Burlington Art: “Jim Davidson Foundry ‘AY’ - 1981”
I have driven by this particular art piece several times, and have always wondered about this art piece, standing on a business property, yet accessible to the public. Today I stopped, to investigate this piece more thoroughly, and found the signature of “Jim Davidson” on the structure, along with a smaller button showing: “Jim Davidson Foundry - 1981.”
Should be easy to search up this artist right?
Well, not so easy actually! As a matter of fact all I uncovered is a controversy. It seems, there has been a lot of investigation into this artist, and the general conscience is that Jim Davidson does not exist.
So where does this art piece come from?
I guess the clue is in the title on the artist Informational button. It says, “Jim Davidson Foundry - 1981” which is the name used by Leala Art Gallery in Thailand, that produces bronze art pieces, under the “Americanized “ name of Jim Davidson.
So what?
For art collectors of Bronze art, who will pay top dollar for a desirable piece, this could mean disaster. It turns out, American Bronze is about 90% copper, and Asian bronze is cast out of yellow copper (a low grade metal) not bronze. Some consider this to be the knockoff world of art, and that it is extremely damaging to the real artists. I found it very interesting to read about this controversy on line.
How about the other side?
As for the other side of the story, I was unable to find any information to support Jim Davidson as an artist. However, I did find information posted to an online Discussion string on a “Bronze Art” discussion Forum. Below is an exert of this biography, I’ll let you decide for yourself:
JIM DAVIDSON, THE PEN NAME OF AN ARTIST, WAS BORN ON 1962 AT BANGKOK. HE IS THE ELDEST SON OF FIVE SIBLING AND WAS GROWN UP AMONG THE PIONEER ARTIST OF THAILAND. HIS FATHER WAS A SUCCESS PAINTER AND SCULPTOR (SURREALISTIC), HIS MOTHER WAS A POPULAR SINGER. IN HIS CHILDHOOD, HE WAS PARTICIPATED WITH HIS FATHER IN PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND WAX PORTRAIT. HE WAS PARTICIPATED WITH HIS FATHER'S MASTERPIECE, NOT ONLY THE HIGH RANKING MONUMENTS WHICH HIS FATHER PEER FORMED TO THE GOVERNMENT . . . .
What do you think?
As for the art piece, I’ll let you decide. Do you like it or not? (of course your opinion of this art piece is optional, and not necessary for logging this cache as a find)
Final Location: N 43 2A.BCD W 079 4E.FGH
A = Number of raggedy ann dolls
B = Number of Children Wearing Hats
C = Second digit in the date on the structure
D = (Number of children standing) x 2
E = (Total Number of boards nailed to the diagonal plank x 3) - 1
F = Number of Dogs
G = (Number of Girls) x 3
H = (Total number of Children) + 2
Good Luck and Happy Caching!
As of January 6, 2025, subtract 0.001 to N, and 0.008 to W to find new GZ, as of January 6, 2025