Educational Media Reviews Online

Because the creative process is often a very personal one, many artists labor in relative solitude from concept to completion. Sculptor Strong-Cuevas, however, approaches her large-scale cast pieces quite differently, having to rely on a team of skilled artisans to realize works of such medium and magnitude. The documentary film Strong-Cuevas Sculpture takes us from the artist’s New York studio to the foundry where her pieces are fabricated and finished, with visits to sites where the works are on view.

It is a learning experience to observe the artist’s interactions with workers who step in where her own expertise as designer must end. Using the lost wax method of casting, the piece is first modeled in wax preliminary to pouring the molten metal. With the heaviest work out of her hands, Strong-Cuevas still retains a great deal of control over the completed pieces—selecting colors and finishes and directing the meticulous hand detailing crucial to the quality of the final work.

In an interesting aside, a quick tour of the foundry reveals works in progress by other artists including Louise Bourgeois, Julian Schnabel, and Isamu Noguchi.

From the foundry, artist and film maker travel to various locations where Strong-Cuevas’ works are installed. The pieces, which vary in size, material and subject matter—many bear an intriguing resemblance to the human face and form while others are more abstract—are sited both indoors and outdoors, most notably among the rolling hills of Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey.

Quiet and contemplative, the film captures the inner world of the artist as she orchestrates the process that brings her sculptures to larger-than-life. Along the way, Strong-Cuevas muses about her work, the nature of sculpture, and the life experiences which have shaped her particular vision.

Filmmaker Lana Jokel had previously produced documentaries on artists Andy Warhol, Lee Krasner, Claes Oldenburg, and Larry Rivers, among others. For its portrayal of a worthy individual artist, as well as the revealing insights it provides into the aesthetic and technical aspects of creating a work of sculpture, Strong-Cuevas Sculpture is recommended for libraries with collections in art.