Recently, I received an invitation to attend a guest lecture by renowned sculptor Ben Hammond at the brand new Salt Lake Art Museum (SLAM). His thoughts and those of Micah Christensen of Anthonys Fine Art – who hosted the event – resonated with me as they highlighted great parallels between art and architecture. The angle of the sun, viewsheds, average annual design temperature, humidity, etc all play an important role in decisions large and small from the orientation of a building to the wall system that is chosen. Beyond that, the visual styles often employed usually tie back to emotions owners had from childhood. The homes they may have spent time in when they were young harken back to English, German, or Scandinavian vernacular styles that were brought with immigrants over the past few hundred years that lead to the foundation of the architecture that we see across Utah and that are still built today. Or, as Micah put it, “all things are Genealogy and Geography.”
Ben is famous as a sculptor for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and also an avid sculptor for the Pro Football hall of fame having completed over 50 busts. As he spoke about his method, I was strongly reminded of the early design process where we are considering such basic questions as the size of the building, how the massing is arranged, and the structural system that will be used in the final construction. Our process starts with small sketches to establish the overall vision, with each iteration gaining greater and great clarity as the design progresses, much the same as bringing a camera into focus.
If you are interested in Ben’s work you can find him on his website:
https://www.benhammondfineart.com/