From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Hicks
Jack Hicks
Harold Jon “Jack” Hicks Museum Display Manager
Jack was recruited, by E.F. Sanquenetti, to be the display
manager, for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. He held that
position for several years. At the museum, he mentored
several young artists. He was legendary, with his skill and
craftsmanship. During that period, he was also attending
the University of Utah school of Fine Arts Masters Pro-
gram. Jack often took a common sense approach toward
making displays. He sometimes used automotive materi-
Jack Hicks at Lake Powell Utah als (Bondo) to build stands for stone fragments. He was
Birth name Harold Jon Hicks very pragmatic towards his work and developed method-
ology for creating fine exhibits. Of note was his aid in cre-
Born November 18, 1939(1939-11-18)
ating an installation work for Chris Burden,[1] the per-
Dubuque, Iowa, USA
formance artist. Chris had wanted to be displayed on a
Died March 13, 2008(2008-03-13) (aged 68) wall in medical tape cocoon. Jack laid out the tape, adhe-
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA sive side down on the museum floor, and then he care-
Nationality American fully pulled it up into a single sheet. He place it on the
floor adhesive side up, Chris was lifted into place. Jack
Field Drawing, Sculpture, Steel sculpture, Ceramics
then rolled the tape over Chris, the rolled a 1 x 2 into
Training University of Arizona in Tucson the edge. He then screwed the 1 x 2 into the wall and
Chris just hung there for 8 hours. When it was all over
Movement modern steel constructionist
Chris thanked Jack and he said that Jack was instrumen-
tal in realizing the work. Jack would work on his MFA,
Harold Jon "Jack" Hicks was a sculptor, who worked in
after hours, in the museum workshop. His work was in
the later part of the twentieth century. He was trained
a small room about 10 feet by 20 feet. His entire portfo-
in ceramics and photography but excelled in metal sculp-
lio was stuffed in the room along with several welding
ture.
tanks and a 57 Pontiac Front nose and grill. Jack was fair-
ly notorious for pranks in the museum. He would place
Biography Ceramic high electrical insulators in display cases show-
"Born on November 18, 1939, in Dubuque, Iowa to Helen ing tang dynasty sang de bœufs (ox blood) red bowls, a
B. Hogan and Harold G. Hicks. Died on March 13, 2008, in baroque picture frame around Frank’s Parking spot sign,
Salt Lake City. As a child, Jack’s family moved from Iowa or questionable photographs in Frank’s Slide carousel. He
to Tucson, Arizona. There he went on to graduate from once painted, signage on the loading dock, which said:
Salpointe Catholic High School in May 1958. He proud- Loading Dock, "A place where you can get loaded". Frank
ly entered the Marine Reserves in December 1958, served made him scrub it off. But it could still be seen, for several
active duty training from February 5 until August 4, 1959, years, when it rained.
and finished as a reservist in July 1964. Jack was a master- A Number of his works were purchased by the Muse-
ful artist and craftsman in a multitude of disciplines. He um. One is currently on display at the Eccles Medical Li-
earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Univer- brary, University of Utah Medical Center. Two others are
sity of Arizona in Tucson with emphasis in photography in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts Collection.
and ceramics. He also attained a Master of Fine Arts de- He continued working with "Frank" Sanquenetti, un-
gree from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, with til they had a falling out in the spring of 1976. He quit and
an emphasis in sculpture. All of his later pursuits from began working, as a contractor, building several hous-
the arts of his degree to a fine steel home featured in Ar- es. He continued to mentor several artists, including his
chitectural Digest; demonstrated his dedication to crafts- daughter Heather. His home became a place of knowl-
manship and minute detail."(Salt Lake City Tribune) edge for the local artists.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Hicks
Sculptor • Untitled, Brass, steel, plexiglass & wood. Utah
Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake
Jack was primarily a welded steel sculptor. His work re- City, Utah.
flected those who had influenced him. Many of his early • Untitled, Steel and Aluminum Leaf. Eccles Medical
works were figurative. His later works integrated hard Library, University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake
steel forms with welded steel figures. He had a vision of City, Utah. see example below
art that was truly unique. Often, he would disassemble • Prometheus, Steel and found object. Private
his works and rearrange them to suit his mood. Sadly, Collection, Salt Lake City, Utah. see example below
he would lose interest in them, sell them for ridiculous • Untitled, Welded steel Totem. Private Collection,
low prices or even give them away. His formable catalog Logan, Utah. see example below
was reduced to those few pieces he enjoyed having in his
environment. His attitude toward art was that it had be-
come pretty things for the rich and he despised the rich.
Boat builder and Volkswagen
Jack’s work was totemic in nature. He used vertical lines fanatic
to establish height, and then expanded the sculpture hor-
izontally above the viewer. He used cubic planes to define Jack was semi retired in the 1990s. He spent his time re-
form and break them up the establish a visual rhythm. building volkswagens, building cabinets, remodeling hair
He used changes in surfaces to make interplay. He used salons and building rowboats. His meaning of retirement
welded steel figures, hung off the sculpture, very much was not the same as others. The rowboats were his great
like pacific Native American totems. This continued to interest. He built several for him and his family. Jack’s
be a theme even near his death, where he decorated his playfulness can be seen in the stemhead of his grandson
grandson’s rowboat with a Pacific Native American motif Will’s boat. He attached a rabies tag to the stemhead. In
stemhead. He painted his work but would allow them to his 60’s, he would row his boat for miles at Lake Powell.
age. His work was very much contemporary with similar He was interested in advanced composites and recum-
work of the period. The difference was Jack’s were better bent bicycles. At his death, he was completing a recum-
in construction and realized in form. His hallmark was bent bicycle for his personal use.
perfect. Not a weld could be found that was poor nor did
it look contrived. Jack’s work was cross disciplined. The Author
Basis of his master catalog was welded steel forms. He of-
Jack wrote several articles for websites. Most notable his
ten blurred the lines between art and lifestyle, as he re-
work can be found in the online Duckworks Magazine.[3]
built his home, into a lovely cottage. The existing work-
[4]
shop, which was made from railroad ties, he covered with
[5]
found objects. His sense of form and balance could be
• Metal sculpture by Jack Hicks circa 1970
seen even in the junk he hung by the door of his studio.
• Prometheus by Jack Hicks circa 1970
Jack’s belief in original work was great. He once said, to
one of his students, "If you don’t pick the piece out of the
fire with your bare hands, it ain’t art." The meaning is art
has to be on the ragged edge of your ability, both in style
and craftsmanship or you aren’t doing art. Jack believed
in even breathing art. His world was a vast brush stroke.
He taught that and encouraged people to see the world
as an artist. He jaded everyone with this attitude towards
art. He was an infection of creativity.
Jack is listed in the Smithsonian Institution art inven-
tory catalog[2]
Partial list of locations of sur-
viving works • The entrance of Jack’s Studio 2007
• 11 foot metal sculpture at Eccles Library
• Homage to St. Elia #2- Steel and wood. Salt Lake Art • Homage to St Elia #2 by Jack Hicks
Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. See example below
• Untitled, Welded steel with waxed red lacquer finish.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt References
Lake City, Utah. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Burden
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Hicks
[2] SIRIS-Smithsonian Institution Research
Information System
[3] Duckworks Magazine
[4] Duckworks - Projects
[5] Duckworks Magazine
Persondata
Name Hicks, Jack
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth November 18, 1939
Place of birth Dubuque, Iowa, USA
Date of death March 13, 2008
Place of death Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Hicks&oldid=450507339"
Categories:
• American sculptors
• 1939 births
• 2008 deaths
• University of Arizona alumni
• University of Utah alumni
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