Jack Morford’s “Fish Tank” is a piece that stops you in your tracks. It is whimsical, sarcastic, and deeply meaningful all at once. The abstract nature combines different thoughts and themes to create a unique sculpture which allows the viewer to ponder the simplicity of life while also considering the more complex intertwining of life’s multiple components.
“Fish Tank” is a newly added piece in a line of sculptures by Morford. Previous pieces have included “Nautical Hullabaloo,” “Admiral Jack,” “Nymph Foolery,” and “Jonah’s Dilemma.” With “Fish Tank,” Morford has created the perfect solution to every boy’s dream, combining one of the child’s pets with his favorite toy. Perhaps he has also solved every parent’s dilemma when it comes to gifts for a child: batteries are neither included nor even needed, you don’t have to feed it, and you don’t have to clean the tank.
Morford grew up in Saginaw, Mich., the third child of four. He attended The Art Institute of Chicago and later returned to academia once again to study art, this time at Ricks College in Rexburg, Id. Continuing his passion, he went on to complete a Master of Fine Arts Degree at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Morford had a lifelong art career, with “Fish Tank” being his final piece before passing away in February 2015 at age 75.
He describes his art in his own words:
“My works are primarily figurative and whimsical with some playing on a subtle scene of sarcasm. My ideas are sparked simply by a nuance, by how a person is standing, or by a gesture that someone makes. I am able to build from that one instance a more elaborate image. As I form the piece, I add to it ideas that grow out of a process of free thinking, dredging up goo from my subconscious, but it always begins with the intrigue of the form.”
“Over the years, as I have sharpened my own artistic voice, I have learned to see how it connects with the viewer. At art fairs, as crowds of people pass by booth after booth with stony, expressionless faces, I witness a countenance change when they approach my booth. Their expressions transform to a lighter mood; an act of engagement. What’s different about mine? Perhaps they recognize their own experience or perspective on life. Perhaps they see something entirely new and appreciate the out-of-the-box view I lend them. That’s why I enjoy creating whimsically abstract pieces, to give a touch of the real world, while at the same time taking them out of it and into their imagination and dreams.”
Jack Morford’s “Fish Tank” can be viewed as part of the Art Around the Corner Outdoor Sculpture Gallery. This sculpture is located on Main Street just north of St. George Boulevard outside of George’s Corner.
