Diet Wiegman was born in 1944 in the Dutch town of Schiedam. His earlier works used clay to make hyper-realistic rusted cans and military bags, an example of which can be seen below. His more recent and notable works use a variety of objects to cast detailed shadows when light is shone from specific angles. A lot of his works embody the ideas of distortion and perception.
Shadow Dancing
Shadow dancing is one of his more well known pieces, it’s made from scrap metal and mounted on a rotating platform that casts the shadow of Michael Jackson from a specific angle. This work speaks to his theme of perception, and how something that appears chaotic and random can produce something spectacular under the right light.
Here is a video of the sculpture revolving on its mount:
Atlas Of Balance
This sculpture’s shadow depicts The Farnese Atlas, a well know carving of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders. Wiegman’s work, however, is made from coins welded together and as noted in the title, Atlas is losing his balance. The coins could be interpreted as the modern world being built from greed, and Atlas’ fall is a warning of what may happen if greed is left unchecked.
Dialogue Between Two Chairs
This artwork shows a broken chair and using the fragments of it a shadow of a smaller chair is cast. This piece shows that creation can come from destruction, as a tree is felled to make the chair, and a damaged chair can be used to make a tiny chair.
Rembrandt Illuminated
This piece is inspired by one of Rembrandt’s most famous portraits, The Night Watch, depicting the guards of a civic militia in the 1600s. Wiegman’s piece shows only the two most prominent figures in the front, whereas in the portrait they are contrasted by their brighter lighting, Wiegman shows them as shadows instead.
It should also be noted that the materials used here are paint supplies, showing that even though the canvas is blank they can still create art.
A Comparison between Wiegman and Rembrandt’s work can be seen below:
Sources:
- dietwiegman. (2012, September 26). [Slides]. Tumblr. https://dietwiegman.tumblr.com/light%20sculptures
- One Man’s Trash. . .The Shadow Sculptures of Diet Wiegman. (2013, May 29). InventorSpot.Com. http://inventorspot.com/articles/one_mans_trashthe_mysterious_shadow_art_diet_wiegman
- “SHADOW DANCING” by Diet Wiegman [HD]. (2010, January 8). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2M3RDdKVl0
- Diet Wiegman. (n.d.-b). [Photograph]. DIET WIEGMAN | SHADOW SCULPTURES. https://www.artgalleryvoute.com/artists-m-z/diet-wiegman/