Symbols in metal
Sculptor Frank Sheriff explores
By Timothy Ruel
religious and social icons in his work
Special to the Star-BulletinFrank Sheriff can sound a lot like the Howard Stern of sculpting, unafraid to offend.
While talking about the influence of Catholic and Eastern religions on his art, Sheriff says: "Protestants don't have any really good art. They seem to have kind of left that out.
"They have the cross, but that doesn't have the emotional quality of the image of Christ on the cross, the flaming heart or anything like that. In a certain way, the richness of the religious experience has been deleted."
Sheriff, a sculptor who works primarily in bronze, is not out to create controversy. His one-man exhibition at Sisu Gallery, "Strange Beauty," opens tonight. But even his "Homage to Chicks from Hell," a woman's-shoe-cum-religious-icon, is harmless.
"There is a little bit of poking fun at the religions," he says about two of his pieces, "Waffles Coming Soon" and "Holy Roller," which work Christian crosses into household appliances. "But I do it with such a respect for the symbols."
He expects some people will be insulted, but not upset. Like many of us, Sheriff merely seeks answers to his own questions about religion. He was raised Protestant-Christian, but as he grew older, he said, "It dawned on me, why did the old Jewish couple next door, or the Buddhist couple, who worked their whole lives trying to do good, have to burn in hell? It was hard to adhere to that belief. It was not inclusive, somehow. Belief in something greater is important. As long as we're respecting other people and their beliefs, if there is any kind of afterlife, we'd tend to do pretty good."
By connecting religious icons with everyday modern objects, such as cars, furniture fixtures and train tracks, he sees how far he can challenge religion, without going too far. "It's about reflecting my own spiritual quest."
After apologizing for sounding cheesy, he explains, "I take a joy in combining something at Goodwill or a garage sale with some kind of religious symbol." He describes it as Ecumenical art: the joining of many religions within sculpture.
"I'm not afraid of making something that would be perceived as strange or weird."
"Strange Beauty" became the exhibit's appropriately Hallow-eenish name after so many of Sheriff's friends saw his work and commented, "Oh, how strange," "Oh, that's beautiful" and "I don't know what goes on inside your head."
Then, when the Billie Holiday song, "Strange Fruit" came on his radio, Sheriff knew he had his exhibit title. The song -- describing lynched bodies hanging from trees -- created a lot of controversy when Holiday recorded it, and fits in with Sheriff's belief in a need for more tolerance.
"Everything kind of blends in, things I might be listening to."
That's the best way to describe his sculpting, too: a blend that joins the influence of several religions and cultures.
The son of an American civilian employee with the U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Sheriff spent his childhood moving from Japan to Korea to California to New York.
Like an engineer or architect, Sheriff just puts things together, usually without any preconceived notions or ulterior motive.
"I don't think I'm gonna mesmerize people with my purity of thoughts.
I'm more of a blue-collar type person. I get into the process."
Strange Beauty
Artist: Frank Sheriff
