Hysteria

Object NameSculpture

Artist / Maker John Vincent Bloom (American, 1906 - 2002)

Date1980

MediumCarved walnut

Dimensions7 x 18 x 17 in. (17.8 x 45.7 x 43.2 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Tom and Janet Bloom. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2005.298ab

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextIn 1892 Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863-1944) painted his most known composition, "The Scream", as part of The Frieze of Life that explored Munch's views of love, life, fear, death, and melancholy. A native of Dewitt, Iowa, Bloom's early art training at the Chicago Art Institute brought him into contact with Cubist sculpture and European painting from which he was deeply influenced. While primarily recognized as a painter and master draftsman, Bloom continued to sculpt well into his senior years, as reflected in this stylized version of The Scream, reminiscent of the Art Deco and American Scene styles. Bloom lead a remarkably normal life through the tumultuous 20th century and maintained a positive attitude; one only wonders what event or incident compelled him to sculpt Hysteria in his seventies. Isabel Scherer Bloom (1908-2001), John Bloom's wife and a recognized sculptor in Iowa, greatly influenced his art and was likely the model for this sculpture.

Object Titles[com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.ObjectTitle@941e]

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