About

Sculptor John W. Hughes is a native of the San Francisco Bay area. Much of his work, and the materials used in his work, relate to the transformation of this region over the years that he has witnessed first hand.

JOHN W. HUGHES
ARTIST’S STATEMENT:
I grew up in Santa Clara Valley starting in the late 40’s when it was called the
‘Valley of Heart’s Delights’. It was mostly orchards and farm land then. In the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s
I watched it change into Silicon Valley, and the wall to wall people and buildings that it
is now. The construction most used in those days was tilt ups made of cast concrete and
steel l-beams. This is where the idea forthe I-beams came from. The bending of the Ibeams
developed from the transformation of the fe*ile farmland into buildings and
pavement. It seemed twisted to me to cover up some of the best farm landing the world
with paving, houses, and buildings.
This is one of the reasons the l-beams are bent and twisted. The other part of the
bending has to do with ideas. When you first conceive an idea, the way you plan it in
your mind, and what you actually end up with are usually different. The original thought
has been bent or twisted by outside forces. That could be other people, government
agencies, or natural forces tike gravity pulling down on what you wantto put up.
The materials I use very. Bronze, wood, resin, cardboard, and found objects are
used depending on the idea I want to express. Much of the wood is saved form throw
away piles. The cardboard and paper is all packaging, mail, and magazines. I like to
reclaim as much ttuough away stuff as I can. I want you to take a second look at these
materials. Some of the wood slabs were saved from orchards being torn out in the early
70’s. In those days they would bulldoze the trees into a pile and burn them. The l-beam
piercing the wood slab is a metaphor for the destruction of an agricultural environment to
transform it into urban sprawl.
The bronze sculptures tend to deal more with the mind, ethics, and politics.
Bureaucrats can take a simple matter, and twist it inlo a complicated form, i.e. if a
monolith was a simple bill in Congress, it gets cut up, and reconnected in strange ways
that no one really wants.