The Wiz

Title: The Wiz
Date Creation: 2001
Location:6801 Gaylord – Exterior Texas Sculpture Garden

“Sculpture began for me with casting bronze and carving stone in 1971. But welding steel has dominated my efforts since the mid ’70’s. It is the directness of working with steel that appeals to me, with its structural integrity and ability to assimilate many styles. This quality is significant since I have never felt any obligation to any specific style or in particular what might be considered the latest “ism”.

I have developed many tastes and broken many habits looking for beauty in forms influenced by the past and responding to the present. It is important to seek the unexpected, escaping from myself and opening new windows of form and ideas.

My new works are mostly kinetic and involve the viewer as a participant with counterbalanced stones, hand cranks, wheels, and wings, setting them in motion.

The intent of these sculptures is to be visually engaging, thought provoking, and entertaining. The forms are usually developed from drawings, abstactions from life or events, often visualized as simple machines whose moving parts are never fully resolved until the sculpture is finished. Making these forms function both physically and aesthetically is a challenge I pursue.” - Art Shirer, Artist

About the Artist:

Art Shirer lives and works in Dallas, TX. He received his B.F.A. from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and a M.F.A. from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA. He was also awarded an Artist Fellowship by the State of Louisiana and is a respected sculptor throughout Texas and the Southwest.

Mr. Shirer has taught welding for many years at the Creative Art Center in Dallas. He has also taught at Louisiana Tech University, East Carolina University, Brookhaven College, Midwestern State University, and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Best known for his expertly engineered kinetic sculpture, Shirer’s work and expertise are sought by curators and collectors alike.

His extensive exhibition record includes galleries and invitational shows throughout Texas as well as Louisiana, North Carolina, and Arkansas.