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Artist's Statement
Huncilman lives in an alternate reality. That's what viewers might think
after seeing his works made from metal, wood, paper and fabric. He creates enigmatic
forms with even more enigmatic titles such as Dharmamatic or Bunda Mambo. The viewer is
at once fascinated and confounded by this wonderland of intriguing forms and convoluted
messages.
Huncilman's work invites new approach. The use of colors spark sentimental
memories. We are emotionally drawn, desiring fulfillment of our fantasy; but the alien forms
don't seem to belong to any remembered world. One of the strongest attractions is the fact
that many of his sculptures have movable parts or appear only to be complete if allowed to
move. Our physical interaction seems to be invited. In addition to the many different kinetic
aspects, some sculptures are hanging from the ceiling, or they are hanging on walls. Or,
they look like machines and tools that do not suit our preconceptions of what they are
supposed to look like or accomplish. This is a trademark of Huncilman's work.
Huncilman welds steel together with organic and electronic elements
to create objects that are humorous and mythological. The mythology seems to have a historical
basis - or does it? These objects teeter between the integration and the contradiction of
their elements. They glow with glaring lights and make noises like out-dated machines. In
a self-portrait, a bicycle wheel of straw is strapped to a wooden carrying frame. It's easy
to project a cynical interpretation of this work as society's view of artistic talents:
the right equipment used in the wrong way for no good purpose.
Huncilman's progeny would contradict that conclusion. Like Alice in
Wonderland, we find that often nonsense makes much more sense.
Other pieces show a more mischievous nature at work. Rat Master
Sandals makes an uncomfortable analogy between thongs and rat traps. And again, his
Magic Walking Braces are made of barbed wire. A Model of Facts is a wooden chair
supported by legs made of stacked squares of newspapers. Casters have been provided for
convenience.
His mechanical approach contemplates stages of human experience that
draws upon many cultures for its sources, universalizing these experiences in what seems
like a simplified form, like a toy, yet one that is quite complicated and, upon further
examination, forces the viewer to question these assumptions.
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