Grab (work of art)

Trotman’s artistic inspirations include wooden figureheads from ships, carved religious figures, and Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post illustrations. He says he uses these earlier traditions as a “point of departure” for his work. Trotman uses satire to make a social commentary on “the workings of money and power in America today.”

Grab is a painted wood sculpture that blends elements of traditional religious symbolism with contemporary commentary. The work depicts two muscular, six-foot-long arms that are suspended from the ceiling with monofilament fishing line. The hands are outstretched in a gesture that resembles Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Italy is one of the most famous in modern art. The painting depicts God reaching out his hand toward Adam’s hand. Rather than depicting a giving gesture, however, Trotman says Grab shows a gesture of greed.

With Grab I hope to present the viewer with several layers of meaning, the first of which is the ironic reference to Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel: God reaching out his hand to Adam, presumably to give him life. In my sculpture the hands are concerned with taking rather than with giving. Taking what? And whose hands?

They are powerful male hands, as indicated by their size, musculature, and the rings they wear. (For me, signet rings are prime symbols of male ego. They say, “I, personally, am a force to be reckoned with because of my wealth, will, class, and connections.”) The casualness of God and Adam’s hands belie the momentousness of the event they represent: the beginning of human life and the transfer to humanity of divine spirit. The hands of Grab are mythic and powerful, but lack the relaxed dignity of Michelangelo’s. They seem more to be grasping claws, driven by insatiable greed. Or maybe the hands are performing a congratulatory gesture of complicity between two people with the same agenda.

The word “grab” connotes taking something suddenly, roughly, and unscrupulously, like a “land grab” or a “power grab.” It could refer to a sexual assault. Trump famously used the word in the Hollywood Access tapes boasting of his behavior with women. So much feels up for grabs today: abortion rights, civil rights, voting rights, indeed the very future of the planet. What if a small, but very powerful group of men wanted to grab everything of value for themselves and leave the rest of us to rot?

Bob Trotman

Trotman carefully plans each of his sculptures by first making sketches and clay maquettes (small models) of his ideas. He also photographs human models in specific poses and uses the images as references for his sketches. He says he spends a lot of time preparing his work before he begins to carve the wood. He often spends many months working on his sculptures. Grab took Trotman over a year to complete. 

The cracks and splits in the wood Trotman uses to create his sculptures are important aspects of his style. Because basswood is fairly soft, it ruptures easily and results in a cracked surface. According to Trotman these fractures in the wood communicate feelings of stress. Many of his sculptures depict people who are at their breaking point, both physically and emotionally. Trotman says basswood is his favorite material because it is easy to work with and comes in large sizes. He buys it in bulk and works on multiple sculptures at the same time. He often paints his sculptures using casein, a milk-based paint.

The NCMA collection includes two other works of art by Trotman: Girl and Vertigo. Both sculptures depict large-scale human figures in the act of falling.

• Read Bob Trotman’s artist statement and biography.
• Watch a video of Trotman explaining his creative process and what inspires him.
• Listen to an interview with Trotman.

Resources for Students

• Explore a web page to learn more about Bob Trotman and see other examples of his work.
• Watch Trotman’s video performance animations, including one that is similar in form to Grab.
• Watch a video of Trotman describing how he designed and created his sculpture titled Cover Up.