Ladders might not be an obvious choice for artistic inspiration, but there have been many paintings and sculptures that have used a variety of ladders as the focal point for the work. Although they are a practical item, their simple form and shapes, as well as the symbolism associated with ladders (regarding ascending and descending) have become a source of artistic inspiration and expression.

Charlie Brouwer's Ladders

The Dutch-American artist Charlie Brouwer, who lives in Virginia, USA, has used ladders as both a material for his installations and community arts projects, as well as a metaphor. Brouwer borrows ladders from the local community, asking for a story or a memory associated with each ladder he uses. The final artworks, part of his Rise Up series of community arts projects, are sculptural installations of ladders that have a significance to the community and project the fragile and interconnected nature of the aspirations, dreams and past histories of the community he is working with. The Rise Up series has been to Atlanta, Roanoke, Winston Salem, Grand Rapids and Piedmont to name but a few. In each case the construction of the sculptures is similar, following the aesthetic ideals of a series named Rise Up™. Each of the installations ascends out of the ground, with the ladders interlocking to create a work of art that not only represents the community rising up and working together, but literally uses that community to make the point (as the ladders all belong to local people). These works show how people can work together in a community, using ladders as a symbol for rising up and climbing the ladder of success™. Brouwer's "Art in Roanoke" series of outdoor sculptures also relies on the presence of ladders. The series of sculptures is made from wood and almost all depict figures carrying something. In one installation there is a man carrying a hat, a man carrying a briefcase and another of a man carrying a ladder (And Then One Day It Happened). In another sculpture from the same series, we see a man sitting next to a ladder. The piece, titled How Then Shall We Live shows a man sitting, apparently deep in thought, next to a ladder that tapers up towards the sky. The perspective makes the ladder appear to be disappearing into the skies and therefore seems almost impossible to climb. In the same series there is a ladder which is part of a sculpture of a train carriage (The Lonesome Whippoorwill) presumably as the mode of access to the top of the carriage. Given the nature of the sculpture series and the dated appearance and names of the artworks "The Lonesome Whippoorwill" seems to use the ladder as a representation of escape, as this would have been how people got onto the long cross country trains to hitch a ride across America when they were searching for a new life. Brouwers "Out There" is a semi permanent, ever-developing exhibition of his sculptural work based at his home. Set in nine acres, Brouwer lives, works and exhibits on this land. As with much of Brouwer's work, ladders feature heavily in the works on display. There are chairs with ladders used as the back rest and in one sculpture, a ladder is set horizontally on a plinth. In another feature, a very tall tower type structure has only one entrance and exit; a tiny window can be seen right at the top, which can only be reached by one of the ladders that rest against the main structure. Each ladder is slightly different, some being tapered towards the top (increasing the sense of height that is afforded by the nature of the structure), others missing the top rungs that would allow the ladder to be used for access. This piece especially plays on the importance of ladders as an access method and offers comment on the fragility of those access methods, implying that one of them may fail at any moment at which point the back up ladders would come into play.

Ladders for Peace

Ilan Averbuch, an artist originally from Israel, was commissioned by the city of Leawood, USA, to create a sculpture celebrating the sisterhood of Leawood city with the Gezer region of Israel. Averbuch was chosen because of his knowledge of this area of Israel and his heritage. The piece he created was a twenty-two foot high curved ladder made of granite and steel, which rises from a small reflective lake. Averbuch says of the work: A ladder is a tool, a human creation, mimicking things we see in nature. It is steps into territories beyond our natural reach. A ladder has a physical reach, but from very early on it has occupied the human mind as a dream and a metaphor. As such, it has no limits, no scale and no physical explanation. In daily reality, we think of it as something that starts on solid ground, and we associate it with climbing up or down I wanted to connect that sea of the unknown™ which we search to understand, with our desires to reach out for more than what we have. This combination reflects the human condition, and in this work literally a reflection of one element in the other the ladder grows out of its reflection created in the water. Stone and water are opposites and are the materials from which I carve this image. They form a dialogue with surprises and questions. Each viewer can find his own range of answers to the questions posed here by the physical and the metaphysical.” Artist Martin Puryear's 1996 piece "Ladder for Booker T. Washington" is an installation piece featuring a tall wooden ladder, curved and tapered towards the top. When the ladder is in installation it is suspended between the ceiling and the floor. This means it does not rest on the ground, nor does it lead anywhere. The lighting on the ladder creates shadows and the wires are well hidden, so there is a lot to look at but ultimately the gaze is drawn to the top of the ladder. Booker T Washington was an important figure in the history of slavery and the ladder, suspended in uncertainty, represents his struggle to reach the top and attain freedom. The ladder itself would be a struggle to climb if one were to attempt it. Puryears other sculptural works also use ladder-like structures and shapes.

Who Climbs a Ladder for Art's Sake?

A 2009 piece by the artist Miguel Angel Madrigal is a sculpture of a dog climbing a ladder. It was an installation piece: the ladder leans against a wall, complete with a plaster cast of a dog appearing to climb up the ladder, which is looking back down as it reaches the top. This is not the only piece of ladder sculpture to feature a ladder with another object fixed to it. Roman Signer's 1995 abstract installation also features a ladder leaning against a wall. In this piece, there is a pair of black Wellington boots appearing to climb the ladder. The ladder in this piece is not a shop bought ladder as with Madrigal's piece; this ladder was made specifically for the artwork, as each rung is a double rung and the space between the rungs are used to wedge the Wellingtons into. A light shining at a particular angle casts interesting shadows onto the white wall behind the boots. Nathaniel Shapiro also uses a ladder and strategic lighting to achieve a striking linear effect in his 2008 series The Way of Progress. This series includes an installation of a ladder which relies on it's own lighting for illumination, rather than any studio lights. It is lit in such a way that the ladder appears to be brightest at the bottom, middle and top, and even more so in the middle where the overlapping sections of the extension ladder cross. It is a representation of the ascension of humankind up the ladder of progress, with the brightest light in the middle perhaps suggesting that mankind has a long way to go yet. Watch this space for parts two and three of this series on ladders in art.