Perspectives: Lin Emery

The phrase “force of nature” might sound like hyperbole. But in the case of sculptor Lin Emery and the work that she creates, “force of nature” is not just an accurate designation, but arguably also the only appropriate one. A giant in the rarefied medium of kinetic art, the New Orleans-based Emery creates large-scale aluminum sculptures that translate natural forces into discernible motion in public spaces across the United States and around the world. Active for more than sixty years and still creating new pieces at the age of ninety-two, Emery and more than thirty of her artworks are currently the subjects of a dramatically beautiful show at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in Baton Rouge. 

“Her work is literally a marriage of design and engineering, with art and science,” noted LASM Curator Elizabeth Weinstein while guiding a visitor through one of several galleries filled with gliding, sashaying, bowing metal forms; powered variously by magnetism, water, and wind. Weinstein explained that, while the forces Emery’s pieces interact with have changed as the work has evolved, the artist’s goal is always to recreate the spontaneous forms of movement one observes in nature—the way a tree’s leaves move when affected by shifts in the wind, for example. Originally inspired while washing dishes by the sight of a spoon in a cup, moved by a stream of water, Emery began building water-driven works that she dubbed “aquamobiles,” before moving on to “magnetmobiles” and then wind-powered pieces as her preoccupation with the relationship between natural forces and forms evolved. Although she worked in bronze early in her career, Emery’s later pieces are crafted from marine grade aluminum buffed to a mirror finish, a quintessentially industrial material that might seem an ironic choice for an artist committed to harnessing the forces and movements of nature. But, Weinstein pointed out, what better way to capture natural processes than, literally, to reflect them? The result is work that not only captivates the viewer with the grace of its forms, but also encourages us to reflect on our own relationship with the natural forces that shape the world that surrounds us.  

To read more about the curation of this exhibit, click here.

Lin Emery: A Force of Nature remains on view at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum until January 13, 2019. lasm.org. 

In November, Emery will be profiled on LPB’s Art Rocks, the weekly showcase of visual and performing arts hosted by Country Roads publisher James Fox-Smith. Tune in Friday, November 9, at 8:30 pm or Saturday, November 10, at 5:30 pm across the LPB network. lpb.org/artrocks.