1
Portfolios%20%3D%20%22696%22%20and%20Sort_Artist%20%3D%20%22Castle,%20Wendell%22
Sculpture
Dr. Caligari
Wendell Castle, (Emporia, KS, 1932 - 2018, Scottsville, NY)
Castle, Wendell
United States
1932 - 2018
Male
92 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 26 1/2 in. (235 x 80 x 67.3 cm)
.
.
.
overall
Curly cherry veneer, ebony and gold-plated brass
Curly cherry veneer, ebony and gold-plated brass
1984
1984
1984
1900-2000, 20th century, by Rochester artists, clocks, Craft, decorative arts, School for American Craftsmen, sculpture
Sculpture
Dr. Caligari is among a series of thirteen clocks that Wendell Castle created in the 1980s. He made them at the suggestion of his dealer, who urged him to create a body of work that would challenge the critics’ association of Castle with functional furniture. Castle was particularly interested in the concept of time, and Dr. Caligari is a fanciful exploration of time travel. Its tall case is rich with connections to traditional grandfather clocks. It suggests either a trip to the past in an ancient obelisk, or to the future, in a rocket ship.
The title of the work was inspired by the angular set design of the 1920 German Expressionist film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The clock’s painted interior was intended to suggest the silent horror film’s unsettling mood. Castle and his longtime associate Don Sottile developed a smearing technique using India ink over gesso that gave the painted finish its distinctive feathered edges.
[Gallery label, summer 2015]
inside left doorinside case
Wendell Castle
1988.1
item
Memorial Art Gallery
9/8/1999
88.1TR1
Transparency
Memorial Art Gallery
Front
2 x 2 3/4
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
transparency
open
2 x 2.5
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
88.1SL1
slide
full front-open
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
glossy
8x10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
4x5
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
88.1DI1
digital image
Memorial Art Gallery
Front
Imaging complete
2/5/2001
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/88.1_A1.jpg
88.1SL2
slide
full front-closed
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
88.1SL3
slide
still from film Dr. Calligari
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
881.DI#2
digital image
interior
5/27/2005
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/Inventory pictures/88.1_I2.jpg
881.DI#3
digital image
interior
5/27/2005
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/Inventory pictures/88.1_I3.jpg
881.DI#4
digital image
interior
5/27/2005
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/Inventory pictures/88.1_I4.jpg
88.1DI#2
digital image
6/4/2012
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/88.1_A2.jpg