Campus News

By Sara Myers, Digital Media & Communications Specialist 

Some may say that Ari Norris was born to be an artist, having been raised by two artists. Norris’ parents taught art classes at Muskegon Community College in Muskegon, Michigan, where he grew up. 

However, Norris differentiates from his parents regarding medium. His parents are painters, whereas Norris found his love of sculpting during his first year at Muskegon Community College. 

That’s where Norris took a class on the history of the Civil War, which included a field trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“I just thought it was a trip to Gettysburg for a weekend,” Norris said. “I just thought it was a great way to see something new. I met Gary there, and I wrote (to) him later. That was just an attempt at finding an opportunity.”

Gary Casteel is a nationally recognized sculptor and the last living artist to produce a monument in the Gettysburg National Military Park. Casteel presented his sculpture of General James Longstreet during Norris’ class trip. 

Norris was inspired by Casteel’s work and wrote to him to ask if he needed an apprentice. Casteel agreed, and Norris spent two summers in Pennsylvania working with him. Toward the end of his second summer, Norris started to work on his sculpture “The Doris Rucks Memorial Sculpture,” located at Muskegon Community College.

“He instructed me through it and showed me not just the sculpting process but also how to invoice a client, and manage those tasks as a 21-year-old.”

Norris’ piece was sculpted in clay during the summer of 2017 and dedicated in 2018 once the bronze cast was done. 

He met Professor Frank Trankina at a portfolio review day at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. That interaction convinced him to attend Northern Illinois University. In 2018, he transferred to NIU in DeKalb, where he received a BFA in sculpture and an MA in metalwork, jewelry design, and digital fabrication. 

Once he graduated with his master’s, Norris became an artist-in-residence for 18 months at the Art Casting of Illinois, Inc. in Oregon, Illinois. He used the foundry to cast his sculptures. 

It was in August 2022, when he had a conversation with a friend who was leaving their job as Art Gallery Director at Rockford University. Norris’ friend asked him if he would be interested in the job. It was part-time, which was perfect for Norris as he wanted to spend the rest of his time working on another sculpture of his that would eventually become “Band Together” at Rowan Park in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. 

Norris took the job and has been Art Gallery Director at RU ever since. As the director, his main job is to curate shows. He searches for two artists that work well together and asks the artists around 6 to 12 months in advance if they would be interested, and if they say yes, that gives them enough time to start planning. Norris will often travel and meet artists in their studios. Sometimes he will book solo shows for just one artist. 

For example, a recent show by artist Esau McGhee examined the 10 years after he completed his MFA at Northwestern University in 2013. The retrospective survey show was called: “Long Time No See (Exhibit A).” 

When he’s not working on his duties as gallery director or working on his art, Norris has recently started teaching drawing classes at RU.

“I’m really glad I got my MA from NIU, otherwise, I would not be able to do that,” he said. “It’s been a blast learning, and learning through teaching.”

Norris’ last sculpture, “Band Together,” took about 22 months to complete. He worked out of his parents’ studio in Muskegon to create the piece. 

“The studio was my parents’ studio, but they don’t work on that scale anymore,” he said. “They made a series of collaborative paintings for about 15 years that are in the 12-foot range. I just started moving more things (in the studio). As long as I was getting commissions (they said) they can justify holding on to it for me.”

He adds that most of his sculpture work has been commissioned by Michigan groups, so it made sense to keep his “statue studio.”

When it comes to balancing his artwork and working as a gallery director, Norris is still trying to achieve that balance.

“Gary always stressed the idea of rotating in threes,” he said. “You have one piece at a Foundry being made, one piece that you’re sculpting, and back at the studio, the third piece is in the works. I just haven’t gotten to that rotation yet. Right now after this large piece (has been completed), I can enjoy a little bit of a breather.”

You can see all of Norris’ work on his two websites: arinorris.us and norrisstatues.com.

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This article is part of the 2023-2024 issue of Catalyst.