16g steel, polyethylene, cast aluminum, silicone, electro-statically applied polyester resin, vinyl
Location: Fourth floor foyer
Collection Nevada Museum of Art, purchased by VIA.
The stimulus for Wysocki’s Tonka toys is the memory of his childhood and the magic that these objects held for him as a boy. He continues to be fascinated by their bright colors, clean lines, and functionality. Tonka created real working vehicles and miniaturized them in great detail, perfectly in scale for small children to play with. Wysocki has enlarged the toys to a super-sized scale, creating the trucks and trailers in proportion to adults and adult fantasy. As sculpture, his jumbo toys include the Nevadan, a long three-trailer gravel truck, the Chi Town Hustler, and the Summer of ’75 Winnebago model. At this scale the pieces are not big enough to be “real” objects, though they simulate actual tractors, trucks and trailers. Indeed the veracity of the pieces invites one to want to get in and play, to drive the vehicles and put them to use. Wysocki is a meticulous craftsman and has fabricated these trucks with precision and intricate detail corresponding to the careful craftsmanship of the original toys.
Robert Wysocki grew up in Southern California and received his BA in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his MFA from Yale University
in sculpture and spent two years studying mathematics and physics at California State University, Chico.
For the past four years, Wysocki has been an Assistant Professor of 3-D and Conceptual Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Source: Nevada Triennial, Catalog published by Nevada Museum of Art 2005, Diane Deming, ed.
Location: Fourth floor foyer
Collection Nevada Museum of Art, purchased by VIA.
The stimulus for Wysocki’s Tonka toys is the memory of his childhood and the magic that these objects held for him as a boy. He continues to be fascinated by their bright colors, clean lines, and functionality. Tonka created real working vehicles and miniaturized them in great detail, perfectly in scale for small children to play with. Wysocki has enlarged the toys to a super-sized scale, creating the trucks and trailers in proportion to adults and adult fantasy. As sculpture, his jumbo toys include the Nevadan, a long three-trailer gravel truck, the Chi Town Hustler, and the Summer of ’75 Winnebago model. At this scale the pieces are not big enough to be “real” objects, though they simulate actual tractors, trucks and trailers. Indeed the veracity of the pieces invites one to want to get in and play, to drive the vehicles and put them to use. Wysocki is a meticulous craftsman and has fabricated these trucks with precision and intricate detail corresponding to the careful craftsmanship of the original toys.
Robert Wysocki grew up in Southern California and received his BA in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his MFA from Yale University
in sculpture and spent two years studying mathematics and physics at California State University, Chico.
For the past four years, Wysocki has been an Assistant Professor of 3-D and Conceptual Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Source: Nevada Triennial, Catalog published by Nevada Museum of Art 2005, Diane Deming, ed.
|