate people; I used to teach a 3-D assignment that related to architecture. You are dealing with shape, form, direction, space, positive & negative shapes, dominance, sub-dominance, and sub-ordinance. The trick is to make them all work together to create the statement you want to make. I have spent quite a few hours walking around and through the Disney Concert Center in downtown LA. I think a lot of artists have a sense of architecture in them.
SAN: Occasionally there are references to your paintings but there are no images of paintings on your website. Do you have any paintings you’d like share with us?
AG: I guess I’m a little private about my paintings. I take them to some of my shows and show them at my studio but I’m still in the development stage in a few ways. It is what I do when I need to get away from sculpting and put paint on metal. I am still developing my voice in that area. One of these days they will be out there full force, I just need a few more hours in the day or a few more days in the week.
SAN: You are a resident of Metal Arts Village, and you will be participating in the April 9 and10 Heart of Tucson Art Open Studios tour. Do you perceive a shift toward mid-town Tucson as an arts destination?
AG: I believe there is a great potential to the mid-town Tucson as an artist destination. It is hard for artists to create that buzz because we are all working so hard on our own art and what we need to do individually, that it is hard to pull together as a group. We run into that problem at Metal Arts Village. Tucson is a wonderful source for great art, it is just getting people to understand that we exist right here. You don’t have to go to LA, London, Beijing, or Florence, find out what is going on just down the street. The local does not make the artist, the artist makes the local. And yes, I have been to all these cities and seen the art there.
SAN: This is a question we ask all artists we interview. What do you think would be make life better for artists in our region?
AG: Getting out to the people who live here full time and part time and let them know the full range of talent the exists here in Tucson. There are great artists and great works being created right here in Tucson, Arizona.
SAN: Finally, feel free to comment on anything not discussed here.
AG: What we as artists put out there is part of our soul. It is what we share with whomever takes the time to actually look and connect with our work. We bare our souls to share what we have spoken. May it touch your heart and feed your spirit.
See more of Al Glann's work at http://www.alglannsculptor.com/index.html