ROBERT H. DICK, Sculptor
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Sketch of -
"Sacajawea or Birdwoman's Dream"
An Interpretative Bronze of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
" By R.H. Dick
(Dedicated to my mother, Alice Momena Thompson, whose Indian
name led me to understanding.)
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, July 26, 1943. My father left
the business world in 1950 and bought a farm about 35 miles southeast
of Kansas City. At the age of seven, I was therefore introduced
to a very rural environment. Ranches and farms surrounded me and
I led a very romantic childhood. I hunted, rode horses, and entertained
myself with drawing and modeling, using pond clay for sculpting.
I was alone a lot, but never felt lonely. Art was something I did
and really never thought I could make a living out of it. I never
went to art school, but instead sought out working artists and worked
in their studios to learn the basics. Art is something you have
got to have inside you, or you will usually give up because of the
frustration. Anyway, I am married, have three children and put a
great amount of time and effort into what I do.
As to "artistic license," there is no doubt that I use
it. I use it for "impact." In other words, to make a point
in paint, drawing, stone or bronze, the artist often is left no
other choice than to use symbolism, or exaggeration. Historical
purists will attempt to be as accurate as possible in their artwork.
To me, one can never be entirely accurate, so I've decided to do
as much research as I can on a work, then 'create' a piece that
conveys a truth about the person, or the time period. Its all tricky
stuff, but we do the best we know how.
As for a "word of wisdom" for aspiring artists, I really
don't have much to say. If you are an artist, you will know who
you are, and nothing I will do or say will convince you otherwise.
Still, I was once told the following: Have two jobs, one to feed
yourself with, the other will be your art. Don't ever give up because
art making is a way of life. Good Luck!
P. S. Keep this in mind, I had all kinds of learning problems when
I was a kid, and barely got out of high school. Charles Russell
(the artist in your reading) had severe reading problems. I don't
know if there is a connection, but those of us who work with our
hands, seem not to fit well into the regular classroom . . . just
food for thought!
(Below are excerpts from an essay written by Robert H. Dick on
how he went about planning, designing, and creating a bronze sculpture
for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration.)
The Making of "Sacajawea or Birdwoman's Dream"
An Interpretative Bronze of the Lewis and Clark Expedition "
By R.H. Dick
(Dedicated to my mother, Alice Momena Thompson, whose Indian name
led me to understanding.)
In the fall of 1997, I had a discussion with Mr. Todd Boehmer,
a St. Louis collector of Native American material, about the upcoming
Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I had mentioned
that I was at work on several small bronzes for an upcoming exhibit
at the Museum of Westward Expansion, and they were nearing completion.
He wondered if I had considered doing a bronze commemorating the
Voyage of Discovery. Both of us had a deep interest in the American
West and as the evening drew to a close, I indicated that I would
do a little reading, maybe put together some sketches and clay studies
and see what would happen. At that time I didn't realize that I
would become "hooked" on this project, and spend the next
two years working on a bronze statue that would be called "Birdwoman's
Dream"!
Before any real images formed, I had to completely familiarize myself
with all the primary sources I could. This involved numerous readings
in the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804 -1806, and
manuscript material found in the Journals of Charles Floyd, Joseph
Whitehouse and Patrick Gass, who were members of the Expedition.
As I read them I would make thumbnail sketches of clothing, guns,
scenes or events, that might later help in putting compositional
ideas together. Working at this stage is a bit tough! You've got
to remember that though you are doing pencil sketches, they will
evolve into clay and bronze, not oil or watercolor etc., but bronze
which has its own characteristics and its own strengths and weaknesses.
After reading these works, I had some drawings that I liked and
thought I then would read some secondary material. I read James
Ronda's Lewis and Clark Among the Indians, and the more recent
book by Stephen Ambrose, Undaunted Courage. Both were good
and written by major authorities on Lewis and Clark and the American
West.
By this time I had numerous drawings, and had done several quick
clay maquettes, and had visited the Missouri Historical Society.
There Robert Mullen, Curator of their American Collection, let me
see several of William Clark's guns and provided photos of the telescope,
Clark's gold watch chain and compass, and elk skin journal. To actually
see and handle some of this material kicks you into another zone.
An artist begins to "feel it." You begin to think that
what you are doing has real meaning and purpose and a focus to the
work begins to occur. Still, doing a historical thing, I knew that
to feel legitimate I had to go to some of the places I was reading
about.
By this time (summer of 1998) I had bought armature materials and
had started building (which is really what sculpture is all about)
on a composition that I liked. I could always change things later
if I wanted to. So in September and October of 1998, I took my own
two week journey through Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, visiting
several northern bands of Shoshonean Indians, probably the descendants
of those that Lewis and Clark found in 1805, on the head waters
of the Missouri in western Montana. While I wandered around I did
drawings of several Shoshoni women that I met. I also did several
studies of Bannock Shoshoni girls (probably 14 -15 year old high
school sophomores) at Fort Hall, Idaho. My object again was to get
a sense of physiology and to look into the faces of young women
approximately the same age as Sacajawea in 1804! Also, as I talked
to both Indians and Whites, went to museums, and looked at rock
art, my ideas about why I was doing this thing became more clear.
I also truly began to appreciate the role of Sacajawea and I began
to think about her a lot. I really wondered how she did it.
When I returned home to St. Louis I got pretty reflective. I'd sit
in my studio and look at the structure that I had made and left
two weeks before; three bare one inch pipes sticking up through
a piece of plywood, with a lot of armature wire twisted around and
all of it bolted to a top of a box. I now admit to deep feelings
of wondering whether I could pull this off or not. I knew what I
wanted to do, and I knew what others now wanted me to do, but I
was hitting some real walls. I had moments of real doubt. On top
of this I had met "political correctness." I had shown
my compositions around and some people looked me in the eye and
branded them "revisionist"!
Once my hands got into the clay, things got easier. The mental stuff
was over, and now it was just physical effort to put it together.
As my family can attest, I spent 8, sometimes 12 to 15 hours per
day working on it. I would also find myself wandering back out to
the studio after dinner to fool with it. Most of the nighttime work
was wasted effort. You get tired and make mistakes, then you get
frustrated and angry and you don't sleep well until you can get
back at it the next morning. After several days of this, sometimes
you get pretty beat up. But as it starts to come together you feel
better. Then, you get some "crits" (critiques) and you
tear back into it, and it starts to come together again, and then
again, and then again.
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