Art Imitates Art

by Steve Sullivan

When King Au finished, "The Gentle Doctor" was in pieces. But 
the Christian Peterson statue was not really broken, just re-
imagined.

Au, a Des Moines photographer, was commissioned by Iowa State 
University Museums to photograph the campus' extensive public 
art collection. The results of nearly two and a half years of 
work can be found in 33 black-and-white photographs that put 
familiar ISU sculptures and paintings in a new focus.

A collection of Au's work, titled "Interpretations of the 
Interpretations," opens at the Brunnier Art Museum March 30 
and will be on exhibit through July 30. A reception for Au 
will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, in the Brunnier. Au, 
who has taught at Iowa State, will deliver a public lecture 
in Scheman's Benton Auditorium at 7 p.m.

A benefit dinner dubbed "A Glossy Affair" will follow at 8 
p.m. in the Molecular Biology Building. Tickets for "A Glossy 
Affair" are $100 and reservations are due by March 31. 
Proceeds will be used for art conservation on campus. For 
more information, contact the University Museums, 4-3342.

After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in 
architecture from Iowa State, Au opted for a career in 
photography. He operates Studio AU, a Des Moines design/photo 
firm. 

The Iowa State project proved a particular challenge for Au.

"I knew that pure documentation didn't exactly serve my 
needs," said Au, who left his native Hong Kong in 1979 to 
attend Iowa State. 

Au ultimately came up with a lively, entertaining tour of 
Iowa State's campus art with collages, repetitive and 
overlapping imagery and photographs that experiment with 
focus and processing methods. 

"The Gentle Doctor" is a well-known sculpture of a 
veterinarian holding a puppy with the pup's mother at his 
feet. Au's photograph isolates the elements of the sculpture 
Ñ the doctor, the puppy and the mother dog Ñ by dividing the 
image into three photographs.

"I wanted to capture the idea of something continuous, like 
time," Au said. "The images say something about the dialogue 
of the three characters, from the doctor who is looking down, 
to the older dog who is looking up. They are both looking at 
the little puppy, the source of light and new life."

In "Reunion of the Spirit of Mr. Wood," Au took tight 
portraitures of figures on Grant Wood's mural in the Parks 
Library. The portraits have been mounted in a series.

"It took a long time to decide what to do with Mr. Wood's 
art. It seemed to resist my photography. I truly believed Mr. 
Wood's spirit was fighting me on this. I don't think he liked 
the idea of his work being photographed," Au said. "Then I 
realized these people had been standing there for a long 
time. I wanted to get them together, like a reunion."

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contact:  Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720
updated:  03-24-95