Jim Benedict                               by Roselynn Imbleau

 

Jim Benedict was lost and anxious as a child. He was often found drifting off in space, daydreaming. However, today he has found solace in the world by immersing himself in creative projects he cobbles together, from the learned technologies he acquired through his terminal studio based degrees: a BFA in sculpture from the University of Iowa, and a MFA in digital studio art, from the University of Arizona.

 

Primarily Jim’s technique and materials -unlimited by design- vary, but his focus harkens back to his love of sculpting pieces from steel into forms. He finds pleasure and humor in the forms he crafts, and his work becomes whatever “he calls it.” Forms vary; some are 2D rather than 3D. He fuses many of his graphic ideas (initially tooled on the computer) as digital works into life, which translate with ease over into the public art arena.

    

He did not always have this sense of confidence; it has been a road of found creativity and self-exploration. I found Jim’s practice highly meditative. Just like hot yoga he works in a sweatshop type studio, but the machines and tools he has collected, acquired or re-built surround him. Like yoga, he is always creating a new pose with his materials, whether 2D or 3D. His studio provides for him a think-tank uninterrupted only by the sounds of his music on CDs, or the sounds of his tools running in the background. Industrial fans provide noise and AC, and having two other essentials close: a tree-house bunk bed and a closet kitchen supports his need for quick or periodic meals and rest. These conveniences, while primitive, allow him to work well into the wee hours when his ideas best percolate, which he prefers.

    

I have often thought about having a studio in my backyard, but far enough from the kitchen or laundry so either does not distract me. Unlike Jim, I’m not willing to be distracted by additional rent; however, he does keep his numbers in check by calculating his studio rental as a component of his living or mortgage dues.

 

As with anything we do, the only constant we have is change itself.

    

Jim says that change for him occurs about every five years. His craft as a public art fabricator and sculptor primarily takes on a new direction based upon his life and what ever intrigues him, and falls into many categories, but some of his main themes are: reflection, activism and political. Humor even works its way into his art and practice, he is more assured now than in his early years, challenging others is a comfort not a task, and he emphatically repeats, “Art is whatever he says it is.”  We do not all have this “free of a life to choose,” however, he has proudly built up his curriculum vitae to a level he is personally content with, alongside his resume.  His work allows him the life he wants balanced with the freedom he also desires. It has been a path of creating art from chaos (or what he calls “things not real”) works from plastic that look like rusted metal- to creating art leading to the road to salvation (his personal path of saving himself and doing what he must with his time).

    

As an Assistant Professor of Sculpture with tenure at Jacksonville University Benedict has been recognized with accolades, titles and projects but Jim is most content with netting awards such as “The Most Unique Galvanized Item Of The Year Award” because that award, like himself, reveals more of what you would find in the true spirit of Jim if you met him. I admire his concerted effort in fostering personal interest in himself and his own work. That in itself is a social skill to be reckoned with: not getting bored with yourself and what you do, what you share and how you share or distribute a message is a force only you can control, or not. Deconstruction and reconstruction is his process and integral to his practice, and today you might also find him drifting off into space, but he will be daydreaming for fun, and for his practice.

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