Kohl Comtess
“Contemporary Interpretations of the Human Form in Sculpture”
Humans have consistently had a fascination with recreating the human form. Starting with simple sculptures of fertility goddesses (See Figure 1) to more elaborate figures carved out of stone (See Figure 2) sculptures of the human form have come a long way. As history progressed, the Greeks made their mark by being the first to attempt to create realistic human forms in stone. After the Greeks, the Romans adapted and expanded on the human form by becoming more developed in stone portraiture [2]. From there, sculpture entered the Middle Ages which displayed superstition and religion [1]. The Renaissance brought science and humanity along with two masters of their craft, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Beyond the Renaissance was the Neo-Classical era which was looking for the ideal body and the use of color in the nineteenth century. One aspect of the body in sculpture throughout this part of history was that artists were trying to recreate the human form as realistically as possible. The past 150 years have sculptors been playing with distorting the body, combining it with animal characteristics, and minimizing it to be almost a gesture of the human form. Currently artists are making statements through the use of the body as a tool to communicate rather than exploration or a study.
This exhibition will provide contemporary artists perceptions of the physical form. The artists whose work will be shown in this exhibition are Duncan Chase, Eric Fischl, Louise Hindsgavl, Stephen Michael Lorson, Richard Mackenzie-Childs, Ron Mueck, and Pamela Thomas. Together they will display the variety of ways the human form can be manipulated to convey a meaning or reference.
The gallery space for this exhibition is similar to the layout of the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery. There will be a glass door entry way surrounded by glass windows to allow for some natural lighting. There will be a smaller area for one of the pieces to reside which leads to a more open space for the rest of the show (See Diagram of Gallery). The walls will be off-white and the floor a neutral grey to allow any color in the sculptures to appear as close to what the artist intended. All the artwork displayed is sculptures that require next to no wall space, so the use of “house lighting” will not be needed. Although natural light would be best, controlling the direction of the light is slightly more difficult, so a majority of the pieces will be lit with soft, even lights, which will try to minimize shadows and highlights. Eric Fischl’s piece will be under a spot light, since that is how it is currently displayed.
The first piece the viewer will see in the gallery is a highly realistic sculpture by Ron Mueck called Boy. This sculpture depicts a young boy, dressed only in kaki shorts, crouching down and compressed almost into a ball with the exception of his arms. His arms are at a ninety degree angle resting on top of his knees and his hands are clasped together. His head appears to be popping out from his legs but is slightly hidden by his arms and is looking off to the left side of his body. This sculpture is proportional and anatomically correct but enlarged to be just under sixteen feet tall (See Figure 3).
The proportion of Boy is reminiscent of Roman statues. The Romans used the size of the body to elevate the statue to “divine significance” [1, pg. 42]. Based on this philosophy, Mueck’s sculpture of Boy implies that this nameless figure is of great importance. This changes the perception of this figure from just being a sculpture of a boy in a child like pose into some sort of deity or political figure. Since this will be the first piece the viewer will see as they enter the gallery it will provide a shock and awe quality, which will make a good contrast with the next few pieces.
The next work the viewer will see is a small ceramic piece called Young Cattle by Louise Hindsgavl. Made of porcelain and glazed in a baby blue color, Young Cattle depicts three figures that resemble the bodies of giraffes with dolls’ heads. The heads look like they were cast from a baby doll’s head, while the legs appear to be cast from Barbie legs. The figures are walking around a grassy surface that is raised off the pedestal by two inches of clay. Although the bodies are similar, one of the heads is looking up, one is looking out past the surface it is standing on, and the last is tilted to the side and staring at the ground (See http://www.louisehindsgavl.dk/soloshow.html).
Hindsgavl’s work combines human body parts with animals to convey instinct or desires. Although the figures seem to be walking in a circle, each is looking in a different direction, indicating independent thought. The figures themselves are young, which implies impressionable children. The approach to the human form in this piece presents the idea of innocence and independent thinking. This perception of the human form is similar to the next piece in its idea of instinct and emotion.
The subsequent work is of a small, untitled ceramics piece by Pamela Thomas. This piece implies a male figure is in a strenuous position on top of a flat ceramic surface. The figures right leg is stretched back, away from the body, while the left leg is bent in towards the body. The figure almost appears to be in a stretch or lunge position. There is clay connecting the two legs together but is colored a deep blue which gives the figure more depth since it is the only color in this piece. Because of the use of color and its position, it is still possible to distinguish the figure as having legs. The legs are then connected to the back which is hunched over and the texture of the clay implies strained muscles. In contrast to the back and legs, the head, shoulders, and arms are clumped together in a mass of clay that bends back down into the ceramic surface to which it is attached. The beauty of this piece lies in the fact that there are just enough marks to imply a head, shoulders, and arms but not enough information to determine if the figure is trying to stand up or move closer to the ground (See Figure 4).
Thomas’ piece plays with distortion of movement and tension. This sort of depiction references mid-nineteenth century art and its use of color, but more specifically to Jean-Baptiste Clesinger’s Woman Bitten by a Serpent (See Figure 5). Clesinger’s approach in Woman Bitten by a Serpent tension and a distorted, pained pose while Thomas’ piece exaggerates the perception of tension by making the figure forever caught in a back breaking position.
After Thomas’ work the viewer will encounter an untitled piece by Stephen Michael Lorson. It is made of metal and what appears to be colored wax. This piece is an incomplete male figure. The legs are short, cut off just above the knees, so this figure is standing on amputated legs instead of feet. The arms have been replaced with cast metal gears. The left arm is only a stump capped by a gear which is like a metal tourniquet. Where the right arm should be emerges a rusty bronze replacement with what appears to be a spur for a hand. The head is undefined with no ears or hair, only a nose and two eye sockets to suggest a facial structure. Carved lines all over the figure suggest muscle fibers and aid in the understanding of this being a human figure (See Figure 6).
The sculpture combines the more fragile wax with the hard metal which like Thomas’ piece references nineteenth century art. Around this time wax figures had grown in popularity in the use of science and art, though it had also caused some anxieties. People had concerns about “anything which threatened to blur the boundary between the natural body and representation” which was considered “grotesque” and a “cultural taboo.” [1, pg. 121] Though Lorson’s work is not anatomically realistic, it is grotesque. This piece places the human figure in a mechanical world and distorts the body to allow the viewer to interpret the comparison of man and machine. Adding the metal arms to this piece drives us to think of labor, factories and the misuse of science. This allows for great antithesis to the next piece.
The Rooster, created by 2005 MFA graduate Duncan Chase is a follow up to Lorson’s work. The Rooster is composed of wood, ceramics, and bronze. The piece stands upright on two bronze chicken’s legs. These legs support a polished rectangular wooden body which appears to have an anatomic ceramic heart with a peep hole inside the heart about three quarters of the way up the front face of the box. Resting on top of the box is a male bust cast in bronze. Under the chin protrudes what is a representation of the wattles of a rooster made out of ceramics. The clay then travels up the busts face to gather on top of the head to recreate the comb. The bronze legs and head are not polished so it makes them appear tarnished and weathered. The clay heart is a deep rustic red and the ceramic work on the bust is a sickly orange color (See Figure 7). Inside the peep hole is a mother bird tending to her nest. This piece not only combines the human form with a bird but also incorporates the notion of the feminine inside of the masculine and of fatherhood [Duncan Chase, telephone conversation with author,
Jonah Lehrer’s article “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Artistic Mind” introduces the ways in which the human mind responds to artistic tools and choices including distortion [4]. In the article Lehrer explains that distorting qualities or features to be more or less noticeable draws our attention quickly to those things. The Rooster is an example of an artist taking two seemingly unrelated objects and distorting them to become one object. The distortions aid in the initial interpretation of the piece as man is just an animal. Chase’s decision to add qualities of a rooster such as herding and guarding allows the viewer to consider the figure as an animal interested in surviving and dominating. Yet when the viewer looks inside the box they will discover that this piece is more about fatherhood and protection. This piece is not presented in a fashion that provides the viewer comic relief but instead pushes the viewer to feel the severity of the message. In contrast to the last work viewed, The Rooster exaggerates the animalistic qualities of a human while Lorsons’s piece exaggerates the mechanical qualities. This piece does not lie about the qualities of a human but simply draw the viewers’ attention to one aspect at a time and lose focus on the other.
The work that follows is titled Arching Woman by Eric Fischl. Arching Woman is a bronze sculpture that is set on a square platform. The figure is of a nude, life like female. On the platform at her feet are metal dust and scraps. The woman is standing on point, stretching out her body. Her head is perpendicular to her body, staring directly at the ceiling. Her hands are bound together with rope, which is causing her to contort her arms and push her shoulders back, forcing her back to arc (See Figures 8-10).
This piece is reminiscent of the sculptures during the Renaissance period. For example this piece shares similar compositional qualities to Michelangelo’s Dying Slave (See Figure 11) such as the body being stretched and the arching of the back. More importantly Arching Woman illustrates the turmoil, suffering and humanity that were characteristics of Renaissance sculpture.
The last piece is untitled and was created by Richard Mackenzie-Childs. Made entirely out of terra cotta clay, the piece stretches from floor to ceiling. The piece is compiled of seven squares stacked on top of each other to create one long rectangle. Each square is a different hue of terra cotta, the darkest of which resides at the top of the stack. The second square from the bottom has been removed and replaced with the legs of a figure wearing women’s clothing in a sitting position. It seems as though the figure is wearing a skirt or dress with high heels. The feet are flat on the floor, toes pointing out. The high heels on the figure are actually the feet. There is no line of separation to differentiate feet being inside the shoes, it is just legs that turn into high heels. The skirt or dress hangs loosely around the shins. The knees are defined but the lap is pressed flat as if to suggest that the viewer could sit in it (See Figure 12).
Mackenzie-Childs work is an example of playing with the concept of functionality and movement. This piece is very still and tall which gives the viewer a sense of dominance and stability. It is also indicated that the viewer may sit upon the figures lap. Considering this piece is made out of clay, it makes the viewer question whether or not the piece could bare the weight of a person. Mackenzie-Childs’ piece exaggerates the idea of functionality and toys with the viewer’s perception of strength by making the piece tower over the viewer. This difference permits the viewer to see this piece as tall and stable yet fragile and functionless, unlike Mueck’s piece which was monumental and god like.
This exhibition will provide contemporary artists perceptions of the physical form in many different ways. Thomas and Fischl utilized different works in history while Mueck and Lorson made references to different eras in sculpture. Chase’s use of distorting the body aided in his communication of femininity, masculinity and fatherhood. Hindgavl applies the human form to relate instinct and desire and Mackenzie-Childs’ piece uses womens’ legs to convey functionality and movement. Currently artists are making statements through the use of the body as a tool to communicate rather than exploration or a study as done in history. Together Duncan Chase, Eric Fischl, Louise Hindsgavl, Stephen Michael Lorson, Richard Mackenzie-Childs, Ron Mueck, and Pamela Thomas will display the variety of ways the human form can be manipulated to convey meaning.
Footnotes
1. Flynn, Tom, The Body in Three Dimensions.
Incorporated, 1998.
2. Hale, Nathan Cabot, On The Perception of Human Form in Sculpture: A History of
Figurative Understanding.
3. Janson, H.W. History of Art. 5th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1995.
4. Lehrer, Jonah, “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Artistic Mind,” Psychology Today,
July/August 2009, 72-77.
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