Socialist Chess
Sotsialistichesskiye Shakhmaty – The Chess Set of The Russian Revolution
bfk is a satirical writer living in New York City. When he's not busy sculpting in clay, plaster or bronze, he's usually busy not writing satire.
Socialist Chess originated 1983. It came about from fooling around with some modeling clay the my daughter left the year before. Who knew that someone who can't draw for shit would understand art in three dimensions?
In addition to some plaster and composite sets made which would break every time they fell over, two bronze (red and white) were eventually cast in 1996. If they fall over, they break the board.
Socialist is the only chess set where the pawns turn around and attack their own royalty. Ha ha. A lot of work for such a small joke.
I know what you're thinking... Very nice, but is that all you can do?
Well, no. I can do this. A Xmas card from 1985. It is entitled:
Peace on Earth, Reagan in Space
You may note the smoke coming out of the rocket. That was done by myself when I used to smoke. Ahh, the good old days...
Anything else?...
Well, a year before (a year after I started sculpting, I was commissioned by a friend, who worked for Liza Minelli, to create a sculpture that would be used as a birthday for Chita Rivera. Oh yes. The commission was fifty dollars, which was fifty more than anything I had made by writing since I came to New York.
St. Bernard Bearing Commission
Of course, I was given total artistic discretion. Except that it had to be a St. Bernard and it had to have a halo. (It was an "inside joke" that none of us were privy to.) Otherwise I could do what I want.
And this was the result....
Still not impressed..
Well, a year before this... In my first year of sculpting, (1983), I did this. Probably my favorite.
A Xmas Karl
I still have him, and I take him out at the end of every year.
Can't always do simply three-dimensional caricatures. So in 1988 I tackled the master, Rodin and his Burgers of Calais. And here is the result.
Hare Xmas
Photoshop would have been so much easier.
Okay. But plaster doesn't last forever. What else have you done in bronze besides the chess set? Well, my first bronze class (in 1999) involved casting these two. All the other classmates had cute little figures to bronze. And then (with the permission of the instructor) I brought in my life size otters....
Otto and Ottila
I do not have them (in bronze) anymore. They stayed with a house we sold. god only knows what happened to them. The purchasers were pretty low brow. Well, that's art. And that's life.