Arts & Entertainment

The American Artists’ Hand Archive Holds Court at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center

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Thomas Donahue and Vanessa Hoheb (top left) exhibit the American Artists’ Hand Archive at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center. (Photo by Margaret Fox

October 15, 2023

By W.B. King–

Whether through the medium of sculpture, painting, film or other creative vehicles like music and poetry, artistic expression, when contemplated by the public and fellow artists, is subjective. There is, however, a universal common denominator among nearly all artists: they create wonderment with their hands.

To better understand these “agents of creativity,” Vanessa Hoheb began the American Artists’ Hand Archive in 2010. Along with artistic director Thomas Donahue, the prolific team is currently offering an intimate experience to view 34 expertly crafted bronze life castings of American artists’ hands at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico, the community-facing extension of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RFB).

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“We invited the artist to choose a gesture that was interesting to them and the diversity of their responses has been a wonderful experience,” Hoheb told The Hudson Independent. “Some artists chose to just hold out a single hand, others spent months thinking about a gesture that was interesting or meaningful and representative of their relationship with their hands — some chose to hold a beloved tool.”

Katrina London, manager of curatorial projects at The Pocantico Center, learned about the American Artists’ Hand Archive through a mutual colleague and pitched the concept to RFB. This resulted in Hoheb receiving a grant in 2019.

“That was our first formal connection. We kept in touch through the years and through the time warp of COVID, when we were planning to open this new arts center that was designed to serve our community and visitors.”

London continued: “There is this wonderful gallery space and when we were thinking of our second exhibition, I thought of the Archive. It was such a natural fit. The vision of this creative arts center is honoring the creative process, so that dovetailed really nicely with the Archive.”

“The list of participants in their latest collaboration together reads like a ‘who’s who’ in American art, evoking renewed thought on the parallels and contrasts between creative practices and artists whose work is unlikely ever to be shown together,” London said of the current exhibit.

Manicured to Gnarled

Among featured artist hands are Chuck Close, Beverly Pepper, Jasper Johns, Judy Pfaff, John Waters, Lucy Kim, William Crozier, Toshio Odate, Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Todd McGrain and Elizabeth Strong Cuevas.

“With the early castings, one of things that was driving this was our interest in the artists’ hands themselves and we often focused on the idea that these were the hands that were used to manipulate material,” Donahue shared. “But the truth of the matter was that the material —be it steel, clay or paint —was manipulating the hands as well.”

Using a traditional lost-wax casting technique, Hoheb and Donahue traveled to the artists’ studios to take the molds. They were joined by longtime colleague and friend Mark Lacko who masterfully photographed abstract close-ups of the casts.

“In what we have come to think of as portraits, all of the hands have topography and surface —scars, dings and things that show a life of making,” Hoheb explained. A single bronze hand, she added, can weight four pounds, while two hands can be as much as 12 to 16 pounds.

“The diversity of the hands is extraordinary. We have the gifted hands of men and women that range from these seemingly delicate hands to massive paws and everything in-between —hands that look manicured to gnarled hands with chewed up thumbs,” Hoheb offered.

The age range of the artists falls between 50 and 92, though the majority are 70 years or older. Sadly, six artists have since passed away.

“There is a sense of urgency continuing the work because there are makers and masters out there that we record for the Archive and are interested in it, but we just have to get to them while we can,” Hoheb said. “Unlike death masks, these are life castings in collaboration with the artists. The energy and life force is what our audience responds to — you can see the tension, the strength and weakness.”

A typical casting takes roughly three months, Donahue explained. The actual molding process only requires an hour or so, but an important part of the process is first visiting with the artist and discussing their careers and how they view their hands in relation to the works of art they have created.

“One of the things we did for this particular exhibition was creating a video loop that shows the process from the beginning contact with the artist right through to the completion of a presentation bronze,” Donahue said. “We also wanted to acknowledge the fact that there are just absolutely incredible artisans at every stage. There could be 10, 12 or 15 people in manufacturing any one of these pieces and their work is absolutely world class.”

Lady Liberty Rejuvenated

As inductees into the esteemed General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, which was founded in 1785, Hoheb and Donahue’s resumes are impressive. Hoheb began learning her craft at an early age while apprenticing in her father Bruce’s studio. Here she would work for acclaimed artists such as Willem de Kooning, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Frederick Hart and Jasper Johns. Her father’s works were also notable, including helping create the bronze profile and presidential seal medallions on the JFK Memorial that overlooks the president’s beloved Lewis Bay in Hyannis, Mass.

She later worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the assistant director for its Reproduction Studio. As a senior mold maker, she made molds over the original objects in the museum’s collection, including 18th century glass, ceramics, gold, silver, ivory and wood. Before embarking on a successful international career, she taught molding and casting techniques at Pratt Institute that focused on fine arts, ceramics, jewelry and industrial designs.

A sought after sculptor, master restorer, lecturer and art director who specializes in historic proportions, materials and applications, Donahue’s hands have touched countless pieces of art over his celebrated career. This includes his “St. Michael of Port Austin,” a 16-foot bronze piece on permanent display at St. Michael’s Church in Port Austin, Mich.

Based in Pawling, N.Y., Donahue’s exhibition designs for the Tiffany & Co. Archives have traveled internationally, and he currently curates a large privately held collection of 20th and 21st-century sculptures, paintings and drawings.

Hoheb first came across Donahue when she was hired to lead a five member team responsible for restoring the Statue of Liberty in 1984. Nearly one hundred years had transpired since the statue was erected and corrosion had punctured holes in the copper surface.

Over the course of one week, this team of artisans made molds over Lady Liberty’s nose, eyes and hair, which were later utilized by coppersmiths who made replacement patches for the sculpture’s surface.

“I grew up in New York City all of my life and the Statue of Liberty was always there, but I never took the time to actually go to see the sculpture. I never toured the island until we went on that job,” recalled Hoheb, who now lives in New Paltz, N.Y with her family. “I was overwhelmed by the scale of it.”

Donahue explained that the American team was responsible for the outside of the sculpture, while the French team handled restoring interior aspects as well as the torch and flame. “It was the thrill of our lives to be there and be entrusted with that work under such a high profile situation — to be 300 feet up in the air in New York harbor on scaffolding that was eight inches away from the sculpture’s surface,” Hoheb added. “We were given the privilege to be in a place where no one in our lifetimes would be again.”

Donahue was amazed at the craftsmanship of the sculpture. “The contours and the different curves involved in the copper work were so beautifully tailored. It was absolutely brilliant and that it was done 100 years before was remarkable.”

One on memorable day, the team heard a strange sound only to look down to see the Goodyear Blimp slowly drifting by at eye level.“The people in the gondola were waving at us and we were waving back,” Hoheb said. “It was surreal. The whole experience was so rewarding.”

During that pivotal experience, Hoheb and Donahue made life longs friends, including French master metal worker Jean Wiart. “Part of his bronze life castings are a part of the Hand Archive and are on display in this exhibit,” she noted.

No Finite Number of Hands

Portraits of Process: The American Artists’ Hand Archive will run until December 23, 2023. The gallery will be open to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. All visitors, London said, must reserve a free timed-entry ticket before visiting, which is available at www.pocantico.org.

Prominently featured in the exhibit is Irene O’Garden’s poem The Hands of Masters, which reads, in part: “Stars and squares and crosses ray of flesh, ripple knuckles furrow inborn whorls. Such glyphs are shorthand for the cords and coils of process. Cup and slap, reject, caress…”

When possible (usually Saturdays), Hoheb and Donahue will be on hand offering lectures as well the opportunity for visitors to hold other bronze castings before seeing the hand bronzes in their exhibition state. “We really like to break that rule of ‘don’t touch the art,’” Hoheb said, adding that visitors should set aside roughly an hour or so to take in the exhibit.

“This is an ongoing endeavor and we have no finite number of hands we plan to cast,” she said of the American Artists’ Hand Archive initiative. “This will go on as long as we go on.”

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