“Unpainted Sculpture” by Charles Ray

Recently my family and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago and saw the exhibit, “Charles Ray: Sculpture, 1997-2014”. Charles Ray is a contemporary artist and the exhibit concentrates on two different types of his artwork. One type focuses on people and ancient motifs such as classical nudes and ancient techniques like bas relief. The other type focuses on dissecting objects of phenomenon. Ray’s “Unpainted Sculpture” is of the second focus. In order to create this piece, Ray studied automobiles that had been in traumatic car crashes. Eventually, Ray found a Pontiac Grand Am and chose to recreate the car because he felt that he could feel the presence of the dead driver within it. After picking out the car, Ray disassembled the car piece by piece and created fiberglass molds out of each and every single piece. He then reassembled the car with the fiberglass pieces which proved to be a challenge because the fiberglass pieces were bigger than the sheet metal of the car. Despite the name “Unpainted Sculpture”, the work is actually covered in white paint. It was called “unpainted” because Ray would normally use multiple paint colors and since this work has a raw, bleak look and feeling to it, the use of the word “unpainted” provides a more realistic description of the piece. I personally think that this is an incredible work of art. It is very powerful. When viewing this piece it is impossible not to imagine the horror of the crash. The combination of the white paint job, the meticulous recreation of every minute detail and the empty interior creates a ghostly aesthetic. A decal on the back of the car reads “Jesus is Lord” which suggests the faith of the driver and provides a personal element making the car crash that much more real. One must walk around the entire piece in order to soak in every detail. The fact that Charles Ray actually disassembled the car and then meticulously recreated it imbues the sculpture with much more significance and presence than if he had just painted the original car. By taking the car apart and reassembling piece by piece, Ray, in effect, dissects the car and its story while simultaneously creating a story of his own. He essentially makes the damaged car whole again by recreating each damaged part. By going to the extreme of remaking the car pieces himself, Ray makes the car his own and creates an unforgettable piece of art.