Local sculptor challenges the fundamentals of his medium

Sculptor Isaac Duncan III took an indirect path from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to Chattanooga. He completed a bachelor of fine arts degree at University of Notre Dame and a master of fine arts at the University of Kentucky. Between degrees, he worked for an economic development agency in Benton Harbor, Mich. Mr. Duncan came to Chattanooga in 2004 to work for sculptor John Henry.

The owner of Duncan Sculpture and Services on Watauga Street, Mr. Duncan commissions, exhibits and enters his art into competitions.

Q: Where does your art come from?

A: My sculpture comes from a whole bunch of places. I create nonobjective artwork, which is funny because they're very objective. They're based off of my own philosophy of creating and how I put things together. I like to challenge the fundamentals of sculpture. When I'm creating, I have a specific vocabulary I work in. I always create pieces that create a sense of motion; they're not kinetic. I used to create pieces that were just one simple unit, but I've gotten into creating modular unit pieces.

Q: Which artists do you admire or want to emulate?

A: I don't want to emulate anybody, but there are people who I respect, such as Richard Hunt, who I consider a mentor or an "art father." I respect our local sculptor John Henry. You have people like Mark di Suvero in New York. You have the grandfather of modern sculpture, David Smith. There's Marcel Duchamp. I come from those lines of sculptors. The ones who are dead are the ones who paved the way for what I'm doing. The ones who are alive are the ones who are pushing the boundaries. They keep me honest.

Q: What do you think of modern vs. classical art?

A: My language comes from modern art. There's no comparison (to art of several centuries ago). If you're talking about art of today compared to the art of the Renaissance -- those pieces of artwork deal a lot with training of the eye and the imitation or the translation of reality onto something that's artificial. The more contemporary artworks deal more with the self and the actual artists. Sometimes it has less to do with the mastery of skill and more to do with the actual person and what they're going through.

Q: What does your art say about you?

A: My pieces are pretty simple but sophisticated. I let my pieces show imperfection. I don't strive to be perfect, in art and in life. My pieces are conversational. People from anywhere can come look at (my art), and they'll have questions. And the questions aren't anything specific. If you really want to find beauty in it, you can. That's pretty much how I approach life. Hopefully my pieces do the same thing. Here's this strange-looking thing that's in front of you, but if you're really open to it, there's a new experience you can have.

Q : Why the bandanna?

A: When you have hair like mine, there's a limited amount of accessories you can have. A hat flattens it and really doesn't look good, unless I have one of those big knitted hats like Rastafarians.