Priority Façade Copyright ©1991 Media: steel and ceramic Dimensions: 96" h. x 55" x 18" Weight: 175 pounds Following is from the March, 1992 issue of Ceramics Monthly: Priority Façade, a clay and steel wall sculpture revealing a personal view of contemporary culture by William Disbro (Jamestown, New York), was exhibited recently at International House in New York City. "The overall form of the piece is adapted from the Gothic cathedral, definitely a value statement for those builders," Disbro explained. "In Priority Façade, symbolism underlies the forms and the relationships of the forms. The higher up the Façade, the more important the form. This is the hierarchical statement of values. "The absence of blatant religious forms is significant. The Catholic cathedral represented almost the entire medieval population in all ways: social, economic, religious, intellectual. In this piece, the cathedral is used to show relationships without the religious significance of form, just as in our culture the form is present without significance. "The highest openings or windows are reserved for our most valuable, treasured concerns - our military. Also, in this highest regard are the symbols of our federal republic - the eagle in front of the stars and stripes. Close observation of the eagle reveals a bird form that also might one of a buzzard, that scavenger for sustenance. "Just beneath the highest level, we find the "wheel" or "rose" window surrounded with values of equal importance. The center of the wheel is self, our most important concern. Directly behind is a large house. Our homes are sites that dominate nature rather than coexist. "To the left of the wheel window, we find two openings having to do with our immediate concerns: clothes and cars. The far left opening is filled with clothes, but the TV monitor at the top shows an empty hanger, telling us that we can never have enough proper clothes. The next opening deals with cars and how they become feminine objects for masculine manipulation. The negative space between the cars becomes the figure of a woman with the top tires becoming breasts. "To the right of the wheel window, we find two openings whose subjects are also very dear to us: law and commerce. The opening with the complacent judge shows two lawyers shaking hands, each with one hand behind him holding a bag of tribute to help smooth the way for progress. These bags of tribute remind one of the medieval bag of silver always placed near Judas. Only lawyers have the ability to shake hands with a left and right hand, all beneath a TV monitor showing unequal justice. The opening to the right reminds us that sex can sell anything to anybody, and that will make us happy - both the sellers and the buyers. "Immediately beneath the wheel window is a horizontal division marked by a space bordered by four gargoyles. The medieval gargoyle had utility in that projected rainwater away from the side of the cathedral, the water actually running through the mouth of these monstrosities - notices to the unwary of life's temptations and troubles. The placement of these four gargoyles provides a clear break for those concerns we acknowledge above and those events and existences we don't choose to deal with below. "The first level below the gargoyles concerns itself with the environment that many find themselves living in - the occurrence of muggings, homelessness, deteriorating urban areas (notice the drug syringe on the fender of the abandoned car) and, of course, overcrowding of our jails. "Moving lower and getting further away from our consciousness, we find four figures representing segments of cultural neglect - Native Americans, the elderly, the infirm and basic dietary education. "At the lowest level, we find the entrances to the cathedral form; even though doors are present and appear to be open, these doors are really not open. At the top of these entrances, we find TV cameras that are documenting everything, regardless if anyone is looking at monitors. "At this lowest level, in the left tympanum, we find starving children. The center tympanum deals with the homeless who have gathered to sleep under the watchful eye of one of their members, who holds a cane for protection. The right tympanum addresses what should be our highest priority and yet we find it at the bottom - children and education. How seriously should we take a culture that has rising, not falling, infant mortality rates and illiteracy? Here, equations are presented to a figure who must count fingers and toes, yet will find no success. "At the very bottom, furthest removed from our consciousness, we find abandoned planters that once elegantly announced an important entry to salvation. Now there's a used beverage container laying against the weed-filled planter." Return to Priority Facade Back to Gallery Images and Content ©2009 William Disbro