abrasive

temperate

 

Frederick John Eversley, Untitled

1970, Sculpture, cast polyester resin

 

Fred Eversley explores color, optics, and light in his art. Untitled is emblematic of Eversley’s innovative approach to casting polyester resin that he developed and refined in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He first casts different color layers of liquid plastic into pipes. The peice is then sanded and polished until it gleams. Untitled’s vertical orientation, concave shape, reflective surface, and iridescent reds and purples make the work look different depending on the ambient light and where you stand.

After graduating with a degree in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1963, Eversley moved to Los Angeles to work in the aerospace firm Wyle Laboratories. Eversley settled in Venice Beach, at the the time the only beachfront community where white landlords would rent to African Americans. Venice Beach was also home to other artists working with light, space, and new technology. In 1967, Eversley quit Wyle to make art full time. He had his first solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1970–the same year he made Untitled–and in 1977 was named the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s first artist-in-residence.

 

WHAT AM I HEARING?

The two different soundscape represent different emotional reactions to the piece. While some may find the sculpture calming and beautiful, others may see it as unnatural and bizarre. The first track is abrasive and shorter, featuring sounds of a glass rim and triangle. The second track is more symphonic, featuring ambient synth with a light futuristic beat. Both tracks include space-age, engine like sounds, representing Eversley’s work in aerospace engineering, and LA in the sixties.