Utah artist creates images in metal
He was told it was impossible to create such life-like art out of such a lifeless material. But John F. Prazen defied the standard and became one of the finest metal sculptors in the world.
Prazen was born and raised in Price, Utah. He began working metal at age six with his father, who was a blacksmith. Without receiving any formal art schooling, he moved on to sculpt and weld creations that receive worldwide acclaim.
Prazen said unlike trained artists, he didn’t give a professor the chance to tell him what he couldn’t do.
“I was crazy enough to try anything,” he said.
Few metal artists are capable of combining more than two different metals successfully, but Prazen has learned to work with nine. The different metals allow him to create depth perception, illusion and color, he said.
He uses heat to his advantage. For example, application of more or less heat can turn the metal a deep purple or smoky yellow. Prazen can make a sheet of metal look like buckskin so people have to touch it to find out for themselves, he said.
Prazen concentrates most prominently on Native American culture in his design. His love for such culture earned him a position in the Gourd Society for Native American warriors, he said.
His new, contemporary style is called High Desert. He portrays the beliefs and traditions of tribes such as the Sioux and Apache through creation of statues and war bonnets, Prazen said.
“The feathers on a war bonnet represent the rays of the sun,” he said. “The sun is the great spirit, the most powerful force in the universe, the most revered symbol.”
Prazen has learned about many different cultures by reading from his extensive collection of books worth about $6,000, he said.
The cultures he studies manifest themselves in the intricate personalities of his creations. They each have a different facial expression and, in turn, tell a different story.
“I don’t try to structure my pieces,” Prazen said. “They’ll come out the way they want to come out.”
Prazen has extended his artistic abilities beyond metalwork. In 1994, he began sculpting with clay. He now casts bronze and marble, he said.
Along with statues, he constructs furniture, fountains and accessories. He had the opportunity to create a chandelier for Arnold Friberg, the renowned painter.
Furthermore, singer John Denver and the sultan of Brunei own his pieces, Prazen said.
Prazen’s artistic expressions take between three and six months to complete. They are worth anywhere from $10 to $60,000 each, he said. But, that is the price for individuality. The pieces Prazen makes cannot be duplicated, he said.
“Art, to me, is mostly a feeling rather than a visual expression,” he said.
According to his Web site, www.worldofmetals.com, Prazen is “the only man in the world capable of sculpting such masterful works with a welding torch.”
Prazen said he makes his own molds and has created more than 1,000 techniques for working metal, which he has taught his children.
Prazen lives and works with his children in Mesquite, Nev., because he has found that people there appreciate his work. Plus, he doesn’t want to get overloaded with orders, he said.
Regardless, his work is solicited from all over the country and world. He has just begun construction of a monument for the medics of Vietnam which will be displayed on the University of Utah campus, Prazen said.
Throughout his life as an artist, Prazen has learned that talents must be expanded upon, he said. He has continually worked to gain knowledge and to learn and express new styles.
“Nobody ever knows how good they can be until they test themselves,” he said.