Sculptor Jim Gary dies
11:43 pm
Jim Gary, a sculptor who was best known for creating life-sized dinosaurs built from car parts, died this past weekend after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage last month. Gary’s brightly-colored sculptures have been displayed in museums and galleries around the world, and his work was featured in numerous magazines, books, and documentaries.
I can remember poring over photographs of his work in National Geographic World as a child, amazed that someone could make something so animated out of pieces of old “junk.” It is still a joy to look at his sculptures and let my brain slide back and forth between perceiving automobile parts and skeletal anatomy. Jim Gary’s dinosaurs show a rarely-seen combination of technical skill and unfettered whimsy, and the world is a little bit richer because of his work.
A summary of his work is online at Kafi Benz Productions, along with a collection of news and links and information about a Memorial Fund.
Photographs of his work can be seen at Lost in Jersey and this excellent collection of pictures from an exhibition at UNC-Charlotte.
I enjoyed Mr. Gary sculptor’s, and I am deeply sorry to hear of his death. Anthony D. Jordan