30 Nov Mason School of Art Alumni Jeremy Kunkel featured in the Washington Post!
“Arm, in Case.” by Mason School of Art Alumni Jeremy Kunkel. Photo Credit- Washington Post. Article by, Columnist John Kelly. November 27, 2021.
Mason School of Art Alumni Jeremy Kunkel featured in the Washington Post!
Jeremy Kunkel, a Mason School of Art Sculpture student, has been featured in the Washington Post. You can read all about it in the article, “Lost Luggage: In May, 10 strange sculptures showed up in the Potomac River.”
In the article by columnist, John Kelly, it goes on to say that starting in 2015, Maryland artist Jeremy Kunkel began sculpting a series of works he calls “Arm, in Case.”
This project did not end there though! Kunkel had his latest installation in May of 2021!
The sculpture project by Kunkel includes 10 sculptures positioned on concrete slabs on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.
In the article, Kelly goes on to explain, the art sits in a cove called the Spoils, which is peppered with chunks of rebar-studded concrete that were scraped from the Wilson Bridge when it was resurfaced in 2008 and placed in the water as habitat for fish.
When artist Jeremy Thomas Kunkel spied the spot, he knew it was the perfect canvas for his creation.
Kunkel explained that, “Over the past few years I’ve been spending a lot of time traveling around the Beltway and the whole landscape of the DMV [looking for] what I call urban islands, these are areas cut off by on-ramps, offramps and freeways, interesting landscapes that are islands to themselves, inaccessible to people.”
But how does it work exactly?
According to Kunkel, “It was a process, i’ll be honest, It took a couple of years to really finalize the idea of how that was going to work, to get a hold of equipment to make that happen and find the proper way to access it. Certain aspects of the landscape you don’t want to disturb.”
Can’t forget to mention Kunkel did all of this from a small bass boat!
In the article, Kunkel explains, “The suitcases themselves are about displacement, abandonment, exile,” Kunkel said. They are a commentary on what humans do to one another.
Kunkel also goes on to explain, “The location itself is fantastic in that it’s subtle. It is both visible from the Wilson Bridge and invisible: a blur from the corner of the eye. That applies to a lot of humanity, too.
Kelly went on to say, “Most works of art are destined for homes or galleries. Kunkel couldn’t really be sure anyone would ever see this installation.”
The works are truly worth taking the time to see, we are not too far from them at the Mason School of Art. Incredible work, Jeremy Kunkel!
This story would not have been possible without artist Jeremy Kunkel, and columnist, John Kelly of the Washington Post!
Read the full story here!
You can view more of Jeremy Kunkel’s works here!
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