and my favorite sculpture of the XX century is... [Archive] - Sculpture Community

Stephen Casey

01-08-2004, 12:44 PM

My first and probably last single choice would have to be;
"I am Beautiful" Rodin 1882, I know wrong century, but I think of this work atleast once a month, very often more. I may have been born in the wrong century. Having been a long term care giver, and coming from a southern male up bringing, it speaks volumes to me. Lately I have been thinking of Fritchies torsos. They remind me that there is a lot of power in the human form without exaggerated posturing.

Here is a link to an image of it.
http://www.artrenewal.org/images/artists/r/Rodin_Auguste/large/I_Am_Beautiful_The_Abductor.jpg

anne (bxl)

01-08-2004, 04:58 PM

I could't open the link you mentionned ("page not found")

Rodin is an exceptionnal sculptor, of course, but definitely part of the XIX century. Most art historians agree 1911 or so as the beginning of modern art.
First generation includes Brancusi, Duchamp, Zadkine, Picasso, Matisse, Epstein, Arp.....

I couldn't find the sculpture I was speaking about on the net but here is a work of the same early period.

Stephen Casey

01-09-2004, 12:37 PM

I see your point. But I feel that seperating one camp of art from others can easily exclude subsets of the audience. I admire "modern art" but for extended periods of time it is not the language of myself or the people in my day to day life.

If I was nailed to the wall I would have to say that most of the time my favorite piece of art of the present century is often the piece I am currently working on. If it was not, I would be spending my time wrapped in the art of others. Of course sometimes we create art that is painful to us, to get something out of us, that we do not understand, until after the peice is done. Few would call that their favorite. Yet I learned as I have aged that the worse of times is truely often the best of times. For it is when the chips are down and we are there for our friends &/or family that we shine as human beings. It is such moments that get me through my darkest days even dacades later.

The first sculpture I ever considered doing was too painful to do at that time. And when I do finnaly set my self to doing it, my favorite works of Renoir, Rodin, and even Michelangelo and Beethoven will go out the window, and I will pour all that I am into bringing my favorite piece of art for that time in my life, to life.

jwebb

01-09-2004, 03:03 PM

A favorite piece is a very difficult choice. But I'll choose the attached or another example of Henry Moore's "Reclining Figure"(s), or even less figurative, more abstract works. I think he found and showed the way to a synthesis of Surrealism and Cubism, Figuration and Abstraction. In my own mind, I'm not yet so sure of anything that's come after him.

anne (bxl)

01-11-2004, 04:37 PM

Interresting choice Jwebb!
The fact that Henri Moore played with solid and empty parts, with light and shadow was quite innovative. There is still a lot to learn about the way he conceved the figurative abstraction.
even for us, artists of the XXI century....

obseq

01-11-2004, 08:00 PM

Great idea for a thread, Anne.

I usually have trouble with choices like this...."pick your favorite ______"

I'll just go with my first instinct which is Boccioni's Development of a Bottle in Space (1913).

Stephen Casey

01-12-2004, 01:34 AM

Boccioni's piece really connects with me today as I have spent the day chopping up and modifying sculpting tools. Even the color choice in this example is powerful. The moore example pleases immediatly vs the several pieces to form one human figure in some of his work. I really like this thread I hope a lot of people pop in.

rderr.com

01-12-2004, 01:01 PM

Chère Anne

I’ve a friend in Belgium whose mother collected the works of her bridge partner, Nell Wouters’ husband Rik Wouters. He has the head of Nell as the model for”La Folle Danseuse” because Rik ,”L’a trouve si belle qu’il l’a coupe dans la burre pour le faire founder apart”. Could you find the photo of the Muse d’Ixelle copy so that people can expand their horizons beyond the French border.

Rooooooooooooooberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr(t)

post sciptum

I've posted La Chaise under 'dem Bones

anne (bxl)

01-12-2004, 04:37 PM

Rik Wouters is one of the major european sculptor of the end of the XIX / early XX century. contemporary of Rodin, he has also been a wel-known impresionnist painter.
I tumbnail the sculpture you refer "la danseuse folle" that he made after he saw Isadora Duncan performing.

rderr.com

01-12-2004, 08:33 PM

Merci Anne

She is better than my memeory. Can you find archives for Le Temple de Sexuality Human in the 50entnaire park by Jeff Lambeau?

RoooooooooooooooooooBerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrr(t)

anne (bxl)

01-13-2004, 06:54 AM

I don't have pics of Jef Lambeaux. The day I buy a digital camera I promise I send you a pic of the temple located in the 50naire park as it is just a few blocks from my place. Meanwhile I am sure you can find some information on the net.
but his art is typically classical XIX century....

anne (bxl)

01-16-2004, 05:31 AM

Great idea for a thread, Anne.
I'll just go with my first instinct which is Boccioni's Development of a Bottle in Space (1913).

"Il futurismo"! they discovered so many new artistic languages: cinetic, abstraction, cubism etc...
I just visited a very interresting exhibition about this major art movement yesterday! :) . The "Development of a Bottle in Space" was not in unfortunatly, but I saw the Boccioni's most famous "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space".

Nobody has a favorite in the second part of the XXst century? Is the contemporary artistic production so poor?

sculptorsam

01-16-2004, 09:25 AM

This question is tormenting me! I don't know if I can pick my favorite... to place one great work over another, to create a hierarchy of greatness. And comparing works of different styles is like comparing apples to oranges. But I will lead off with a new favorite by an artist I recently discovered. Icarus III, in 1960 by Michael Ayrton. You can find more about him here: http://www.jclfa.com/Ayrton/ayrton.html But how do you compare a work like this with Locking Piece, in 1971 (bronze version) by Henry Moore? I just don't know.

Sam

fritchie

01-17-2004, 07:28 AM

"Il futurismo"! they discovered so many new artistic languages: cinetic, abstraction, cubism etc...
I just visited a very interresting exhibition about this major art movement yesterday! :) . The "Development of a Bottle in Space" was not in unfortunatly, but I saw the Boccioni's most famous "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space".

Nobody has a favorite in the second part of the XXst century? Is the contemporary artistic production so poor?

Anne - I see sculptorsam has responded that he had great difficulty with this question. I have also, and still am thinking about a reply, in between doing other things. I don’t think a person can choose a favorite in a field like this. I would prefer to use a succession of words. For “most memorable” I nominate Picasso’s goat made with bicycle parts and fur. It’s certainly not my “favorite” piece, though.

Under other titles, I would choose very different pieces. These will be posted as time permits. As for the Boccioni piece you name, I posted an image earlier, with the comment that I found it memorable but something I’d as soon forget.

anne (bxl)

01-26-2004, 01:29 PM

Anne - I see sculptorsam has responded that he had great difficulty with this question. I have also, and still am thinking about a reply, in between doing other things. I don’t think a person can choose a favorite in a field like this.

"Favorite" is very subjective, I agree. It's not about an intellectual hierarchy. It's not the most important sculpture in art history. It's just an artwork that connects your sensitive personnal emotion.

rderr.com

01-26-2004, 04:55 PM

Chère Anne

You are right, favorite is not necessarily most important. At Mariemont there are very good examples of the conundrum. On one side there is the group “Bourgeois de Calais” by R. and on the other “Family” by Jeff Lambeaux. They are dated at about the same period. Of coarse the hands of the youngest member of the cortege are of MAJOR IMPORTANCE. But the tenderness of the mans hands on the rope of the ox where are seated wife and children is a favorite

Roooooooooooooooooooooberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrr(t)

Stephen Casey

01-28-2004, 02:00 AM

fritchie

01-28-2004, 09:36 PM

I think of my personal favorite as the work that my mind returns to the most, not just when I am appreciating someones art or even thinking about my own. My favorite is simply the single work that does not symblize but instead is pointed to by the every day scenes at the grocery, the park, the book store.

Rodin's, I feel inappropriatly titled, "I am Beautiful."
http://www.artrenewal.org/images/artists/r/Rodin_Auguste/large/I_Am_Beautiful_The_Abductor.jpg

Stephen - I just clicked on this address and got a "page not found" message. I find that happens quite often with this source. It could be my browser or settings, but I think other people have had the same complaint. I think you somehow got a different address for the group when this happened earlier. Can you try for this one?

I’m not familiar with that title, though I am very fond of Rodin’s work in general.

Araich

01-29-2004, 01:08 AM

It is the server trying to stop hotlinking. A good trick to learn is to cut and paste the address to your browser (instead of refering link) - this should work.

copy this to your browser address bar:

artrenewal.org/images/artists/r/Rodin_Auguste/large/I_Am_Beautiful_The_Abductor.jpg

Stephen Casey

01-29-2004, 12:40 PM

Yes I agree, in the future I will copy the words and not the shortcut and paste into post. But with the www. a the front as some browsers don't fill that in for us. As a past long term caregiver this piece has extra meaning to me. It may also explain my being a little over pretective of the women in my life. For me this seems the normal role for me as a man.

www.artrenewal.org/images/artists/r/Rodin_Auguste/large/I_Am_Beautiful_The_Abductor.jpg

Stephen Casey

01-29-2004, 12:42 PM

Fritchie, does my link above work for you since I did it differantly?

Roy

01-29-2004, 06:58 PM

I have not seen too many works, and I do like lots of non figurtive sculpture like everything have seen of Arp but I don't know any titles. My one piece would be the Figurtive "Daughters of Odessa" by Frederick Hart.

anne (bxl)

01-30-2004, 04:22 AM

Roy

01-30-2004, 07:25 PM

Thanks Anna

fritchie

01-30-2004, 08:01 PM

Fritchie, does my link above work for you since I did it differantly?

It is the server trying to stop hotlinking. A good trick to learn is to cut and paste the address to your browser (instead of refering link) - this should work.

copy this to your browser address bar: .. deletions ..

artrenewal.org/images/artists/r/Rodin_Auguste/large/I_Am_Beautiful_The_Abductor.jpg

Stephen - No, unfortunately it doesn't. I get the same “not found” message. I also tried various shorter forms of the address, but got “inaccessible” messages. And the main page was far too slow for me to wait, with my modem connection. I’m sure this site has some very good material, but It’s not for me, I’m afraid. Thanks for the reference anyway.

Araich - Thanks for the explanation. Interestingly, Russ has copies into the address bar disabled on this link. I had to open a new copy of the browser, mimicking what he does. That worked fine.

Stephen Casey

01-31-2004, 12:58 AM

I am glad that you did get to the image. I suspect you have cookies disabled in your browser. I have found no problem with accepting all cookies and hit far less dead ends as I travel. This is a matter of personal choice of course. But since my spending habits and surfing habits, etc are databased in a zillion ways already I don't mind web sites seeing my surfing habits and that is all we give up by allowing all cookies.

This is how you change that setting if you desired.

Inside Internet Explorer
Tools/
Internet Options/
Privacy/
Slide bar to the bottom to accept all.

sculptor

01-31-2004, 10:17 PM

OK
After giving this some serious thought
And in all due modesty,
I gotta say that I think my mermaid is my favorite
ISIS---with OSIRIS and HORUS---
using some negative space, and tending to the surreal
-----runs a real close second

gee -------is this a bit too much self love?

BUT THIS IS THE MOST HONEST ANSWER OF WHICH I AM CAPABLE

SO

whither hence?

rod(sculptor)

rderr.com

02-01-2004, 10:30 AM

Weither hence? Forward. Each of us should be able to say the same. Otherwise, why do it?

Ardor Order

JAZ

03-10-2004, 09:45 PM

Weither hence? Forward. Each of us should be able to say the same. Otherwise, why do it?

Ardor Order

So, onto two images. The first is David Smith's Agricola VIII. I had a hard time choosing one of his, because they're all so different, but selected this one because it should show up well in this small version and because the forms flow. One of my favorites of his is a rendition of a letter someone wrote to him. There it's the concept rather than the form that strikes me. A couple of years ago there was a big show of his work at StormKing in NY including many more of his colored pieces than there are in the books I have. Agricola VIII is from 1952, steel and cast iron.
The other is from a postcard I've been carrying around ever since a show at the Hirshorn in DC. It's Juan Munoz' "Conversation". The faces and arms look to be cast from people, but generalized a bit something like the way Kiki Smith does, then the clothing of the bodies becomes like canvas bags, skirt-like, filled and rounded so the "people" seem active, moving. They are roly poly yet solid - precarious and stable at once. The space between the separate figures is alive and so many inferences are possible. The card doesn't give the medium, but I believe it was bronze. Things that are both realistic and abstract at the same time fascinate me. They dwell in their own space in this world. David Smiths', though mostly abstract surprisingly seem equally rooted in reality somehow.