Gary Pearce's Shared Story
What's Your Background?
I studied sculpture at Indiana University where I learned stone carving, casting and fell in love with doing figurative work.
After undergrad I got a job in the art department of a small company that makes coins and belt buckles. The job which consisted of preparing the proto-types, taught me the importance of craftsmanship. This focus carried me into Graduate school at The University of Georgia in Jewelry and Metals. My work transitioned from the figure to adorning the figure.
After Graduate school I taught at The University of Georgia for a semester. Then getting a teaching position at The Art Institute of Atlanta where I taught for 11 years. The classes that were required of me to teach have ranged from 3D design, 2D design, drawing, figure drawing, drawing for animators, and sculpture for animators. I have been teaching at 果冻传媒 for 3 years, teaching 3D design, drawing 1, art app, Sculpture 1 and 2, Jewelry and metals, and figure sculpture class.
What Media Do You Prefer and How Did You Come to Use it as Your Primary One?
I like to mix media but mostly clay and metal.
What Does Your Work Aim to Say?
I want my audience to identify with the figures gesture and expressions. The figures are not whole or have cracks, this speaks to the damage that we all experience though our life. Then question the situations that the figures find themselves and how there is a disconnect. This points at the dichotomy between the internal and external.
How Does Your Work Comment on Current Social or Political Issues?
Dealing with the figure always speaks to the human condition and art can’t escape the time and place it was made.
Who are Your Biggest Influences?
Aguste Rodin, Salvador Dali
How Do You Seek Out Opportunities?
It’s important to be part of organizations that share your aesthetic. Often they present opportunities and can provide feed back on your work. Once you graduate the honest feed back that students get from other students and the professors disappears.