Tools + Fire
2012; Bronze; Sculpture
North Campus; South side of Beyster Building
Fabricated in 2010; gift of an anonymous donor. As a Pop artist, Jim Dine turns objects and images from our everyday lives into the subjects of his work. While this may appear to be a random combination of objects, the choice of what to include is both intentional and personal. For Dine, the tools reflect childhood memories of the hardware store owned by his family in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the hearts function as a sign that one can care, that there is a constant presence of feeling. The heart is also significant in the larger context of Dine’s work—he has returned to this image time and time again throughout his career, using it as a surface and object on which to project his thoughts and emotions. In this work, Dine demonstrates his ability to transform the superficial interest in objects that is characteristic of Pop Art into a language of expression and emotion.