LOST And FOUND: Assemblage Artists of Northern California by Spencer Brewer & Esther Siegel – Artist Collection, Art History, Photographs

Spencer Brewer and Esther Siegel’s Lost and Found brings simple items into an extraordinary new context. This inspiring book is a gallery of enticing photographs, featuring the creative sculptural designs of eight highly accomplished Northern California assemblage artists.

If ever there was a group of individuals who colored outside the lines, they are undoubtedly represented here. Their assemblages range from the subtle to the shocking, inferring messages serious, poignant, humorous, and whimsical.

Each artist discusses their work along with their own creative inspiration. They repurpose objects to create a new form, whether to illuminate an imaginary idea, tell a story, or make a forceful statement. Piqued by the castoffs of everyday life, these three-dimensional assemblage pieces are comprised of objects ranging from the likes of jewelry and feathers to kitchen utensils, vintage toys, musical instrument parts, or even skeletal bones.

Each of these pieces is unique and provocative, both in terms of the artist’s approach and in the medium used.

Some, like Spencer Brewer and Sean O’Donnell, have a background and/or fascination with musical instruments. Brewer’s “Toot Suite” incorporates bells from 19 wind instruments and honors the patriotic music of John Phillip Sousa. There’s humor in O’Donnell’s “Pistol Whipped” featuring a 1950s cap gun with an electric beater blade extending from the barrel.

Self-described “later in life” artist Esther Siegel shows, within her narrative, that she is “actually painting a picture with objects.” Clearly a fan of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Siegel often weaves images of the artist into her work. A climbing monkey image is undoubtedly a nod to Kahlo’s pet, Fulang Chang.

A rich combination of work that resonates and work that contrasts pulls the reader inexorably forward through this anthology.

Artist Hans Bruhner considers himself a hunter/gatherer, assembling pieces that reveal the essence of an animal within salvaged wood. Such creations appear as both real and imaginary creatures.  In stark contrast, Larry Fuente makes strong social commentary with his assemblage constructed entirely of implements intended for killing. Diane Hoffman’s work often links nature and the industrial, and balances light and dark. She personifies inanimate objects, such as in her piece “She Rode in on an Elephant”, in which an oil can serves as the pachyderm’s head.

Often blending materials like paper, plastic, and wax, “late bloomer” Cat Kaufman, who began her art career at 42, seeks to evoke an emotional response from viewers. In her sculpture “Music For A Rainy Day,” she shows the quiet comfort to be found in wax-infused teabags, wood, string, and violin parts. And from the mind of Monty Monty, cold construction hand-tools create a variety of assemblages as in “Old Road Blues Bike,” a motorcycle crafted from a sax, bells, tires, rims, and gears, or “Running Rooster”, comprised of utensils like forks, spoons, a can opener, and a Swiss-army knife.

With over 200 pages, fine arts photographer Larry R. Wagner exquisitely captures the eight artists’ work. Wagner’s images keeps clear focus on individual sculptures, showing the detailed nuances that shape and highlight each construction’s imaginative power.

Lost and Found is a wondrous portrait of collective creativity.

For those who appreciate art in all its glorious forms, and those who want to understand the visual mindset of artists who embrace the potential in three dimensions, this book will not disappoint. Fans of art history will appreciate a brief, yet knowledgeable section on the development of assemblage arts from their beginnings in the 1900s to the present day. Lost and Found shows the power of art to enrich our lives and nurture the possibilities of future creative work.