Stephen Glueckert: CONSTRUCTIVE
“Seeking truth and embracing the evolution of a becoming is the underpinning of my creative process. As the German philosopher Hegel states, “Becoming is superior to Being”.
Spring 2024 Artist-in-Residence at Travelers’ Rest State Park.
“Rower” by Stephen Glueckert
What role does place (physical space and community) play in your work, especially during your time at Open AIR?
Place is important to me. While I have traveled and worked in different parts of the world, I live two blocks from where I was born. Missoula is and has always been my home. I am a sixth-generation Montanan, and my family has been here since the 1860s. My brothers and I are the first generation to attend college. The arts are a way of expressing and sharing the importance of place and our level of understanding of our place in it. It is difficult to see and perhaps difficult to suggest that place comes through in all the work I create. And I reject the notion of a regional look or regional identity of the arts. Today, we live in a world where the overlapping of cultures spans the globe like an interlocking spider web. Most artists have ready access to appreciate differing expressions in every corner of the globe.
Our challenge in our time is not enough access but how to edit and purge the voluminous information we have. Place is ever-present but not obvious. Traditionally, when artists work from the landscape, from nature, write songs about a local story, or, for example, create a coloring book related to a historic journey, the regional connection is obvious. I am just not sure that place is demonstratively reflected in every work I create while, at the same time, I strive to reach a more universal expression. Seeking truth and embracing the evolution of a becoming is the underpinning of my creative process. As the German philosopher Hegel states, “Becoming is superior to Being”.
“Bicyclist” by Stephen Glueckert
Describe your Open AIR Residency experience.
I had the chance to share the experience of the Open AIR Residency at Travelers’ Rest State Park with my wife Bev Beck Glueckert. Each of us settled into a daily approach and practice, which were quite different in practice. Each day, we started our residency with a stroll through the park, absorbing the history, watching birds, and observing nature's own perseverance in the face of our own presence. For myself, I focused on creating a coloring book for TR Park and writing some music inspired by the place. I was grateful that the public presentation afforded us the opportunity to share our progress on each of these fronts.
I completed six songs, which I occasionally perform, and finished a 22-page coloring book offered in the TR Gift Shop. I don't think the residency has changed my practice; however, it afforded me a unique insight into the history of the Salish homeland, a respect for this very special place, a connection to the generous staff, a camaraderie with the other artists working in Open AIR and the kind and welcoming educational environment of TR. It has encouraged me to continue to be experimental and expansive in my approach.
“Cassowary” by Stephen Glueckert
What are you reading/watching/or listening to?
I am currently reading/perusing some biographies, Millard Fillmore, Miro, and Vincent Van Gogh, and I just finished an excellent book on Edith Wilson, Untold Power. I have been referencing Joseph Cornell's Master Of Dreams in my recent series. Bev and I have had many opportunities to revisit the park, and I treasure the time we spent there. I am sure that we will visit it in the future. We live in a very special place and the arts hopefully help us clarify the power of nature. The arts help us to have a constructive and courteous dialogue about the region's importance and our place in it.
“Peter and the Wolf” by Stephen Glueckert
Tell us about your artistic background and who helped you on your journey.
In the art world, we are often asked to cite artistic influences, and since much of my work is assemblage-based and encourages touching, I often say Joseph Cornell, Dada, and HC Westerman,... However, I have always known that my parents have been the greatest influences in my art and life. My father was a hard-working, quiet laundry man and a gifted machinist. My mother, proud of her Irish heritage, was a gifted musician who was diligent in her attention to sharing her music with her nine boys. Art is many things all at the same time. I don't think I ever heard my father say the word “art,” yet he was my greatest influence. I refuse to ignore history and lean on the past. My memories of laboring in the laundry and in the summers as a farm hand inform my practice. I am a realist, not a romantic. I regret I was blind to all of the gifts my parents shared with us; I miss them. I believe that as artists, we move through stages of development naturally.
Niche said, “All things eternal are but a metaphor.” We use American English to communicate with one another in America. To most of us, our indigenous and origin languages have fallen away, and we no longer have conversations in German or Celt, Swedish; we communicate in American English. Spoken language is the tap root of our cultural identity. Art is nothing if it is not shared and engaged by the audience. As artists, we are natural educators; as I said, I feel our evolution as artists is natural. We move through stages, and the longer we practice, hopefully in a relative sense, the more mature our art becomes. I have been practicing a long time so hopefully, it is reflected in the work that I share.
“Xylophone” by Stephen Glueckert
What are you up to now (post Open AIR)?
Since the residency at Travelers’ Rest, my studio time continues at a regular pace. I have never slowed down. The drawings I have been working on recently, relate to the history of museums, participatory sculpture, references to H.C Westerman and Joseph Cornell, puppetry, my own work as an assemblage artist, and the "cabinet of curiosities," which refers to America's early museum history. Each of these drawings shows a way for the viewer to participate or imagine participating or being invited to manipulate the figure in the drawings. I continue to draw and to play music every day. Many drawings and songs I have created will never be seen or heard. Drawing and song are languages that provide an avenue for coping with the world we are immersed in. For me, the arts are a ritual and a rite and a person's expression is about community more than commodity.
In addition to drawing and working on music, I play regularly at assisted living venues in Polson and, sometimes, Missoula. My series of 24 large drawings of Thomas Meagher, which toured seven venues in Montana, was recently accessioned by the Montana State Historical Society Museum in Helena. I am very proud that this has happened. The Big Sky Journal published a portion of an interview with me in Complex Expression: Mixed Media Art in the Arts 2024 Issue. I am framing and preparing for an exhibition in Billings at Kirk's Grocery in 2025. I exhibit annually with the Salt Mine Art Group, and my work is carried at Gallery 709 in Missoula. I participate in regional art auctions and annual Holiday exhibitions at Radius Gallery in Missoula. I am, of course, looking forward to the Open AIR Alumni Exhibition soon with the artists with whom Bev and I shared our residency time.
“Pleasure Island” by Stephen Glueckert
Stephen Glueckert at Travelers’ Rest State Park
