JOPLIN, Mo. —
The Beatles are playing at the Post Memorial Art Reference Library, sometime before Feb. 28, and you don’t want to miss them.
Also, Icarus is there -- remember that Greek mythological character with wings constructed from feathers and wax? -- as is an unusually quiet but nonetheless recognizable W.C. Fields.
OK, so they’re not the real deal. But seeing them constructed of forks, spoons, tree stumps and other found items likely will make you smile.
They are the creative genius of Joplin sculptor Manfred “Fred” Beth, who was born in Nazi Germany and moved to California in 1959.
After 30 years of working for a telephone company, he retired, taking with him the welding skills he learned on the job.
Now, once a week he goes looking for discarded items to which he can give new life -- typically things made of stainless steel.
“I get everything from the Salvation Army,” he said. “Those ladies are really supportive in saving little pieces for me that are interesting and might work. I just use whatever I can find that looks like what I want to convey.”
That might mean using forks for Ringo’s hands, or small metal pots for his drums. Or turning dozens of spoons -- minus their handles -- into Chief O-nei-da and his trusty iron horse, Rusty. The Chief features intricate joints that allow his hands, wrists, and arms to move like a modern-day action figure.
Or it might mean turning to wood to craft his whimsical sculptures -- like a collection he calls “Me, the Old Me, the Real Me,” or like the W.C. Fields piece.
“When I lived in California, there was no wood available. Then I moved to Joplin, and someone gave me a stump. I took a chisel to it. It had a feature on it that looked like W.C.’s nose, and so he evolved from that,” said Beth. “The rest followed.”
His sculptures range from the somber (a metal one of the Crucifix, and a wooden one of a mother and child as a sort of anti-war statement) to the darkly humorous (a working guillotine with mice scampering about).
“I try different things because I want to challenge myself,” he said. “Can I make a spoon show agony in the face? I had to be careful with the face of Jesus -- you don’t want to make a cartoon of it.”
His favorite? An elegant figure of forks and spoons titled “Tadaaahhh,” a piece that he felt came out “really graceful and somehow very pleasing to look at.”
“When I begin I just have a general idea in mind, and I start building on it. If it works, it works,” said Beth. “Sometimes it doesn’t. Many pieces I’ve discarded, and made into something different.”
His exhibit represents four years worth of work. None of it is for sale, however.
“The reason I make it is not to sell, it’s just for the enjoyment. I can’t bear to part with it,” he said. “One reason I am fond of an exhibit is the joy I get when I catch someone looking at it.”
Lifestyles
Related Photos
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Local artist Manfred "Fred" Beth operates the guillotine on one of his found-art sculptures on display in the Post Memorial Art Library. Globe | T. Rob Brown
Discussion
Sculptor uses whatever he can find
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