John Buck (b 1946) is well known for his carved wood and bronze sculptures and monumental woodblock prints. In recent years, he has turned his attention to creating ever-more-complex mechanical kinetic sculptures. Buck is an artist who is fascinated by the cultural imagery surrounding his two homes (one in Bozeman, Montana, and the other on the Big Island of Hawaii), current events, popular culture, and the irony inherent in world history. This collected visual vocabulary weaves through his sculptural and print works.
In the 1980s, his work began to grapple with global social and political issues, such as Apartheid in South Africa, civil conflicts in Lebanon and Ireland, and questions relating to the natural environment, but his recent work has become more introspective. Buck adopted the human figure, according to the catalogue accompanying his 1999 exhibition at Lewis & Clark University, “as a template to explore complex language of familiar and unfamiliar symbols.” He also creates gorgeous kinetic sculptures, such as Cat’s Cradle (2013), which is inspired by the European explorers who “discovered” the new world. He describes such works as “compositions that are all about balance,” characterized by images on either side that are equal in weight as well as subject matter.
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