Students and teachers gathered in the Technology Center to attend the workshop and lecture of Minneapolis sculptor Alan Wadzinski Oct. 18 at 9 a.m..
Those who attended the workshop watched Wadzinski take random items, such as a rusty hand-saw or an old coffee cup, and fasten them together into a single sculpture.
“What are you trying to do, Al?” the artist said to himself as he thought about where to place the next item on his sculpture.
Throughout the workshop, Wadzinski talked and laughed with the audience as he walked around the room, looking for more items to add to his creation.
When the artist completed the sculpture, he joked about what the sculpture was supposed to be.
“I wasn’t really thinking about a finished piece,” Wadzinski said. “I was just thinking about attaching objects in a random matter.”
Despite the sculpture’s unknown identity, several people snapped photos of the creation as they left the workshop at 4 p.m.
After a long day of sculpting, Wadzinski gathered his tools, and thanked those who attended.
“I thought it went really well,” the sculptor said, “I think the best part of the workshop was talking with the students.”
Psychology major J.T. Norris, a junior at USI, said he attended the workshop for his ceramics class. Norris said he has seen Wadzinski’s sculptures on display at USI and said he admires the way Wadzinski approaches his artwork.
“That’s one aspect I do like, because I asked him about that,” Norris said. “It’s more of that ‘I’m going to wing it’ kind of deal and see where it takes you.”
Wadzinski followed up his workshop with a lecture in Kleymeyer Hall, which started at 6 p.m. The lecture started with his biography and how he became a sculptor.
For the remainder of the lecture, Wadzinski showed photos of his artwork, describing each sculpture’s history and what items made up each sculpture.
After the lecture, a reception took place in the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries, where those who attended the lecture viewed some of Wadzinski’s sculptures.
Both the lecture and reception attracted several people, including USI junior Adam Rakestraw. Another fan of Wadzinski’s art, Rakestraw said he finds Wadzinski’s “impulsive” style of art interesting.
“What I like, in general, is that he’ll just grab all of these common objects and that he has the artistic ability to create what he does,” Rakestraw said.
