Bob Trotman: Artist Statement
As a figurative sculptor my concern is
the exploration, interpretation, and representation of the human body as a
primal medium for projecting thought and feeling: in the expressive language of
its poses and dress, its gestures, its facial expressions, and in its
disposition in relation to its surroundings. Of the many possibilities open to
me, I am most interested in expressions of alienation: alienation of the self
from society, from the physical environment, and even of the self from itself.
Not only is this feeling resonant for me personally, but, I believe, by way of
attempts to avoid it, it is responsible for much of our social behavior. For me
the expression of alienation is more penetrating with a certain amount of
ironic humor. Since I work primarily in wood, I see my efforts in relation to
the vernacular traditions of the carved religious figures, ships' figureheads,
and the so-called "show figures" found in the nineteenth century
outside shops or in circus displays. I am concerned, however. with contemporary
sensibility, even if I approach it through what some might consider an archaic
medium. My subjects are confronted with dilemmas they can neither escape nor
understand, and wood, through its organic warmth, its quirks, and flaws gives
their quandaries an immediacy they might not otherwise have.
