Sculpted meaning

A silver sheen is on every sculpture in the Creston Arts Depot. Each sculpture looks familiar, but out-of-place. A house sticks out from the wall. A silver teardrop has a faucet jutting out of it. A pair of lungs holds a face in each half, who seem to stare at each other despite their distance.

Each of these sculptures were made by Patrick Luber, whose work will be shown throughout the month of August in the Creston Arts Depot in an exhibit titled “Sculpted Meaning: The Art of Repurposed Materials.”

Luber taught sculpture classes at the University of North Dakota for 32 years, starting in 1990 and retiring in 2022, happily settling down in West Des Moines. He received numerous awards alongside being a member of the Artist’s Fellowship from the North Dakota Council on the Arts. Throughout his career, he’s had over 40 solo and 150 group exhibitions, extending to international exhibits featuring his artwork.

Art has always been in Luber’s life, citing his time growing up on a farm near Pocahontas, Illinois, as influencing how he viewed how common items in his household. Luber described that he was dealing with “the physical world” every day, which influenced him to take an interest in sculpture.

“In sculpture, you’re often dealing with physical form, real materials, in real space rather than illusionary space as painting and drawing often is,” he said.

Sculptures made by Luber have a common theme: repurposing common materials into his sculptures. The majority of his sculptures are made primarily out of aluminum cans, which he received either from people donating their used empty cans to him or dumpster diving. Taking these discarded materials is key to how he views creation.

“With a little transformation, you can make it into something, hopefully extraordinary instead of just ordinary,” he said.

After collecting these materials, he then converts them into something usable for sculpting, and then starts the building process. After Luber has an idea for a sculpture and begins building, he rarely starts over, continuing the process until the sculpture is completed.

The description of each sculpture gives the name, alongside all of the materials the sculpture is comprised of.

This repurposing of items is important to Luber. “It’s basically transforming everyday materials into something special,” he said. “Giving a glimpse of another way of thinking about ordinary materials. Through that transformation, you create a new meaning essentially.”

In his artist statement, Luber described how recontextualizing objects into art helps express ideas, and said, “This vernacular manner of working, utilizing common materials and a DIY approach to art making, reflects both idiosyncratic contemporary artmaking practices and how many people actually live their faith.”

Luber also seems himself in his artist statement as viewing artistry differently than most other artists, despite his education and decades-long practice. “I am a trained artist but have always gravitated toward the visual sensibilities of outsider and visionary artist - especially works that are expressions of faith practice outside of, or as an extension of, sanctioned practices by organized religion.”

In terms of how Luber designs sculptures, he says creating something initially recognizable helps draw people into the pieces, using his sculpture of a house titled “Picture House” as an example. As it sticks out from the wall, inside what looks like one of the windows is a small screen that loops between eight different images.

“It’s a really fascinating thing to work with, to get them to buy into the illusion,” he said. “Then, maybe you invite them into the piece a little more, consider a possible meaning.”

Luber’s artwork will be available for viewing at the Creston Arts Depot through August.