Richard Feese
by Kaleb Armao
Richard Feese is an artist from Sacramento, California who loves nature. Other than being an active artist, Richard Feese enjoys fishing, bird hunting, backpacking, and just being active in general. Feese earned both his B.A. and M.A. ART from California State University, Sacramento, and would later become a part-time faculty member as well. I enjoy Richard Feese’s artwork because he creates things intending them to draw on our curiosity and make us look a little closer, yet he also wants us to feel the funny aspect of nature. All of his art is created from recycled objects, so every singular part of his creations has a history all of its own. By creating a fish from a guitar or from an assortment of metals, we see the initial idea of the piece but are forced to look closer and realise the simplistic depth of the creation.
“Aluminum Silver Salmon” by Richard Feese
This piece is a perfect example of the detail he creates by using simple objects or fragments from other, bigger things. The scales of the fish are all similar, otherwise, we would not recognize it as a fish. Yet, when we look closer we can see that each scale is different from the rest. Feese created each scale separate from the rest as if they are each significant in their own right.
“Brass Bass” by Richard Feese
Another intriguing piece from his assortment of fish is this bass. This one is particularly cool to me because the use of the brass and the silvery metal create an appeal and sense of satisfaction to me. As opposed to the salmon, the bass is not embellished with an assortment of scales, but rather appears messy in a way. Interesting enough, the anatomy and structure of the fish are still there. Regardless of the messy appearance, the bass produces an accurate impression of its real life counterpart. I almost like this one more than the salmon just because of the fascinating composition and colors it adorns.
“Guitar Fish #2” by Richard Feese
I like this fish because of the material Feese used. We can clearly see the outline of the body of a guitar in the torso of the fish and the separate fins mounted to the outside of it. Underneath the layer of diagonal, surface texture, we find the empty heart of the guitar staring back at us in addition to the second layer of texture running opposite of the outer layer. The texture of the body makes the fish feel homely and energetic. The eyes of the fish almost seem like they are from a real fish. Contrary to the body, they make the creation feel void of a personality and soul.
“B-52 Red Tailed Hawk” by Richard Feese
“B-17 Owl” by Richard Feese
“B-2 Stealth Stingray” (front and back) by Richard Feese
I enjoy these three pieces a lot just because of the subject. Each of the bomber planes is given a personality. It is almost like personification but in physical form instead of literary. I especially enjoy the B-52 and B-2 creations because they appear as if the bird has become the plane or as if it were stuck inside of it. The “B-17 Owl” however, does feel more like a bird than the others. It clearly has the face and legs of an owl and the wings and tail of it appear more bird-like than those of the other two creations.
Altogether I really enjoy the humorous nature of Richard Feese’s creations and the time, history, and depth he puts into each individual detail.
SOURCES
“Resume.” Richard Feese. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.
“Gallery.” Richard Feese. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.
“Richard Feese.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 05 Jan. 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.