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In the late '40s, he continued his
studies at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn
and then graduated from New York
University with a bachelor of science
in art education.
Segal bought farm property oppo-
site his father's in 1949 and ultimately
turned it into the site for his studio as
well as his home.
After starting out as a painter, he
made his first sculptures in 1958,
using plaster and chicken wire. His
process was based on what he found
by pulling apart department store
mannequins to analyze their construc-
tion.
A chance discovery of medical ban-
dages as a material with which to wrap
his models led to his direct casting in
1961.
"It takes about three hours of a
model's time — 20-minute sessions
with breaks — to make a plaster cast
of an entire body," the sculptor
explained. "In order for me not to
hurt anyone, I have to do it in small
pieces because we have to breathe
through our skin as well as our nos-
trils.
"Of necessity, I had to ask close
friends to pose for me, people who
understand I don't want tcohurt them
and that the sculpture image should
mean something both to me and to
them."
With the help of his wife, Helen,
the sculptor, acting as his own
model, refined the process according

"45,1kST

to his experiences. One of those
works, The Tunnel, is part of the
permanent collection at the Detroit
Institute of Arts.
For the Detroit sculpture, Segal has
dressed himself in a top coat, walking
with his head down, as if submerged
in his own thoughts. The setting
shows sidewalk construction and a
solid wall of six interior doors.
"I think the simple truth is that it's
a metaphor for my own lifeand all
our lives," he said. "We walk through
a dark tunnel hoping for some illumi-
nation along the way."
Segal spends most of his time work-
ing. His travels with his wife of 52
years generally is in connection with
shows around the world. The couple
have been to Israel many times.
"Both of us ended up loving to
travel and learning enormous things
about the countries that we visit,
insights that are hard to find in other
ways," said Segal, a Conservative Jew
concerned about the Orthodox pro-
nouncements that question the validi-
ty of his religious practices.
"I just made a poster for the cele-
bration of the 50th anniversary of
Israel. I put a drawing of Rabin on it,
mostly because I'm horrified that he
was killed by a Jew."
While sculpture dominates the
New York exhibition, the retrospective
also includes bright, sensual pastels of
nudes completed in the '50s and '60s,
still life sculptures found on wall
pieces created in the '70s and
'80s and recent charcoal por-
traits.
"Although the show is a rel-
atively tiny selection of all my
work, I like the curator's
vision," Segal said. "I studied
painting in art school, but I
never studied sculpture.
"My father taught me how
to do carpentry, plumbing and
electricity, and I've tried to use
all those skills as language,
whether it's called [drawing] or
sculpture. Currently, I'm work-
ing on both." ❑

"In Abraham's Farewell to Ishmael" (1987),
father and son embrace as Sarah looks on and
Hagar grips herself in despair.

"George Segal, a Retro-
spective: Sculptures, Paint-
ings, Drawings" will be on
view through Oct. 4 at The
Jewish Museum, 1109
Fifth Avenue, New York.
(212) 423-3271. The
exhibit will be at the
Miami Art Museum, 101
W. Flagler, Dec. 17-March
7. (305) 375-1700.

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Detroit Jewish News

8/14
1998

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