Sculpture Students Install Art Exhibit at Bucks County Community College

Sculpture students in Amedeo Salamoni’s class gained hands on experience setting up an art installation at the Lower Bucks campus of Bucks County Community College in Bristol on Thursday, September 19, 2019. Students had the opportunity to design the configuration of Amedeo’s Field Grass sculptures.

Amedeo is a professional artist who brings his enthusiasm, experience, and creative vigor for the arts into his teaching. “I hope my sculpture students got to see firsthand how a professional artist works with the installation site, and the thought process behind the arrangement of the sculptures,” said Amedeo.

“In class, I work on small pieces I can install in the classroom and building,” said Owen Lee ’20. “Seeing how we could bring sculptures to a bigger scale and install them outside is exciting. I’m applying to art school and interested in interaction arts – installation art that interacts with people directly. The concept of transforming everyday things into art is something I want to keep exploring with my own art.”

The sculptures were designed on a computer-aided design (CAD) program, and the shapes were then cut out with an automated laser cutter. Amedeo then bended and welded the forms to shape, and mounted them onto slabs of bluestones. Most students in his sculpture class are beginners. Amedeo was excited to show them what they can look forward to in the year ahead.

“I enjoy working with my hands, different materials, and different art forms,” said Abyssinia Hoover ’23. “I do a lot with 2D art, but it’s different with sculpture—you can feel it. I’m looking forward to learning about welding this year. Other materials have more limitations, but you can do so many things when creating sculptures with wire and metal.”

Each sculpture in Amedeo’s Field Grass series begins with a form or movement that he noticed in the world around him, or from a feeling that he had within himself. The series is a reaction to the destruction of the environment and natural resources. “This series of welded, formed metal blades growing out of stone can be both beautiful, and ominous at the same time,” said Amedeo.

There are seven versions of Amedeo’s Field Grass sculpture series to date that are installed in locations including New Hope, Philadelphia, Oxford, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as well as in Ocala, Florida and Salem, New York.

The most exciting part of this collaboration with students for Amedeo was having them look at all of the possible ways to arrange this sculpture installation. “I told them that there is no right or wrong way of doing this,” said Amedeo. “My hopes are that my students came away with a better understanding of the basic principles of design while helping to arrange this install.”

“You can’t mess up in art—there are no mistakes,” said Abyssinia. “Art gives me an outlet to express myself. For me it’s all about balance, in creativity and academics. Sharing ideas together is an art form.”

“I’m happy that people will see this sculpture for a while,” said Stephen Hill ’23. “It’s leaving a legacy behind.”