Waste of Our History, A Chance at Rebirth

Within the Burchfield Penny Art Center is a collection of works from artist Jack Drummer. Utilizing leftover debris, including rubber and steel, from the industrial areas of Buffalo, Drummer makes large modern canvases. Once an industrial hub, Buffalo, like many cities, has numerous abandoned factories that are a blunt reminder of the once booming steel industry that rapidly urbanized much of the east coast. Set in a beautifully open gallery with high ceilings and plenty of open, quiet space, these huge works of art truly capture the attention of all who enter.

 Jack Drummer has given the waste of our history a chance at rebirth, a sense of renewal into massive pieces of art. Here, directly across from the entrance into the gallery, is my favorite work of the collection. The work consists of 12 panels that are covered with stretched, dyed rubber. Being face to face with this work is breathtaking. Enormous and still smelling faintly of rubber, the piece is beautifully dyed in cool earthy colors; blues, purples, greens, and grays. Within the rubber are stains and natural markings that once dyed, stand out, creating patterns and personalities for each of the panels.

While each panel is individually beautiful, together they are even more stunning as a whole. The coloring of the piece is murky, reminiscent of a steel age city like Buffalo whose skyline is filled with smoke, fire, and steam emitted from factory after factory. The somewhat gray, dark, and clouded sky recalls paintings done by Claude Monet during the Impressionist age in which he represents the coming of the industrial age.  See how the colors of Monet’s depiction of industrialism somewhat match the colors within Drummer’s reutilization of industrial waste.  This is not a coincidence. Drummer respectfully renews these industrial materials while still highlighting their history, and thus, the history of Buffalo.  

—Kaite Kinsella

Kaite Kinsella is a student at SUNY Buffalo State.   The project for FAR 104 spring 2016 was to write a blog inspired by an artwork on exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.