Awesome Chainsaw Carving

[Stringmaker]

As it says; simply awesome:



Story here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...terpieces.html

[Dreadhead]

WOW! that is some crazy skill

[monkey boy]

really cool, massive tallent needed there

[Jaymzflood]

Thats increadible.

[mrcharly]

Is that in Grizedale?

Beautiful work.

[robin wood]

Chainsaw sculpture is actually not that hard particularly low relief stuff like this. One of those things that looks impressive but is quick and easy to learn if you can already use a chainsaw. I used to do it 20 years ago but it is a pretty horrible way to spend your working day. These were a few of the ones I used to do.

[AndyJDickson]

Nice piece of work stringmaker. Looks totally awesome. But I love the conker robin wood. it looks the bees

[Toddy]

Stringmaker that's brilliant
It's not just the carving, it's the concept, the design, where it is situated, the whole overall 'rightness' of the piece

Thanks for sharing.

cheers,
M

[DaveBromley]

however easy it is, it's still something that someone took the time to do and post here so i say WELL DONE

Dave

[Stringmaker]

Stringmaker that's brilliant
It's not just the carving, it's the concept, the design, where it is situated, the whole overall 'rightness' of the piece

Thanks for sharing.

cheers,
M

Hi Toddy,

Yes I agree, it's about so much more than just the carving; I love "big art" like this.

[John Fenna]

Painting is easy too - it just involves slapping pigment onto a surface ... not everyone has the eye of a true artist though

[Hugo]

Yours are nice Robin but this guy's work is something special.
Look closer at the detail, pure genius.

[Hoodoo]

Pretty amazing work. I love the spiral design.

[Whittler Kev]

Nice detail ::

[mountainm]

Nice piece of work stringmaker. Looks totally awesome. But I love the conker robin wood. it looks the bees

I met a guy at the castle howard woodland festival that made similar conker rope swings. First saw them at the sculpture park in Newby hall. Such a neat idea.

'Conker Swing' by Michael McManus - horse chestnut tree wood

[robin wood]

I know I am on my own on this one, chainsaw sculpture of this type is incredibly popular with the public, it is quick and easy to learn and is very well paid. Andy Reynolds does courses in chainsaw carving. http://www.chainsawsculpture.co.uk/c...ingcourses.htm
I have seen so much of it over the years though and my view is that whilst being popular art it is not actually that special. The difficulty in sculpture is seeing a finished 3 dimensional object within a lump of wood. The easy bit is detail and surface decoration. There are a few folk that do some stuff a bit more interesting. Andy Frost I think is better than average.


Cheryl Campbell also does nice work


Then again not many in the art world would consider any of this as art. The only chainsaw sculptor accepted by the art world is David Nash

[Stringmaker]

I think you've identified the crux of it Robin; art is entirely subjective.

In my book, if it takes skill to produce then it can be regarded as art, whatever it is.

The rubbish that the likes of Damien Hirst peddle as art is nothing of the sort.

Incidentally, I think the original piece was done by Andy Reynolds; he is namechecked in the article.

I lied; it was Andy O'Neil.

[robin wood]

I met a guy at the castle howard woodland festival that made similar conker rope swings. First saw them at the sculpture park in Newby hall. Such a neat idea.

'Conker Swing' by Michael McManus - horse chestnut tree wood

Yep I did my conkers as part of "seeds of Beningbrough" when I was still working for the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall in 1993. I made seeds of any tree that came down in the park beech, ash, oak, Sweet chestnut, we strung big conker seeds on ropes and sycamore on fishing line with swivels so they spun. It received a lot of press and particularly the conkers have been copied many times since, they work well but I would not leave them outdoors over winter it is a very perishable wood.

[mountainm]

I know I am on my own on this one, chainsaw sculpture of this type is incredibly popular with the public, it is quick and easy to learn and is very well paid....

Hi Robin

We're rapidly getting into a philosophical discussion on what makes good art? Should only things that are difficult to do to be valued as art - does the fact that it's easier lessen it's aesthetic value? Is it the original idea itself rather than the medium or the time and effort taken to realise it the true value of a piece? I'm sure you're not meaning to come across this way - but it sounds like you think the items don't deserve praise because they are "easy" to do?


M

[mountainm]

Yep I did my conkers as part of "seeds of Beningbrough" when I was still working for the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall in 1993. I made seeds of any tree that came down in the park beech, ash, oak, Sweet chestnut, we strung big conker seeds on ropes and sycamore on fishing line with swivels so they spun. It received a lot of press and particularly the conkers have been copied many times since, they work well but I would not leave them outdoors over winter it is a very perishable wood.

OT but, We go to Beningborough quite a lot - the kids love the playpark. Any of your handywork still there?

[robin wood]

Hi Robin

We're rapidly getting into a philosophical discussion on what makes good art? Should only things that are difficult to do to be valued as art - does the fact that it's easier lessen it's aesthetic value? Is it the original idea itself rather than the medium or the time and effort taken to realise it the true value of a piece? I'm sure you're not meaning to come across this way - but it sounds like you think the items don't deserve praise because they are "easy" to do?


M

OK hope folk will forgive the digression. And I also hope folk will forgive what probably appears to be a strong negative attitude to something which many of you quite reasonably think is great.

The current art world ever since Marcel Duschamp's fountain in 1917 does not value skill or aesthetics, I value both, you can read my views on that in more detail here
What is valued in the current art world above all else is originality, innovation and the idea, the idea of pure genius.

Of course with anything there are degrees of skill and degrees of aesthetics and degrees of originality of the idea and the reason I am not particularly excited by the original post is that for me it does not score highly on any of the three. For others who have not seen this sort of thing before it may appear original, for others who don't know much about the techniques involved it may appear difficult, the aesthetics is more subjective and would take longer to explain why it doesn't do it for me whilst it does for others.

Having said that this is not really intended to be great art, it's lowest common denominator stuff intended to be created quickly and please the masses out on a walk in the countryside which is does very well. I have no problem with it, I just wouldn't hold it up as being anything particularly special.

PS haven't been to Beningbrough for several years but I built most of the playground, castle in the middle, tyre tunnel, big rope swing etc. Not sure what has been replaced since, the idea was to have it continually updated and the tanalised timber I used is probably around the end of it's anticipated lifespan by now.

[mountainm]

OK hope folk will forgive the digression. And I also hope folk will forgive what probably appears to be a strong negative attitude to something which many of you quite reasonably think is great.

The current art world ever since Marcel Duschamp's fountain in 1917 does not value skill or aesthetics, I value both, you can read my views on that in more detail here
What is valued in the current art world above all else is originality, innovation and the idea, the idea of pure genius.

Of course with anything there are degrees of skill and degrees of aesthetics and degrees of originality of the idea and the reason I am not particularly excited by the original post is that for me it does not score highly on any of the three. For others who have not seen this sort of thing before it may appear original, for others who don't know much about the techniques involved it may appear difficult, the aesthetics is more subjective and would take longer to explain why it doesn't do it for me whilst it does for others.

Having said that this is not really intended to be great art, it's lowest common denominator stuff intended to be created quickly and please the masses out on a walk in the countryside which is does very well. I have no problem with it, I just wouldn't hold it up as being anything particularly special.

I agree on most points, but I think ultimately art is (or should be) democratic - if the "populace" think something is good, then so be it. Informed critics may think differently and are entitled to informed opinion, but ultimately the majority rules.

Sometimes beauty lies in simplicity.

PS

Most of it is still there, my kids love it.

[robin wood]

By chance a facebook friend just popped new pics of recent chainsaw carvings up. Not sure if facebook pics will show here but hope so. Hikaru Kodama.



and here some more by Bruno Torfs


see his amazing gallery here

PS glad the playground is still doing well and the kids loving it, it was a big kid that built it, lots of fun.

[Toddy]

"Having said that this is not really intended to be great art, it's lowest common denominator stuff intended to be created quickly and please the masses out on a walk in the countryside which is does very well. I have no problem with it, I just wouldn't hold it up as being anything particularly special." quote Robin Wood


I hold my hand up, I'm a lowest common denominator

I still like the original piece
I know a lot of woodcarvers, and I see a lot of carvings, but many are literally sculpted pieces, from carefully selected and chosen woods, and then introduced into a site.

To make, effectively, creatively, something very appealing and pleasing, in situ, from the remains of natural growth, is still something to be admired

'Art' is now so divorced from any sense of common aesthetic appeal that it is a false egotism enjoyed only by an aberrant few. Personally I think the grant money could be much better spent tbh.

David Nash's example is just ugly and without attraction, but then, what do I know ? I'm just a LCD

Toddy

[Stringmaker]

Robin is right in that the modern art world seems not to value the skilled aesthete, but I feel he is harsh in his dismissal of the original piece as not overly difficult to produce. If you took a straw poll of ticketed chainsaw users I bet they wouldn't describe it as derivative and straightforward?

See what I mean, art is just opinion.

LCD +1!

[Whittler Kev]

here [/URL]

P.

They do and following the link showed some awesome stuff.

[Whittler Kev]

but then, what do I know ? I'm just a LCD

Toddy

And me Mary.....and me

[Robby]

Me too, I think that is awesome. I think anything that takes time and skill and produces something that beautiful as an end product is an art.