Sculptor's works make unified statement

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

Thursday, October 17, 2002

By Christopher R. Young
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Kirk Roda, a sculptor who works for General Motors, is the featured visiting artist this term at Kettering University.

Roda, a Warren resident, received his bachelor's and master of fine arts degrees from Eastern Michigan University. After graduating, he held a variety of jobs, including one as a technician at the Pappas Art Foundry, where he honed his skill in bronze casting.

In his artist's statement, Roda said, "It is the expressive plastic quality of the material that thrills and captivates me." His excitement with his medium is infectious and will captivate viewers.

Characteristic of Roda's figural sculpture is a sinuous and elongated male figure with arms raised to support a large rock that compresses the head to a severe right angle. This bronze shows signs of the clay model from which it was cast. His additive layering and modeling of clay, which Roda uses to build up his forms, gives his surfaces an added richness and texture. While details are abbreviated and blur into abstract passages, his figures give the impression of being fully articulated.

Another figure involves an arching male, whose ribbed and muscled torso merges into the body of a horse. Precedents for this centaur statue have deep historical roots dating back to Greek mythology and art of 1st century A.D. Taking liberties with such historical prototypes, Roda has wrapped the arms around and crossed them behind the figures in a manner that gives the impression of bondage.

A nearly 3-foot tall figure of Icarus appears to rise skyward from a mound of clay. The outstretched wings and the exaggerated attenuation of the figure reinforce the sense of vertical thrust. Arabesque contours delineate the body's outline and enhance the overall feeling of fluid movement. Among six other versions of Icarus, one is shown horizontally in rapturous flight.

In a low-relief sculpture, Roda represents a horizontal grouping of nude male figures lined up along a serpentine line. As these figures undulate in space, they also seem to be emerging from or absorbed by a background mass. This may be a commentary on how Roda's sculptures emerge from clay models, as well as referencing the notion of man coming from the earth in birth and returning to the earth in death.

The nature of Roda's elegant sculptures combines to make a unified artistic statement. Roda will give two talks on his approach to sculpture at 11:15 a.m. and 2:20 p.m. Monday, at the Humanities Art Center on the fourth floor of the Academic Building located at the corner of Chevrolet and Third avenues.