We connected with Jimmy Descant and asked him some questions about his art practice and his new public art piece in Tucson, AZ titled, “The Coopers Crested Cooper” Found Object Assemblage Sculpture.
Artwork Location: Martha Cooper Library, midtown Tucson.
AF: What is Your “Artistic Root”?
JD: I was born in Michigan, grew up in New Orleans, lived in Colorado for 12 years, and have now been invested in Tucson for seven years. As a Severe ReConstructivist, I started creating assemblage art in 1996 in New Orleans with vintage vacuum cleaner rocketships. Completely self-taught, I transitioned into this work after a 15-year career as a roadie for major and minor recording acts, serving as a tour manager, guitar tech, sound man, and more. I have been a full-time, self-taught professional sculptor since 1996, with no college or art school training.
When I moved to Colorado in 2006 and began creating my interpretation of the West—drawing from environmental and socio-political current events, as well as my rocketship sculptures—I became proficient in large-scale commissions, installations, and loan programs. There is no welding in my work; it’s all cold connections, as I find parts that have never been together before, yet naturally mesh to create a clean, professional fit. Recycling is a key element, and sourcing raw materials is both a hunt and an instinct. I have developed a professional skill in acquiring vintage and beautiful materials from out-of-the-way places—resources that will never run out in our culture of “stuff.”
AF: As a public artist, where do your ideas come from? What was the inspiration behind your newly completed art project?
JD: I am inspired by the quality and workmanship of the tools of human existence and impart this history into my sculptures—the whole as the sum of its parts. For the Martha Cooper Library commission, I was asked to make the artwork as local as possible and drew on aspects of diversity, community, ecology, and the environment, as well as the Garden District that Martha Cooper herself embodied. This includes the namesake Cooper’s Hawk and the rare 1-in-10,000 “Crested” Saguaro.
AF: What does your artistic process look like?
JD: I disassemble everything I find, down to the nuts and bolts, then lay out my vision for the reassembled parts. There is no welding in my work; everything is bolted and screwed together in a strong, rigid construction. There is a lot of mixing, matching, and reorganizing as I go along to make it all cohesive and worthy of messages and metaphors.
AF: How does your project enhance the community it is located in?
JD: I did get parts from the community to add to the piece, enhancing its history and connection, and I feel I accomplished its original intention of connecting flora, fauna, people, movement, and the future with the past.
AF: Why is public art important to our community?
JD: Public art is the connection between the utilitarian aspects of a building and the people and community it serves. It is important to expand minds and foster conversations through contemplative metaphors and the intentions of artists.
AF: What other projects are you currently working on?
JD: I will be exhibiting at Sculpture Tucson from March 28-30, 2025, showcasing both small and large sculptures. I am also a live assemblage art performance artist, consistently collaborating with bands and poets on works that explore themes of living and surviving in the borderlands.
To learn more about Jimmy’s work or get in touch with him, visit his website or follow him on social media.
This project was funded by the Pima County Public Art Program.
