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| NEWS John will be demonstrating bronze forging at the 2008 Southern Illinois Metals Society conference (SIMS) at the SIUC Brent Kington Smithy Saturday, September 27th at 1:30 pm. The conference begins Friday and also features Ries Niemi (lecture at 1 pm Friday) and Mike Bondi (lecture at 2:30 pm Friday). The fabulous SIMS Auction will be held at Turley Park beginning at 3 pm on Saturday. See more at http://mypage.siu.edu/sims. The latest edition from Schiffer Books features several works by John. Here is the info they sent to us:  "We thought you would be interested in knowing about the release of Ironwork Today 2: Inside & Out by Jeffrey B. Snyder. To view the book please click on this link and you will be directed to our website: http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=9780764330643 Book Description Hundreds of beautiful color photos display the varied, impressive iron artwork from today's artist-blacksmiths. See a variety of styles, from Modern to Victorian, in original works for homes, offices, and public spaces. This metal art ranges in scope from massive public monuments to small, everyday objects and includes sculpture, gates, railings, furniture, lighting fixtures ranging from chandeliers to lamps and candleholders, doors, locks, and more. Concise text introduces each artist and their work. This book is the second in a series pioneered by the late Dona Meilach and provides readers familiar with her work with a new look at some of the artists they have come to know as well as an introduction to artists not previously known. This book will quickly become a prized possession, critical reference, and inspiration for homeowners, designers, artists, and blacksmiths alike." Book Details ISBN: 9780764330643 Size: 8 1/2" x 11" Illustrations: 500 Color Photos Pages: 256 Availability: Sep 2008 Publish Info: Schiffer Publishing Binding: Hard Cover Price: $50.00 * * * Faculty Invitational is the title of a group exhibition at the Atrium Gallery, Ball State University in Muncie, IN, from August 26-September 20, 2008. John was invited by sculptor Chet Geiselman. * * * To the right are progress photos of the new Park, as of August 11, 2008. Here is a description of the project:Walnut Street Greenspace (working title: Town Center Park), a comprehensive project for our studio, commissioned by the Elizabeth A. Smysor Trust. The entire park is the artwork, and the design incorporates a sculptural shelter/pavilion/performance space with amphitheatre seating, custom benches, a bronze fountain, and gardens adjacent to the Sallie Logan Library, Murphysboro, IL. Pavilion, fountain and benches designed by John Medwedeff. Landscape designed in collaboration with Darrell Garrison, AIA, of Planning Resources, Wheaton, IL. Fager-McGee, construction contractor. Urban Oasis, fountain consulting. On August 8, 2008, we completed and installed this bronze fountain (a Frederick Biehle of VIA Architecture design, built by us) for a residence in Cleveland, Ohio:  A link to the Southern Illinoisan newspaper video about the Park fountain: http://videos.thesouthern.com/p/video?id=1986628 http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2008/07/09/front_page/25041224.txt July 9, 2008. Click above to read a short article from today's paper about the new park we are building. Progress photos of the park fountain and pavilion design are to the right. We just received word that John is featured for a week on the front page of myartspace.com. After much preparation, ground was broken today, May 27, 2008, on the Walnut Street Park/Greenspace (see description, above) in Murphysboro, IL! May 23-25, 2008 John taught a course titled "The Magnificent 7," which focused on 7 fundamental processes for creating utilitarian, decorative, and sculptural forms at the forge in a context of experimentation and craftsmanship. His son James assisted on this weekend course at beautiful Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA. Recently added: Gifts and Furnishings! April, 2008. What are we working on right now? Here is a list of current projects: Wellspring, forged and fabricated bronze sculptural fountain for the LeClaire Garden Court on the N. O. Nelson Campus of SIU Edwardsville Illinois Capitol Development Board Art-in-Architecture Project (awaiting installation). We have recently added: work for sale A WSIU In Focus program featuring John's recent and past work was shown at 9 PM, Friday, Dec. 7 & 14, 2007. Scroll down the page to John Medwedeff and click on "watch now" to see the first segment (and the other cool shows) in this link: http://www3.wsiu.org/television/infocusarchive/searchresult.php WTTW Chicago's series Arts Across Illinois featured John in October and November broadcasts (Oct 21, 2007 @ 5:30 PM in Chicago; Nov. 25, 2007 @ 9:30 PM in Carbondale). Brent Kington and other blacksmith/sculptors are featured in additional programs that focus on metalsmithing in Illinois. Here is the Medwedeff blurb from the WTTW site:  John Medwedeff's public art is monumental and meticulous. His work blurs the boundary between the world of traditional metalworker and modern sculptor. . . . UrbanArt has commissioned John to create a steel sculpture for the Boyle Investment Company Plaza in Memphis, TN. Here is an article (link below) about the new Murphysboro park John has designed in collaboration with Planning Resources architects in Wheaton, IL. The park will be located next to Sallie Logan Library and construction will begin this winter. This article ran in a Southern Illinoisan newspaper special Murphysboro section. John has also designed a bronze fountain and a sculptural amphitheater pavilion for the project. John has just been awarded a percent-for-the-arts sculptural fountain commission for the N. O. Nelson campus of Lewis & Clark College by the State of Illinois. In September, 2007, John installed a sculptural, bronze stair railing in a residence located in Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA. See installation photo of the Hood Stair Railing, above right. Sculpture Invasion is the title of a group exhibition that included John's work at the Koehnline Museum of Art, July 12 - August 30, 2007.  Prow, forged and fabricated steel, 13' x 8' x 4' John was a panelist and presenter on Public Art for the Professional development seminar at the Society of North American Goldsmiths' conference at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN, June 13, 2007. The University School of Nashville honored John with its Distinguished Alumnus Award. John gave the convocation address to over 500 attendees on Tuesday, May 22, 2007. . . . Fine Art from the Forge: Work by Southern Illinois Blacksmiths was held March 19 - June 2, 2007 in the Gallery Space at 1008 Walnut, Murphysboro, IL. Curated by John Medwedeff, it presented the work of 20 blacksmiths.  John and Metal Museum Director Jim Wallace at the Fine Art from the Forge opening This is an exhibition that celebrates both the work of artist-blacksmiths living in Southern Illinois and the important history of the local blacksmithing community. The work in the exhibition explores diverse uses of iron and mixed media for decorative and sculptural possibilities. In the mid 20th century, a combination of World War II, new technology, changing economies and the emerging movement of Modernism in art, design, and architecture interrupted the rich history of creative work by blacksmiths. In the post-war years, blacksmiths and their skills all but passed into history. The 1960's saw the beginning of a renewed interest in the craft as reaction to an increasingly modernized world, and in concert with counter-culture idealism of the times. By then, the traditional system of handing down skills from master to apprentice had ended. The Fox Fire book series shed some light on the old methods, a handful of "old timers" were still around to teach a new generation, and there were people trying to figure it out their own. Historically, blacksmithing had been one of the building trades. Then in 1969, Brent Kington, Professor of Metalsmithing at SIUC, brought blacksmithing into the academic art world for the first time in the United States. By the mid 1970's the Metals Department at SIUC had become very well known as the one and only graduate program for Artist-Blacksmiths. During this time the nation was swept up in Bicentennial celebrations. To mark the occasion, Evert Johnson, Curator of Art at the SIUC University Museum from 1966 to 1989, curated the 1976 exhibition "Iron - Solid Wrought USA" featuring historic and contemporary ironwork. This further cemented Southern Illinois' place in the growing international blacksmithing community. Jim Wallace, one of Evert Johnson's museum assistants and Brent Kington's graduate students from that time, went on to become Director of the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Several artists represented in this current exhibition have worked and trained at the Metal Museum as well as at SIUC. In the last 30 years, decorative ironwork has found its way back into architecture and forged iron has become a respected medium for fine art. Graduates of SIUC have started shops and built academic programs across the country. A global community of blacksmiths has come together to fully reinvigorate the profession. The SIUC Metals Department, now under the leadership of Rick Smith, still a center of blacksmithing in the U.S., has continued to foster the work of emerging artists. Several of us who moved here for the educational opportunities decided to settle in the area. The result of all this is that Southern Illinois is home to a thriving and constantly evolving blacksmithing community that occupies a unique place in world of contemporary ironwork. John Medwedeff . . . In January, 2007, John installed a sculptural, bronze, 3-story stair railing in a residence located in Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA. See detail photo of the Manchester Grand Stair Railing, right. A monumental steel sculpture titled "Prow" (see photo above, 13' x 8' x 4', forged & fabricated steel) was shown November 9-12 at SOFA Chicago in the RawSpace exhibition. "Bloom," a bronze sculpture, was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Lars Hoffman in a ceremony at Lewis & Clark College in Godfrey, IL on Tuesday, September 26, 2006. The sculpture was installed Friday, August 11. The May 2006 issue of Smithsonian (pp.28-30) contains an article titled "Forging Its Own Future: Dedicated Metalsmiths Help a Memphis Museum Revive a Lost American Art Form," which quotes John on page 30. Art & Antiques magazine included John in their March 2006 "100 Top Collectors' and What They Collect" issue. He's quoted on p. 154 and the studio is listed on page 152 in an article by Elaine Glusac titled "Then & Now: Iron Forges Ahead." Here is an exerpt: Southern Illinois' John Medwedeff makes both sculpture and furnishings and believes decorative and fine arts inform each other. "When you work at the forge you're manipulating material and changing dimensions," Medwedeff says. "Working with hot iron tends to produce graceful, organic lines. What's inherent in blacksmithing is easily extrapolated into sculpture." |
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         Town Center Park construction progress, August, 2008   Town Center Park Fountain, 1/4 scale model & full size studio photo    Town Center Park Fountain, 1/12 scale model views, work in progress, 2008  Murphysboro Town Center Park Pavilion, working paper models * * *  Wellspring, forged and fabricated bronze sculptural fountain, progress photo, 2008  Maquette of a steel sculpture for Boyle Investment Co., in progress, 2008  Hood Stair Railing, forged & fabricated bronze, 2007 Manchester Grand Stair Railing, 32" x 34', forged and fabricated bronze, 2007. See more images on the Sculpture or Architectural Ironwork pages.  Bloom, 12' x 4' x 2.5', forged & fabricated bronze, Lewis & Clark College |
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John Medwedeff Metalsmithing, Sculpture, Furnishings 695 Future Lane Murphysboro, IL 62966 voice 618 687 4304 fax 618 687 5220 john@johnmedwedeff.com |
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