America's Pass-Time

If it had to be that there was only one word to describe Bob Madden’s America’s Pass-Time, that word would have to be ‘jarring.’ Jarring as in:  Altamira is Oz and you are Dorothy (or Scarecrow, Lion, Tinman...a very lost, very confused Fraulein Maria) scrolling through a technicolored field of abstract expressionist poppies. However, instead of falling asleep amongst the flowers you continue on at full speed and trip over a 23lb football.

At first glance, there seems to be no real meaning behind this fully proportionate, life-like sculpture of a football resting on a wooden base; it truly looks like nothing more than your typical trophy. However, when considered against other seemingly mundane depictions of objects in art there’s something about this football (other than the fact it’s carved from stone) that makes it feel much weightier. There’s a lot more to this sculpture than meets the eye; first impressions don't give way to the skill it takes to make something out of stone. Theres a lot of time, planning, talent, and even more patience in its creator than an image of this object can give credit for.