Don Dougan - selections from the lip series
Through the lips - the doors of the mouth 
we eat, drink, and breathe our sustenance,
we vomit our ills, shape our songs,
we speak of fears and of dreams,
we pass our sobs and laughter; and with our lips
we form both our curses  .   .   .  
                                                and our kisses. 


The lips are not modeled after a particular person's lips, but are a fusion of the most expressive mouths observed by the artist. 

The various lip sculptures are done using different techniques, different materials, and from different points of view. 

These lip works are an on-going series using the
imagery of lips.

Lips, conditional to so many human activities, can imply
a diversity of meanings, shifting with the life experience
that colors each viewer's perceptions.  I try to use the
humor of the image to express a provocative
sensuality.
 
This often generates an immediate response - for
example, the students in a grade school class visiting a
'touchable' exhibit spontaneously lined up to take turns
to enthusiastically kiss a pair of bronze lips.
LIP DRAWING #3:
DRAWN AGAIN
cast bronze, slate
15" high x 14" wide

LOWER LATITUDE ATTITUDE:
THE SHAPES OF PASSION
cast bronze,
tennessee marble, georgia marble,
spanish marble, italian marble 
16" high x 9" wide 
The lip works are often humorous, sometimes provocative - but always sensual.
PARTHENOGENESIS
cast bronze, black marble
7" high x 12" wide
Most of the lips in the series are made life size,
allowing the viewer to respond to the work in the most direct manner.
www.dondougan.com
EPIC FRAGMENT: ETRUSCAN SONG               
cast bronze, travertine               
12" high x 52" wide               
private collection              

detail
In a few works the scale of the mouth is larger, and this reflects the idea or concept behind the larger-than-life image - as in EPIC FRAGMENT: ETRUSCAN SONG.