New episode with Neal Barab: A life of their own
Our latest episode is out now
Californian artist Neal Barab says his work is variously influenced by Mexican pre-Colombian art, art from the Cyclades, African art, Japanese anime such as My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki and cartoons.
Recently he’s been working on a series of ‘personaggi’, or characters – human and animal – carved from multicoloured stones, some painted. Neal says ‘I’m wanting my pieces to be not just sculptures but living creatures.’ Their personalities are deliberately vibrant.
He talks about particular pieces he had prepared for his show. Big Dog and Lil Dog are made from marble and olive wood from his own olive trees. When Neal does his ‘potatura,’ or pruning of trees, he’s always on the lookout for bits that might contribute to a sculpture. Trav Fem is a female form with splendid hair made out of crystal formations.
Episode 14 – Neal Barab: A life of their own
As always, you can see photos that accompany our episodes over on our website materiallyspeaking.com or on Instagram.
We’ll write again soon to tell you about the next episode. In the meantime, we hope the podcast here provides food for thought.
Enjoy listening.
Sarah Monk
producer, Materially Speaking