roger dorsey, roger dorsey lancaster pa
I
worked for 30 years as a geologist and still consider myself a scientist.
But I have always considered art an integral part of my life. In poetry
and in the visual arts I have expressed my love of the world of the
imagination, a world as necessary to me as the empirical reality
of science.
Throughout the years I have experimented with
various art mediums—watercolors,
abstract paintings, collages, wire sculptures and mobiles. However,
since my retirement in late 2003, I have concentrated on metal
sculpture, creating each one from “found materials.” Working
with found materials has added an extra dimension to the creative
process for me; happenstance—the fortuitous find—often
plays as large a role in the process as do detailed study and design.
As a result, when I’m searching the scrap
yard for the perfect piece of metal to give shape and form to an
idea for a sculpture, I often find a piece of metal totally different
than the shape I have been seeking. The new shape then gives rise
to a different piece of sculpture. Either way, the final product
derives from objects that were utilitarian in nature. Old machine
gears, discarded hayforks, sheared pieces of sheet metal or bent “I” beams,
when assembled and welded in just the right way, can be visually
pleasing and thought provoking, but because of their genesis, they
are always unique.

My sculptures, for the most part, can be best described as nonrepresentational
abstract pieces, although some do fall into the category of representational
abstract, such as the gesturing Girl in a Copper Dress (above left).
Although some are whimsical in nature, such as the Luddites
Sabotage the Pancake Machine (right), most are pure abstract forms. |