Wes Hallmark
If my art makes you pause and think or even if it makes you a bit itchy, that’s exactly what I want it to do.
Art Bio Wes Hallmark
I have always been a creative but not an Artist. A few years ago I was working on a hand full of art projects to prep for a party. In the vortex of the rush to get finished it dawned upon me, I was happy in the chaos of creating. This was a transition, a wakeup call, in becoming an artist.
All my life has been filled with doodling, Leather tooling, wood working, and photography
but this was different, it was an opportunity to break out of being a retiree.
My background has made me uniquely prepared for my commitment to create.
My career was based in still photography that transferred into a long employment of
Television News Photography. Being in the world of photographer caused me to “see light”
and to understand how it defines everything.
My work is not perfect it’s not even pretty this is intentional. I feel Art should be as much
about content and meaning as its form. If my art makes you pause and think or even if it makes you a bit itchy, that’s exactly what I want it to do.
The Peace Guardian
He is not an object of force but instead a beacon of enlightenment for the world.
I feel Peace is very important in today’s climate of conflict and controversy, this why I continually develop themes of Peace within my art.
I think if you think about Peace it exist within you, just as any other principal you may consider. The Peace Guardian is a representation of this concept. He came about as my friend Gina donated a exercise frame designed for pull ups. I immediately saw the potential for a sculpture with its form.
He is always on watch to marshal Peace into people’s lives.
The Peace Guardian’s purpose is to search out and promote Peace. His eyes project Peace to those whom view him. He is always on watch to Marshal Peace into people’s life. He is not an object of force but instead beacon of enlightenment for the world.
Suffering Man
Suffering man
with time, will recognize the power within him to shed the ongoing terror and replace it with hope through enlightenment.
Suffering Man consist of recycled and repurposed items. His torso was discovered in the back of a ’48 Chevrolet Panel truck in the original form of front fender linings. These interior steel pieces were flipped upside down and joined together. The appendages are fabricated from scrapes of pipe, barrel hoops and expanded metal. The vacuum was re-assigned as his head.
Hand creation
various size metal pipes created suffering man’s detailed hands.
Metal tubes welded and hammered to create Suffering Man.
The appendages are fabricated from scrapes of pipe, barrel hoops and expanded metal.
Within suffering we maintain our privacy, this discomfort is universal to all of us. This is why this man has no face, he is “everybody” but maintains his anonymity within suffering. He carries his pain, in the form of the luggage, symbolizing “carrying extra Baggage.” His perception of this luggage, is an emotional relic of terror, inflicted upon him from various family members, people, organizations and religion. He truly is a victim of his own thoughts. He struggles with the load to a point of stumbling.
His mental state falls in a crystal tear as he hopes his sorry will end. He will never rid himself of this burden until he opens the traveling cases to exam and release the terror enclosed. Suffering man, with time, will recognize the power within him to shed the ongoing terror and replace it with hope through enlightenment.
Is That an I.C.B.M.?
AT THE FLEA MARKET!
“Is that an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile?”
As I strolled through the Flea Market, I heard it call my name, Wes look over here! There it was, captivating me, it’s form.. it’s mechanical look. I had to ask “Is that an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile?” He replied “ It Can be!!” “SOLD!”
Sometimes I acquire things simply for their aesthetic value. In the back of my mind this item was such a thing and had potential to become a piece of my work.
If it truly was a I.C.B.M. I have converted it to a Intercontinental Ballistic Peace Machine (I.C.B.P.M.). Locating a few other parts in my shop, I created the I.C.B.P.M., another item, to promote Peace.
I.C.B.P.M.
Intercontinental Ballistic Peace Machine
The Ancient One
As I visited Utah a stranger suggested I spend time at a little known place North of Moab on the Colorado River. He spoke of this area with passion that drew me there. The locals always know about the best places. I remember the cottonwoods flapping their leaves as the cool wind off of the river blew over me. They were there, staring down from the canyon walls mocking time, as they had been there for thousands of years. They were the petroglyphs of the Ancient ones, The Anastasi of the Hopi, Navajo and other Natives. These images were some of the original artists that walked our continent at least ten thousand years ago!
I fabricated the “Ancient One” to recognize and honor those people in their efforts to create Art.
See Wes’s Metal Art Friday April 14th, 5-8 p.m. at The Shakespeare Wine Co, 524 West Kansas Ave, Chickasha Oklahoma
Wes Hallmark quote about Art:
Wes Hallmark, local artist, said the students’ work accomplished the goal of making the viewer feel something.
“It’s very different. I like it because it’s itchy,” he said. “Maybe it’ll cause people to not be totally comfortable and wonder what it is. And what it is, is what they think it is. That’s the way art should be.”
Full Article about the CAAC Visual Art ShowCase March 6th 2023 Reporter Jessica Lane