Sculptor for the Conservative Revolution
By: Matthew G. Welter Sculptor
This article is a polemic call to arms, on a battle field of ideas. It is offered in the furtherance of principles worthy of intrepid defense. I am not inclined, herein, to govern my choice of verbiage, nor target my appeal to any less then thinkers of the highest order. Thrill seekers and intellectual loiterers will be unimpressed by the following paragraphs, since I will not be held hostage to their limitations. This being said, I hope you will come along, that I may justify your patience.
Lamentably, the guardianship of democracy has been impropriated under the guise of intellectual diversity. A cacophonous censure challenges those who would expose the deception of our dominant media. Where once we strove for moral sanctity, today political correctness takes priority. Anything but inclusive, its true motive lays stealth. In actuality it is exclusionary, and serves to separate the very populace it proclaims to unify. Political correctness tears at the very fabric of communication. Conventional honesty is ineffective in the face of such deceit, whose frugality of substance perverts our elections and pervades our institutions; leveraging the ardency of political neophytes. This is a sociological malfunction financed by an encumbered minority; one burdened beyond justification, yet not soon to be relieved from the bonds of servitude. Such is the assembly of unfortunates termed achievers, and they are still constrained by common decency. In the face of this frontal assault, I am given to devote my trifling abilities to the venerable cause of conservatism.
Cutting-edge artists have long functioned as the conscience of society, not themselves especially correct, or necessarily good. They are nonetheless possessed by a clarity of insight, owing in part to the particularities of vivid imagination. The artist, more than any visionary has mastered the means to illustrate vision, and thus occupies the unenviable position of trend setter. Variations of emergent direction are often appropriated by scientists, clergymen, politicians, and the like. They build on the foundations of otherwise illusory vision, as lain by artists, writers, and philosophers. From the first cave paintings through the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, to 20th century cinematography, the arts have been the fulcrum for social change.
Regrettably, the current state of artistic expression is too often lacking innocence. From our universities to our galleries and museums, the arts have been effectively reduced to a mouthpiece-in-monotone for a socialist agenda; human progression being effectively short-circuited.
Conversely, innocence may occasion tolerance of new ideas. This factor is often crucial in transcending prevailing perception. By these means, social currents must periodically be unsettled, thereby promoting objectivity. Still waters are indeed prone to stagnation.
Arguably, the very purpose of art is to set the tempo for a humanity which begs an underlying theme. By virtue of some pendulous nature, morality, when not disenfranchised from consideration, holds the duality of human nature in check. Accordingly, any objective assessment of contemporary human circumstance must conclude that an immediate shift to the right is in order. As a conduit for public communication, well executed art provides its own limited shield from ridicule; it's profundity invulnerable behind a curtain of grace, evincing mastery over diversity. Like other mechanisms of public discourse, the arts are presently encumbered by imperious forces, frantic in their efforts to maintain control. In the name of propriety, artistic expression must be liberated. Perhaps this reclamation should even take priority, since correlative institutions tend to take direction from the arts.
As a kind of moral compass, the arts must accompany humanity into a technological age, ensuring ascendancy of virtue, not by any moral superiority, but rather through unconstrained communication. Thus, free thinkers must pursue unrestricted venues in order to present their ideas, not the least of which being cyberspace (my web sight is www.conservativesculptor.com). By this venue I hope to gain audience with to that intellect which inhabits the uncharted expanses beyond the reach of institutionalized sanction. This, in order that my unorthodox contribution find a clearing.
If you find concepts like "sense of mission" or "calling” too enigmatic or esoteric for credible induction, then you may wish to forgo the following inclusion. Alternatively, should my verbal destination serve you well, I would appeal to your sense of adventure, that your patience may yet know further justification.
I aspire to become the Sculptor for the conservative revolution.
American writers have long striven to articulate the fundamental precepts of self rule. So why should I presume to be any different? Because I am different. I am a passable writer, but first I'm a sculptor.
Sculpture has the power to mesmerize at a glance. Clearly independent from painting, sculpture lacks the option of backdrop to frame and support a primary subject. Poor little image... a sculpture has to stand there all alone, naked to the world. It makes it's statement or is politely ignored. For this reason, however, sculpture has the potential to communicate instantaneously, perhaps like no other medium.
Even music must have at least a few minutes of one's attention to make its point. An actor must explain away costumes, sets, supporting actors, lighting -- it all takes time! The literary arts are arguably the most burdened of all. All the writer has, in order to engage the reader is a pretentious, upper-case title. After that, we are left with lines and lines of boring black and white. And it better be good from the start or you've lost 'em-- even then, wit without brevity is obnoxious.
My point is that sculpture has an elaborate visual language as well; imagery which, properly accessed, communicates at a glance.
You may wonder how I dare stray from the liberal masses who domonate the established art scene. It is the established art's role to forward the cause of social values, right? Absolutely wrong. Who's values, and who decides? I do, and I'll tell you why:
I taught myself to carve life-sized wooden figures under an Oak tree at age thirteen. There, I scraped the sawdust into a pile and began to shape my life's work. From that outdoor studio, I progressed to living under a bridge, where I spent a wet winter carving figures out of wood stolen from some lady's firewood pile. Aside from this extensive training, I have never taken an art class in my life. Regardless, at age 37, I own and operate "Timeless Sculptures" working studio/gallery in King's Beach (on Lake Tahoe's North Shore). It has become a California legend of sorts, representing the works of dozens of sculptors. There, I carve sculptures from huge tree stumps in floor-sized to heroic proportions. After some 25 years of begging, bleeding, laughing and being laughed at--I will decide the values my works represent.
Most recently, my clay studies have produced human forms in all-inclusive detail; surrounded, if not comprised of abstraction, articulating enduring grace and disciplined form. In the interim, pertinent imagery communicates variant essays on a common treatise. My style, never fully evolved, is a congruent statement, at once illustrative and elaborate in implication. By these means onlookers are engaged, yet not detained; free to explore the proposition, should curiosity sustain desire.
Presently my works in clay are enlarged to floor sized dimension in wood. To date I have created monuments from up-rooted tree stumps in a traditional genre. Currently I am seeking commissions to create more contemporary theme pieces in monumentalism befitting the conservative cause. My table sized "moquettes", cast and sold, may find their way to enlargement, should popularity attract the means. These will, at a glance invoke, even as they provoke for decades, perhaps centuries. I suppose I want the last word.
My hope is for these works to forever resonate such pertinent themes as follows:
Lessons from the ecology movement
The contract for America, and the Gingrich Revolution
The works and philosophy of Ayn Rand
The true reform party
Benjamin Franklin: Father of technology
Economy: the backbone of global peace
The Reagan Legacy
So there's my idea in plain talk. I've spent 30 years learning to do what I do, and the conservative revolution has been centuries evolving. Perhaps now it's time for all of our patience to be justified.
If you have ideas regarding subject, funding or venue, Matthew Welter can be contacted at: "Timeless Sculptures Studio/Gallery", at Lake Tahoe, CA or visit his web sight at www.conservativesculptor.com.
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Fine art from Timeless Sculptures:
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