Seen on Campus: Homage to Rodin

At first glance, Homage to Rodin seems to be just a lumpy bronze boulder sitting on a pedestal with signs of oxidation from years of enduring the elements. This is an accurate and fitting description for what was an intentional decision by the artist to allow the green patina to accrue on the sculpture’s surface. I think Tucker allows the sculpture to endure changes to its appearance because he intended for the meaning to be derived from the process of creating, not just the final product.

This piece is one of the first in which Tucker’s artistic style transforms from the Minimalist use of industrial materials to Post-Minimalism, with a focus more on the creation process. His earlier works were fixated on the final product, as Minimalism focuses on pure art with no context necessary to experience the artwork. Homage to Rodin is a marked change from this ideological context; it is centered on the process of making the sculpture, which is apparent in its shape and structure. It’s as if you can see the careful molding and caress of the artist still within the sculpture — the squeezing and scratching of the artist’s hands on the clay used to cast the bronze sculpture. This provides a more Post-Minimalist look at the artwork as it is all about the context and physicality that formed the artwork. In this instance, it is Tucker’s process of creation that gives Homage to Rodin real meaning. It also explains why slight discoloration and fall foliage on top do not take away from the piece of art itself but rather make it more alive and exemplify the process.

Tucker’s work has been recognized with various awards, including the Sculpture Center (New York) award for Distinction in Sculpture (1991), the Rodin-Moore Memorial Prize, Second Fujisankei Biennale, Japan (1995), the annual award from the New York Studio School (1999), the RA Summer Exhibition Sculpture Prize (2009), and the International Sculpture Center Lifetime Achievement Award (2010).

-Oliver Poduschnick ‘25

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/william-tucker-ra