By Alex Maravillas

Arts Assistant Editor

Using subjectivity and objectivity was a concept that the Ladd Brothers, Steven and William Ladd, had in mind when they collaborated. For example, the brothers used different methods of presenting art by recycling materials in the medium in their artform.

Art as function, as an exhibit, and additionally for fashion was the way the two brothers presented their work. The brothers were additionally mastered at the Couture Trade in New York and that was an immensely colossal inspiration to their art. The collections that the two brothers shared, in their past experiences, helped influenced their artwork. Three art pieces that exhibited at the Mingei International Museum in 2014 by the Ladd Brothers were “Kickboard” (2012), “Shadow Tower” (2002) and the “Shaboygen Tower” (2012).

“Kickboard” was a piece that was made of recycling belts, wood and metal. The panels on the piece were predicated on a kickboard that Steven’s father built on the fields of the brother’s elementary school. According to William, kids practiced kicking balls against it during soccer practice, and the fields were the pride of the brother’s school. The piece had a unity and a variety within the piece. The dark blues, and shades of purple of the belts tied together, plus pins, which provided a transient and fleeting quality to the piece, held it down.

“Shadow Tower” was created using various mediums included an archival board, fiber, beads and metal. “Shadow Tower’s” main concept presented is about containment. The ebony boxes cumulate the interior objects into a cohesive, comprehensive whole. The tower is a presence in the space, a shadow of our processes. The closed butterfly box is a cocoon for the interior object. The silhouette appears solid, but the zipped top invites you to activate the object. The aperture of the butterfly box is rooted in a gesture of the circling of the arms, an aperture to the heart. The aperture reveals the object’s environment. The pleated structures are predicated on the gestural forms of kineticism of the hand. The butterfly boxes were placed on a white surface to contrast and present the vibrant colors of the interior. The piece has a surrealistic quality to it as well, because of its ambiguity of how is it art for function or fantasy.

The Ladd Brothers composed “Shaboygen Tower” from a board, plywood, metal, fiber, beads, paper, tulle, hair and pins. The 24 box tower is exhibited as a landscape mounted on the wall, instead of being exhibited on low platforms, an incipient approach that sanctions the viewer to get astronomically proximate to the entire sculpture to investigate its intricate details.

“Shaboygen” emanates from a fleeting high school recollection that evolved into a code word that denoted “utopia”. This work explores the light and dark recollections of the brother’s high school experience. Each box contains its own backstory, a visit to a friend’s house on Goosecreek inspired the white beaded trees, while the red fabric spirals reference how the family station wagon caught on fire and burned while parked in front of the brother’s high school. The piece is reminiscent of a volcano. There is a variety within the landscape, with the intriguing textures of the transparency of the beads and the pins. In addition, the scrolls and adjuncts were a fascinating touch that helped bring the piece in conjunction.

Exhibitions at the Mingei included “Function + Fantasy: The Ladd Brothers”, which focuses on reusing eco-friendly materials in their art. The duo continue to work on new pieces and plan on a fall show at the Invisible Dog Art Center in New York.