Norman Carlberg

Norman Carlberg
Born	November 6, 1928 Roseau, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	November 11, 2018(2018-11-11) (aged 90)[1] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Yale University (BFA, MFA)
Known for	Sculpture, Prints, Photography
Works	Winter Wind, 1983-1986 Riverside Center, Brisbane, Australia[2]
Style	Geometric abstraction
Movement	Modernism; modular constructivism
Spouse	Juanita Carlberg
Children	1
Website	https://g11.org.uk/jncarlberg/Homepage.html

Norman K. Carlberg (November 6, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was an American

Carlberg has written: "My style of sculpture represents the movement known as 'modular constructivism', which grew into its maturity and popularity in the 50s and 60s." The "modular" aspect of Carlberg's constructions is often readily apparent to the eye. Carlberg discussed modular constructivism with art critic Brian Sherwin, stating,

My sense of it is that "modular" constructivism is making a work of art within the limitations that modules impose on the object. They restrict what can be made but the restrictions also give meaning and value to the object, just as a poem is beautiful, in part, because the rules, or limitations, give the words a structure that the mind finds pleasurable over and above the message.^[8]

Carlberg's sculptures often consist of repetitions of such a unit, a basic shape capable of combining with other such elements in various ways—somewhat in the way a composer such as Bach or Webern might compose a piece of music by exploring the combinatorial possibilities of a single motivic cell, working within implicit constraints. At Yale, Erwin Hauer was an important influence who prodded Carlberg in this stylistic direction. While both men often employed curvilinear forms as modules, Carlberg more often used relatively geometric, hard-edged design units, often combining curves with straight edges (or flat planes) in the same module. His prints, mostly dating after 1970, show a similar preoccupation with precision, simplicity, and modularity. Some are actually groups of prints, placed contiguously together on a wall, with each print conceived as a module.^[9]

Another theme that distinguished Carlberg's work in the Constructivism movement was his exploration in the positive-negative contrast of his modular units. The concept is simple, but its realization into artwork can be challenge in achieving its goal in a subtle manner that does not detract from the piece in its entirety.

Collections

Carlberg's sculptures are in the permanent collections of the

• Constructivism (art)
• Minimalism
• Formalism (art)
• Riverside Centre
  (one of Carlberg's collaborative projects)
• Jane Frank (noted student of Carlberg)
• Earl Hofmann (MICA art teacher)

Notes