Lyman Emmet Kipp, Jr. (December 24, 1929 - March 30, 2014) was a sculptor and painter who created pieces that are composed of strong vertical and horizontal objects and were often painted in bold primary colors recalling arrangements by De Stijl Constructivists. Kipp is an important figure in the development of the Primary Structure style which came to prominence in the mid-1960s.
Kipp's early work in the 1950s focused on geometric, plaster reliefs and cast bronzes (see No. 1 - 1959 or Directional I). He moved on to large, geometric, welded pieces composed of post and beam elements emphasizing the vertical during the 1960s (see Andy's Cart Blanche, Muscoot or Hudson Bay). Finding it difficult to transport large, heavy, welded pieces, he turned to angled sections and sheets of steel and aluminum that could be bolted together on site. Typically the pieces were painted with bright colors and the thin edges were often defined with bright, complementary colors (see Long Distance,Chicksaw or Kobi). In the late 1970s, Kipp's steel sheets began to move into the air on thin legs (see Lockport 1977, Salute to Knowledge or Yoakum Jack).Wikipedia
"Lyman Kipp's sculptures, despite the presence of primary colors on rather thin, clean rectangular forms, remind one of ancient megaliths in their primitive organization. Several look like brightly colored, somewhat attenuated versions of Mycenaean arches, with simple lintels supported by unadorned piers - except that Kipp's pieces lack mass, let alone any sense of monumentality, and refer most cogently to painting. Hard Edge conceptions when extended to painted sculpture lose a great deal of transmission, especially of the sculpture does not project any sense of weight, as it certainly doesn't here. One of the central features of Hard Edge painting is its insistence on an effective distinction between interior and exterior space - the edge of the canvas contra the edge of the shape. However simple the elements may be, success requires a precise distribution of weight throughout a surface in order to prevent either extension beyond a pictures borders or incursion into the pictorial area. Lacking exact definition, a painting risks having its forms leave the surface and act as independent objects located in an indeterminate space. Kipp's work can be faulted chiefly on these grounds. His sculptures are simple objects that do not articulate the space they occupy, and his drawings look much like architectural renderings of isolated such as a doorway or window frame. ( Sidney Zimmerman, Arts Magazine, 1966 lymankipp.com )
Kipp's early work in the 1950s focused on geometric, plaster reliefs and cast bronzes (see No. 1 - 1959 or Directional I). He moved on to large, geometric, welded pieces composed of post and beam elements emphasizing the vertical during the 1960s (see Andy's Cart Blanche, Muscoot or Hudson Bay). Finding it difficult to transport large, heavy, welded pieces, he turned to angled sections and sheets of steel and aluminum that could be bolted together on site. Typically the pieces were painted with bright colors and the thin edges were often defined with bright, complementary colors (see Long Distance,Chicksaw or Kobi). In the late 1970s, Kipp's steel sheets began to move into the air on thin legs (see Lockport 1977, Salute to Knowledge or Yoakum Jack).Wikipedia
"Lyman Kipp's sculptures, despite the presence of primary colors on rather thin, clean rectangular forms, remind one of ancient megaliths in their primitive organization. Several look like brightly colored, somewhat attenuated versions of Mycenaean arches, with simple lintels supported by unadorned piers - except that Kipp's pieces lack mass, let alone any sense of monumentality, and refer most cogently to painting. Hard Edge conceptions when extended to painted sculpture lose a great deal of transmission, especially of the sculpture does not project any sense of weight, as it certainly doesn't here. One of the central features of Hard Edge painting is its insistence on an effective distinction between interior and exterior space - the edge of the canvas contra the edge of the shape. However simple the elements may be, success requires a precise distribution of weight throughout a surface in order to prevent either extension beyond a pictures borders or incursion into the pictorial area. Lacking exact definition, a painting risks having its forms leave the surface and act as independent objects located in an indeterminate space. Kipp's work can be faulted chiefly on these grounds. His sculptures are simple objects that do not articulate the space they occupy, and his drawings look much like architectural renderings of isolated such as a doorway or window frame. ( Sidney Zimmerman, Arts Magazine, 1966 lymankipp.com )
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