Cleveland Institute of Art Examines William Harper's Career

William Harper’s Self-Portrait of the Artist as Saint Sebastian is not your typical saint’s tribute. On display April 4 through June 14 at The Beautiful and Grotesque, Cleveland Institute of Art’s 20-year overview of Harper’s work, the brooch exemplifies the CIA grad’s knack for unexpected pairings. In his pieces, the improvisational artist has mixed baroque pearls with raccoon penis bones, or religious imagery with self-portraiture. “The guiding idea behind it is dichotomy,” says Harper. “How do you put things that shouldn’t go together, that are opposites — beautiful and grotesque — and make a unique visual statement from it?” This brooch pairs gold cloisonne with plastic and chicken bone. The face’s blank, gold “eye” corresponds to Harper’s own blind one, and the gold spikes in the brooch’s arm reference Sebastian, who was bound to a tree and shot with arrows for his Christian beliefs. It’s inspired by Sebastian’s dedication to speaking your truth, despite the reaction. “It’s a metaphor for the artist who refuses to give in to commercial trade,” says Harper, drawing particular attention to the brooch’s pierced arm. “Often, when artists do things that are not widely understood, it still wounds us emotionally. Our hands and arms are the method we use to make physical everything we’ve looked at, thought about, felt. It’s ultimately the arm that does the deed.” 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 800-223-4700, cia.edu