Frederick Hart: sculptor

About this book

This volume chronicles the life's work of an artist dedicated to challenging the sacred cows of modernism by calling for a reunion of beauty and morality in art and reuniting art with the concerns of humanity. This renewed vision of art, Frederick Hart believes, can be achieved only by reasserting the preeminence of the human figure as the fundamental element in the language of visual art. Text and picture portfolios focus on Hart's major public sculptures: the monumental Creation works at the main entrance to Washington National Cathedral and the larger-than-life-size bronze Three Soldiers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, both in the nation's capital. The portfolios show the development of these two important national monuments. Hart's cathedral work reflects a contemporary theological perspective which envisions Creation as not just a singular act but a state of constant becoming. His Vietnam Veterans Memorial statue fulfills the public's need for the reflection of the human face in our monuments in order to give human perspective and meaning to our history. Also included in this book are essays by distinguished poets, scholars, and philosophers who challenge, as Hart does, the fossilized state of contemporary art. Their thinking represents a growing movement across a broad variety of disciplines towards a renaissance in the arts. This book not only questions the presumptions of today's art, it offers a vision for the future. The book's 94 color, 62 black-and-white and 26 duo-tone photographs beautifully illustrate Hart's achievements in stone, bronze, and acrylic resin. The Plates section includes magnificent full-color photographs of the artist's major works, both public and private. A complete Catalogue Raisonne has been researched and compiled, recording Hart's works from 1968 to current works in progress. A chronology and brief profile of the artist's life, accompanied by personal photographs, and an Index of Works conclude the volume.