Sabin Howard is a classical figurative sculptor with over 33 years of experience. Known for his works of heroic scale, including Hermes, Aphrodite, and Apollo, the New Criterion has called him a “sculptor who’s work radiates a startling presence, while finding its roots in the classical past.” He’s part of the winning design team for the National World War I Memorial in Pershing Square Park, Washington DC, and he also offers drawing and design webinars in a digital format. Topics Include:
World War I Commission:
- The application process for public art commissions
- Public art as a part of a sustainable business
- Process for designing and creating a 75 foot-long bronze wall that represents World War I with 45 figures in a processional composition
- Communicating an idea in a way that will resonate with the general public
Collaboration:
- Learning to collaborate as a form of communication
- The process of rebuilding and ripping things a part
- An elevation of the compositional process
Art as a Business:
- “If I didn’t have a really, really high end product and I hadn’t spent 50,000 hours in front of a model over 33 years, no shortcuts … I wouldn’t have a business.”
- “As an independent artist, you have to decide how to create your own life.”
- “There is a creative aspect to entrepreneurship and business that I really wish more artists could see that.”
- “I have to do the business to drive the art.”
- Teaching drawing as a way of breaking the art market system.
Marketing & PR:
- “It’s about making an energetic connection with other people and talking about my mindset.”
- “Your greatest skill is your craft, but you’ve got to learn how to present yourself.”
- “Artists need to be able to share with people and create a value for that special talent that they have.”
- “As an artist, you need to go out and show that there’s a different version, there’s a different vision that is available and possible.”
- “It’s important that an artist be involved in showing their work and takes ownership of what he makes rather than have somebody else take over his business.”
Art World & Galleries:
- “You have this thing called “the art world”, art world is run by the status quo.”
- “Art is seen as a commodity. It’s seen as something that a lot of people will buy because it’s like a stock that will go up in value.”
- “The gallery system did function once, but it doesn’t anymore because the gallerist would encourage and push artists through the sales.”
- Started his own gallery for 7 months to sell his work publicly.
