Author Description

H.C. Westermann's sculptures and constructions follow no models and are unique in modern American art. Direct, simple objects that achieve great sophistication and subtlety, they make profound comments on society and the human condition without being overtly burdened by theory. Westermann grew up in L.A., "great city of the vernacular," where Hollywood films had a larger impact on him than fine arts. One of the authors describes him as an "American everyman." Idiosyncratic, a loner in his work though not his personal life, he trained in Chicago, then settled in rural Connecticut rather than self-conscious New York (where in 1959 his first show was deflated by the critics). Besides being the catalog of an exhibition of Westermann's work organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, H.C. Westermann is the best monograph on the artist to date. Four lively essays describe his career and analyze his work. One of his defining experiences, witnessing the loss of a ship with 2,000 lives as a marine in WWII, resulted in a series of sculptures that he titled Death Ships, meticulously conceived in a variety of materials, from dollar bills to ebony. He exorcized his demons and was a fine friend, neighbor, and husband. Happily married and a consummate craftsman, he came to "equate the strength and beauty of a dovetail joint with the foundation of a good home and a good life." The integrity of the man and significance of his work are well served by this attractively produced study. --John Stevenson