Sculpture that moves + News about Hayden Panettiere
Sculpture is one of my favourite art mediums - since it is three dimensional, having a sort of embodiment or presence that rivals our own in our space, it has the ability to be extremely engaging and moving. Unfortunately I don’t get to see much sculpture in person - the digital image of a sculpture and being in the same room with it are two very different experiences. I wanted to write about two works I’ve seen online that have blown me away, and someday I’d love the chance to visit them to see them in person.
The first artist, Naomi Thellier de Poncheville, actually calls herself primarily a freelance product designer in the areas of interior design from Amsterdam.
The work that I find so powerful, and certainly an art object, is called simply - Door Handle, exhibited in 2006 at the London Design Festival.
To me, this object is utterly brilliant. Obviously it’s a work where the act of opening the door becomes a suddenly intimate experience. To open the door and achieve the functionality of the inanimate object (sculpture, in my opinion), you have to connect to the inert material. In this way there is an interesting tension between animate and inanimate. One might expect the hand to be warm and pliant, yet it is stubbornly metallic and cold. To unlock the door, you have to deny the gesture of the open hand and reach underneath it. To open the door, you enter into this activity of touching hands and then you leave it behind when you have what you want, access to the room beyond it.
The second work of sculpture I found online is by Cai Guo-Qiang, a well-known Chinese artist who does a lot of sculpture involving animals - which is an interesting area for me since I am fascinated by how animals are represented in art. An entry I’m going to be writing soon will be dealing with ethics in animal representation and will get more into the nitty gritty of this arena. This work by Guo-Qiang is entitled Head On, and the images are from Berlin, Germany in 2006. Now especially with this work, the images do not do justice to the experience of being the physical gallery and having the ability to walk around the three dimensional sculpture and see it from the multiple perspectives intended by the artist. Here are several images to give you a sense of the work, from the artist’s official site, as well as a quotation they used to describe it:
With few wolves scattered in the front gallery, all ninety-nine wolves run, gallop and jump towards the far end of the exhibition hall, where a wall stands. The bravery of the wolves is met head on by the unyielding wall. As the leading wolves go down, many more follow with force and determination. As those in the front fall and pile up, those behind take up their positions.
This work is very interesting - though I am very struck by it, I haven’t had the chance to form concrete ideas about it - it would help if I could be there. The artist has done much work with animals, but I have never gotten the impression that he has a negative interpretation of their role. Here, I feel like he intimates a metaphorical link between the wolves and all animals, including humans. I wonder about the wall itself, and what the significance of it being transparent is. Anyway, I really love it.
By the way, I just found out that Hayden Panettiere, yes the hottie from Heroes who can never die (she makes sure to test this over and over by maiming herself unnecessarily) has been acting as a spokesperson for marine life.
Since ocean life is one of the most painful issues for me in the animal rights movement, I am really happy she’s taking a stand. People magazine wrote an article about it and she sounds like she really understands the nature of the issue:
“The dolphins and whales in our ocean are a part of a larger eco-system that prevents the killing off of other marine life. By destroying these animals and not allowing our future generations to enjoy their beauty, we are causing our own selves damage. I always felt the need to speak on behalf of these helpless creatures who can not defend themselves.”
The Heroes star adds, “Because I am in the public eye I feel the need to be a voice of worthy and important causes whose efforts impact the lives of every person on Earth. These animals are being brutally and unnecessarily slaughtered – and who are we to say to they have less of a right to exist than we do.”
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