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Student showcases art of metalwork

Erik Bogner poses in the Harry Wood Gallery on the Tempe campus, where his "Armory" exhibition opened Monday. The display features edged weaponry inspired by history and folklore. (Photo by Lisa Bartoli)
Erik Bogner poses in the Harry Wood Gallery on the Tempe campus, where his "Armory" exhibition opened Monday. The display features edged weaponry inspired by history and folklore. (Photo by Lisa Bartoli)

 

Check out photos of Erik Bogner and other students hard at work in Art Warehouse in this slideshow.

Starting out with a slab of steel and transforming it into a work of art can require 200 or more hours of patience and careful expertise.

Erik Bogner, Graduate student in metals at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, took his admiration and dedication for metalworking and channeled it into an exploration of edged weaponry to showcase his talent in an exhibit titled, “The Armory.”

Bogner created each of the pieces at the exhibit as part of his master thesis.

The Armory opened Monday at the Harry Wood Gallery on the Tempe campus and featured 16 pieces of various weaponry and household items crafted by Bogner.

“I just really, really enjoy working with the metal,” Bogner said.

It is a requirement for a MFA student to have an exhibition of their work, said Becky McDonah, professor from the School of Art’s metals department.

Becky McDonah and her husband Tedd McDonah, also a professor at the School of Art’s metals department, hope the public appreciates the art within the pieces at the exhibit.

“To the casual viewer, it may not speak to the work that goes into it,” Tedd McDonah said. “In terms of the process, they are a good example of metalwork craftsmanship.”

Bogner’s interest in metalworking stemmed from his family background. Growing up in northwest Indiana, Bogner’s family has worked with metals at steel mills.

“I think that this is a way to put my love of fine arts toward still doing what a lot of my family has done,” Bogner said.

Many of the pieces in the exhibit are inspired by historical weaponry. Among the exhibit is a blade similar to a traditional Nepalonese weapon that Bogner used as a guideline for creating the blade.

“One of my goals is not to just replicate and reproduce. I want to make it my own,” Bogner said. “The shape is reminiscent of it but not exact.”

The exhibit also features some household items such as pocketknives and kitchen utensils.

Bogner is a member of the ASU Metals Club on the Tempe campus. Club President and senior art student Nikki Ollive said the club works beyond the classroom with creating and selling their work.

“We seek to expand the experience and we bring in a lot of guest speakers to expand on things we may not have learned in class,” Ollive said.

Bogner hopes those that come to see his work enjoy it; he said he has already gotten good feedback from fellow students and faculty members.

“I am also expecting a little bit of apprehension from people just because everything in here is very sharp,” Bogner said. “I am considering it more of an art but I can see a lot of people considering it just as weapons, so that’s why I try to add that little bit extra to it.”

The exhibit is on display until Wednesday, and there will be an opening reception Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. Bogner is looking forward to people coming to enjoy and appreciating his love for metalworking.

“There is just something about being able to work a piece of metal in to a work of art,” Bogner said.

Reach the reporter at newlin.tillotson@asu.edu

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