Inside Yoav Liberman's Studio: Etrog Boxes and American Beauty

June 30, 2008

      Etrog Box            American Beauty

Artist Statement

Found objects and discarded wood serve as both the literal and the metaphorical “raw material” for all my work: they provide the actual physical basis out of which a new piece will be formed; but just as crucially, they provide the conceptual inspiration for that new piece.

I find myself especially inspired by the hidden potential in objects which are no longer desirable for their original purpose—the lid of a now missing frying pan, the frame of an old metal filing cabinet. As lids or cabinets they may be well past their prime, but when combined with other materials they can be reincarnated as new, functional, aesthetically interesting pieces.

Most of my “raw materials” are objects that I find myself somewhat inexplicably drawn to, either because they exude a sort of material integrity, or because I am saddened to see them abandoned. Once I find such objects—I am always prowling through people’s discarded wares—I sketch, study, contemplate, and eventually design new elements to help transform the undesirable into the coveted.

Etrog Box

2005

Heart-pine, wenge, cherry, walnut, Found brass claw feats.
Silk linen padding: by fabric artist; Leslie Hartwell.

Etrog Box

2004

Heart-pine, wenge, ash, walnut, ipe, mahogany, Found brass railing and brass claw feats.
Quilted linen padding; by fabric artist Leslie Hartwell.

The Etrog is a citron: this precious, rare fruit is used in Jewish celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles.

The idea to build an Etrog box came to mind after examining old fireplace sets. Their bases were comprised of brass parts of intricate shapes; some are cast and some are turned. I decided they would do well to serve as the base of the Etrog box.

To make a new box, I first decide on the design and joinery that will work best with the fireplace parts. Then I choose between different kinds of woods, both local and exotic, to achieve an intended visual affect. In some boxes I patina the brass parts; in others I polish them to shine. To connect the lid to the box, I use Brusso hinges, considered to be among the best in the world.

American Beauty

2005

Reclaimed southern yellow pine, used dental drill bits, found steel table, spindles from discarded Harvard chair

On one level this piece demonstrates roles in reverse.

The plant has become the carnivore; the dental drills have turned to fangs and teeth; the back-supporting spindles have been re-incarnated as legs. On another level it is a mirror for our recklessness: we discard and trash objects of value and consume living things to the verge of extinction.

About Yoav Liberman

Yoav S. Liberman is a studio furniture maker. His work combines the old and new, using found objects and discarded wood as a source and inspiration for the pieces that he builds.

Yoav received his architectural degree from the Israel Institute of Technology. From 2001 to 2003, he was an Artist-in-Residence at the Worcester Center for Crafts. In 2003, Yoav joined Eliot House at Harvard University where he teaches woodworking and furniture design. In October 2006 Yoav was appointed as an adjunct faculty member in Shenkar College, Israel, where he teaches furniture design, materials and construction.

His work has appeared in several juried exhibitions in United States, most recently in the Trashformations East exhibition at the Fuller Craft Museum and in SOFA Chicago 2005. Yoav’s Etrog box was one of the finalists at the 2005 Niche Awards.   

Yoav’s articles on furniture design and woodworking have been published in Israel’s leading design magazines.  His work has also been featured in several nationwide publications, including the the Harvard Gazette (2005, 2007), Woodwork Magazine (Oct 2007) and the Boston Globe (Nov 2007). Two of his pieces have appeared in a recent art book on innovative approaches to woodturning – 500 Wood Bowls (Lark Books 2004)

Yoav designs and builds his pieces at his Harvard studio in Cambridge MA. His pieces can be found in galleries in Cambridge, Worcester and Acton as well as in private collections in the United States, Israel and England.

View works by Yoav Liberman at his web site: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~liberm/