John Waddell
Encyclopedia
- For the British engineer see John WaddellJohn WaddellJohn Henry Waddell is an American sculptor, painter and educator.-Early life:Waddell was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1921 and moved to Evansville, Indiana at the age of ten. There he began to study art at the Katherine Lord Studio, and by the age of 16 was teaching classes there...
- There was also a noted bridgeBridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
designer named John Alexander Low WaddellJohn Alexander Low WaddellJohn Alexander Low Waddell was an American civil engineer and prolific bridge designer, with more than a thousand structures to his credit in the United States, Canada, as well as Mexico, Russia, China, Japan, and New Zealand...
John Henry Waddell (born February 14, 1921) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and educator.
Early life
Waddell was born in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
in 1921 and moved to Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
at the age of ten. There he began to study art at the Katherine Lord Studio, and by the age of 16 was teaching classes there. In 1939, he graduated from high school and moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he had received a full tuition scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
His education was interrupted by a stint in the military from 1943 to 1945. The following year, found Waddell back in Chicago attending the School of the Art Institute and then the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
on the G.I. Bill. In 1947, his teaching career resumed and he taught at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
Adult Education Program in Chicago until 1954. 1955 found him back in Evansville, this time teaching at the National College of Education. From 1955–1957, Waddell served as head of Art Education at the Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
before moving to the sunny Southwest where he became head the Art Education school at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, (at that time Arizona State College) where he was to stay until resigning in 1964 to devote all his time and energy to his sculpture.
In 1949, Waddell married for the second time, to Ruth Holland. Waddell has 6 children.
Sculpture career
Waddell spent the early 1960s in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, continuing to create new works and studying the casting process. In September 1963 a bomb exploded in a church in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, killing four young girls. This prompted Waddell to create That Which Might Have Been: Birmingham 1963, a work that was set up at the First Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Universalist Church in Phoenix in 1969. A second casting was later dedicated in Birmingham.
1965 found Waddell and his growing family moving to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where he continued working on commissions as well as soaking up the ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
traditions in sculpture.
Through the combined efforts of two Phoenix philanthropists, Walter Bimson and Lewis Ruskin, Waddell received a commission in 1970 to create a major work for downtown Phoenix. When completed in 1974, Dance consisted of eleven life sized figures in various dance positions and another figure playing the flute. Although the piece has been moved from its original location in the Phoenix Civic Plaza to the sidewalk in front of the Herberger Theater, it remains Waddell’s tour de force in his adopted home of Arizona.
It was while completing Dance that Waddell formed the apprenticeship program that was to occupy the teaching slot in his life until 1992. Under this program, apprentices were able to study every aspect of creating major works of represential sculpture, from working with live models through casting and finishing the final project.
On December 15, 1984 a fire destroyed Waddell’s studio and all the works that were inside at that time. Within ten months another studio, albeit a smaller one, had been built near Cornville, Arizona
Cornville, Arizona
Cornville is a census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 3,335 at the 2000 census. The Cornville CDP includes the communities of Cornville and Page Springs....
, and Waddell was able to resume his sculpting.
With the exception of a very few sculptures, Waddell always creates figurative statues of people who are nude. The 1964 work, Family, was one of the exceptions. In that work and despite his objections, Waddell was obliged to place shorts on the male figure of the group. Female nudity was not a problem, so the figure of the woman was allowed to remain unclothed. Another clothed work is the portrait of his patron Walter Reed Bimson.
In February 2007, his sculptures Gathering and Andrea, a total of seven human figures, were stolen from the Waddell Sculpture Garden, on a plateau overlooking the artist's home. Waddell discovered the theft himself when walking up with friends to see the sculptures. The estimated value is over $385,000.http://www.redrocknews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=275&Itemid=88888916
Selected public works
- Dance Mother (Ruth), - Phoenix Art Center, Phoenix Arizona 1962
- Dance Daughters, - Yuma Art Center, Yuma, ArizonaYuma, ArizonaYuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, 1963 - That Which Might Have Been: Birmingham 1963, - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix 1964
- Family, - Maricopa County Building, Phoenix, AZ 1967
- Past and Present. – Glendale Community CollegeGlendale Community CollegeGlendale Community College can refer to one of two colleges in the United States.* Glendale Community College * Glendale Community College...
, Glendale, ArizonaGlendale, ArizonaGlendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
1968 - Dance,–Downtown Phoenix, AZ, 1968 to 1974
- Marlo Seated –Phoenix Public LibraryPhoenix Public LibraryThe Phoenix Public Library is a municipal library system serving Phoenix, Arizona, and operated by the City of Phoenix. There are 16 branches currently in operation citywide, anchored by the flagship Burton Barr Central Library on the northern edge of downtown Phoenix...
, Phoenix AZ, 1977 - Seated Flute Player –Weinstein Center for the Performing Arts, Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, IllinoisEvanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, and University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, 1979 - Apogee & Momentum, - U.S. Tennis Association, Flushing Meadows, New York 1980 - 1988
- Welcoming Muse, Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, California
- I Am That I Am, - Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona)Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona)Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formally incorporated in 1920, it affiliated with the Reform movement in 1935....
, 1982
External links
- http://www.artbyjohnwaddell.com website
- Art by Waddell website
- Rising by Waddell - Relief website