In his artist’s statement, David Mudgett describes how intrigued he was by his grandfather, the pipefitter, and the finesse and magic of the molten metal dancing around his grandfather.
Following In his grandfather’s footsteps, Mudgett spent years as a pipefitter. The ease at which large pieces of metal could be formed into limitless objects fascinated him and soon metal became an affliction, yet the conventional uses were littered with boundaries.
Urged to apply his metalworking skills to art, Mudgett produced his first sculpture and found this experience exhilarating. He had come upon the creative freedom he was searching for, Mudgett was hooked. The strength and versatility of steel affords him the liberty to take a piece in almost any direction.
Mudgett has two sculptures in the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail. One is “Poised” created from steel and granite. It is 48 inches high by 60 inches wide and 48 inches deep and is located in front of Dahlia & Sage on E 2nd St. This spider sculpture is sponsored by Plank Coffee Cloverdale and Healdsburg. The second sculpture is “Joe Magee” created out of steel/stainless steel and measures 8 feet high by 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep. The sponsor of “Joe Magee” is Suzanne Black.
Joe Magee was the first name that entered Mudgett’s mind when he considered naming this piece.
“Somewhere back in our not too distant past, a man named Joe Magee was given a task. His execution of the task was graded poor and sloppy. Joe Magee was not the first nor the last to offer up shoddy work, but for some strange reason his name became the go too phrase in describing it,” Mudgett said, explaining the name of the piece. “In my youth, I used to hear the old timers in the metal fab industry loosely throw the term around. A Joe Magee job rarely went unnoticed. And at that time, before the era of political correctness, I hadn’t noticed what might be racist undertones in the phrase. So I used the term myself for years without giving it much thought. Until now. This is just one example of how we unintentionally pass on racist behavior to our youth.”
For more information on the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail, a sculpture exhibit in Cloverdale, visit www.cloverdalesculpturetrail.com . Enjoy the exhibit. The Cloverdale Historical Society is an advocate of the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail
