Sculptural Forms Research Articles

The Lily Pond

The Lily Pond (Fig. 18 and Color Plate A No. 1) was prepared as an installation for Burning Man 2002 and, as with many creative works, it began life as something much different than what it eventually evolved into. Born of my desire to create a large-scale interactive environment, the Pond was originally conceived as a large array of electronic devices that would respond both visually and audibly to people passing near them. Function quickly gave way to form upon my realization that there was no reason these devices could not be sculptural as well as functional. Prior experience with botanical sculpture led me and my colleagues to the idea of each device becoming a plant; from there it was a short leap to the concept of the lily pond. The Lily Pond came to consist of nearly 300 lily pads, mounted 22 inches above the ground and covering an area of roughly 3,500 square ft. Each pad is actually a green circuit board, fabricated in the shape of a lily pad and home to the various electronic circuits that give life to the Pond. The pads are arrayed in a hexagonal grid on 4-ft centers. This arrangement allows one to walk amongst the pads, experiencing the illusion that one is wading into a knee-deep pond. The illusion of wading is greatly enhanced at night, when each lily pad projects a diffuse blue glow onto the ground beneath it. As one walks among the pads, they individually modulate their light levels, in effect simulating the movement of ripples on water. These ripples of light propagate out into the pond, where they collide and combine with other ripples. Wanting to expand the concept beyond the basic idea of a pond full of interactive lily pads, we looked to the flora and fauna of a real pond. In the natural environment, objects of inspiration are plentiful; we found abundant material to draw from. We selected a few elements that interested us for inclusion in the first incarnation of the Pond. Roughly two-dozen of the lily pads sport lotus blossoms made of lampworked glass and stainless steel. These flowers are lit from within and slowly fade on and off and change colors. Seven dragonflies, in the form of wire-frame sculptures, inhabit the Pond. The wings of the dragonflies are illuminated with fiber optics and are animated in a way that suggests rapid motion. The glass eyes of the dragonflies are also lit with a soft light that slowly fades on and off. A pond would not be complete without fish, and The Lily Pond is home to several varieties. Five full-sized ceramic koi lurk beneath the surface, their eyes and barbles glowing gently in the night. There are four different schools of trout, also ceramic, as well as a dozen carp, made of kiln-cast glass. The trout and the carp are illuminated with miniature colored spotlights hidden beneath the lily pads. The shore of the Pond is made of several large steel sculptures suggestive of the reeds, ferns and grass that accompany a real pond. These sturdy sculptures also serve as a buffer zone between the vast unknown exterior world and the quiet, contemplative space of the Pond. Breathing life, motion and light into the Pond requires the collision of several different technologies. The light sources used to illuminate the ground are some of the latest generation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are rapidly becoming the most efficient light sources available. In order to produce the rippling water effect, the lily pads “talk” to one another, using infrared technology similar to that found in television remote controls. The ripple effect itself is based upon a relatively new branch of science known as cellular automata. And finally, each lily pad contains its own power source that is recharged every day by a set of photovoltaic solar cells. Thus the entire Pond is wireless and self-sustaining, powered by the sun. The Lily Pond represents a variety of techniques, technologies, materials and creative visions. Collaborators include the Sunbrothers (lotus blossoms and solar cells), Kathleen Fernald (ceramic fish), Michael Christian (shore sculpture), Lee Kobus (glass fish) and Jay Kravitz (glass fish).

Jacques Lipchitz: the first Cubist sculptor

Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973) is recognised as the most significant Cubist sculptor of the twentieth century. While other contemporaries such as Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Josef Csaky and Henri Laurens for a time explored ideas related to Cubism, it was Lipchitz who embraced the movement's language and consistently translated its ideologies into sculptural forms. A Jewish immigrant, Lipchitz arrived in Paris in 1909. There he battled against rampant prejudice and the volatile art world to establish himself as one of the capital's most successful and prominent avant-garde artists. His relationship with Picasso was a ferment of mutual admiration, curiosity and influence - many of Lipchitz's motifs derived from Picasso's canvases, while Picasso respected Lipchitz's views on his own sculpture. The threat of Hitler's troops prompted Lipchitz to move to America in 1941, where he stayed until his death in 1973. Taking nothing but one or two maquettes, Lipchitz successfully rebuilt his career and became recognised as the grand old man of Cubism and a pioneer in a new cross-cultural view of art - he was one of the first to suggest a dialogue between outdoor monumental sculpture and its surrounding environment or architecture. While Lipchitz's huge contribution to twentieth-century sculpture cannot be doubted, little has been written on his career as a whole. Jacques Lipchitz - The First Cubist Sculptor sets out to redress this. Published to accompany a gift of 40 sculptures to the Courtauld Gallery, London, Catherine Putz presents a thorough analysis of the sculptor's career while also discussing the gallery's newly acquired pieces. With 80 colour images and numerous archival photographs, some of which have never been seen before, this book provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most accomplished sculptors.

Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture

Pondering the origins of the world and their own ancestry, African societies often sought to provide answers to these and other perplexing concepts in their oral traditions, poetry and art. The Bamana people of Mali, for example, attributed the invention of agriculture and their understanding of the earth, animals and plants to a mythical hero called Chi Wara, shown in sculptural form as a roan antelope. The elegant Chi Wara headdresses were created in wood in male-female pairs and worn during agricultural ceremonies. This volume examines the Chi Wara headdress as an icon of African sculpture and presents 40 examples of this well-known form. Major artistic traditions in other African societies - including the Dogon of Mali; the Yoruba of Nigeria; the Bwa, Bobo, Kurumba and Mossi of Burkina Faso; the Kuba and Luba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and the Chokwe of Angola and Zambia - are also discussed in terms of the distinctive cultural perspectives and local traditions that inspired them. The masterworks featured and analyzed are drawn from public and private collections in the United States.

Feasting and Ancestor Veneration at Chinchawas, North Highlands of Ancash, Peru

The present article considers evidence for ancestor veneration and feasting in the North Highlands (Department of Ancash), Peru between A. D. 500-900. The study draws upon ethnohistorical, iconographic, and archaeological comparisons to better understand different lines of data from the ancient Recuay community of Chinchawas (3,850 masl), including public and mortuary architecture, ceramics, faunal remains, and stone sculpture. Two major programs of religious activity can be discerned: one situated within local Recuay traditions (Kayán and Chinchawasi phases, A. D. 500-800), followed by a suite of intrusive patterns associated with Wari expansion (Warmi phase, after A. D. 800). The study argues that, by A. D. 500, special public ceremonies combined ancestor worship and feasting as part of community politics at the site. Chinchawasi practices included subterranean tombs, special architectural enclosures with monolithic sculptures, and evidence for large-scale consumption. Warmi practices appear smaller in scale, focusing on aboveground mausolea, different stone sculptural forms and iconography, and increasing evidence for interregional interaction. The diachronic patterns reflect: 1) flexible sociopolitical arrangements at Chinchawas that accommodated group and entrepreneurial interests, and 2) local sociocultural transformations associated with Wari expansion (ca. A. D. 750).

A New Learning Resources Center for the New Hampshire Technical Institute

Abstract The New Hampshire Technical Institute is located in Concord, NH. Serving a population of 40,000 this public, two year college began to plan for a new library building in 1990 which would include not only print and electronic resources, but art in the form of paintings and sculpture as well as an open microcomputer lab. The design process reflected a blend of traditional and progressive themes resulting in a building that is both functional and beautiful. Library buildings

Out of the Art Room and into the World

HAVE YOU ever looked at an old tool or appliance or toy and thought to yourself, That looks like a flyswatter or a giant's necklace or a flower? Probably all of us have had such an experience, and for most of us that's where it ends -- a fugitive thought that passes as quickly as it appeared. For Joe LaMantia and his collaborators, however, such thoughts can be the beginning of a fruitful cooperative effort that connects a school and its community through the universal language of art. LaMantia is an who has worked in many media. These days, though, he is working primarily in a medium he calls sculpture, and he's working almost exclusively with schools and other institutions as an artist in residence. For two busy weeks, LaMantia galvanizes a school as he brings art to the campus, and the campus rounds up the rest of the community for a collaborative effort in which everyone has a stake. LaMantia and his collaborators -- the entire school community -- take inherently worthless materials, most of them recycled once already, and make of them something of unique and striking beauty. What LaMantia brings to the mix is his experience in art and architecture, boundless enthusiasm, and an unshakable faith that people will rise to the occasion and let their creativity have free rein. It all begins when someone, often an art teacher or a principal, attends a presentation about LaMantia's projects or sees one of them at another school. Once a school has made contact with LaMantia, it has set in motion a whirlwind of activity that culminates in a sculpture that will give back to the community for years to come. (Phi Delta Kappa is now helping LaMantia spread word of his efforts to an even wider audience, and a number of his completed projects can be seen on the Phi Delta Kappa website at www.pdkintl.org/profdev/residency/artisthome.htm.) The process begins with brainstorming -- involving lots of people for periods of six months or more. The brainstorming allows a school, with LaMantia's help, to arrive at a unique reflection of its culture in the form of a site-specific collaborative sculpture. When LaMantia is contacted by a school, he first sets up a meeting with a key person or small group at the school site. Usually the key person is the principal or the president of the parent/teacher organization, but sometimes the art teacher or even a small group of interested adults take part. Later, LaMantia sets up another brainstorming meeting with parents and still another with teachers. LaMantia also asks the students at the school to come up with drawings and conceptual notions, all of which ultimately feed into the final project. For all their creativity, serious business is also conducted at the brainstorming sessions. LaMantia explains the terms of his residency, which usually lasts for a two-week period, during which he stays with one or two families, inviting himself to dinner at the homes of various other local individuals. This relieves the burden on host families and helps LaMantia get to know a larger number of community members. The cost of a residency is roughly $350 a day, plus minimal expenses, but more often than not the upfront funds for LaMantia's time come from the PTO or from a local foundation or other philanthropic source. Many people believe that artistic processes simply emerge from some deep well of creativity that only certain people have, but collaborative sculpture of this kind has to be organized. All stages and steps and responsibilities are organized. I try to make every aspect of the process clear to the school and the community, LaMantia says. After the initial brainstorming sessions, which lead to a basic concept for a piece, LaMantia spends from three to six months constructing what he calls the project design. …

Evolutionary Cooperative Design Methodology: The Genetic Sculpture Park

The Genetic Sculpture Park seeks to engage artists and observers in a creative dialogue and to empower novices in the creation of complex computer-graphic models. Each visitor to the park experiences a unique set of sculptural forms and takes part in a cooperative conversation with the computer to produce more aesthetically pleasing designs. Inspired by Darwin's theory of evolution, the project uses genetic algorithms to allow visitors to “breed” forms tailored to their individual sense of aesthetics. In this article, the authors recount investigations into evolutionary design methodologies (using shampoo bottles and three-dimensional head models) and describe their implementation in the Genetic Sculpture Park, an interactive Java/Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) world.

Frank Gehry: roofing, wrapping, and wrapping the roof

Frank Gehry's work has taken the architectural stage worldwide. Without theorising his work, Gehry has produced a sensible architecture that deserves serious examination. In many ways, his work speaks for the present problematic state of architecture; the long standing relation of architecture to sculpture and other forms of artistic creativity; architecture's relation to its own history; the impact of telecommunication technologies on architecture; and the aesthetic implications of the commodity fetishism for architecture. Reflecting on these issues, the main intention of this essay is to demonstrate the perme ation of the 'culture of building' in Gehry's architecture, in particular the Semperian discus sion of the tectonic relationship between the elements of roof and enclosure. The paper also invokes Gottfried Semper's discourse on theatricality to demonstrate the way Gehry's architecture appropriates the present culture of spectacle. This much is clear from Gehry's shift from regionalism for the montage of fragmentary forms, and the theatricalisation of architecture where the element of wrapping defies the tectonic but also reminds us of the essentiality of the rapport between a constructed form and the clothing.

Understanding the Cultural Meaning of Selected African Ndop Statues: The Use of Art History Constructivist Inquiry Methods

In the past, knowledge of art from non-Western cultures was often based on the analysis of the physical characteristics, which were interpreted from the perspective of mainstream or Euro-based cultures. For example, sculptural forms in African art were often described as aggressive, bulging, simple, primitively executed, and out of proportion, while wood statues were interpreted as idols and fetishes. These descriptions and interpretations perpetuate misconceptions, parochial views, and stereotypes about African art and the cultures that produced them. They do not take into consideration the perspective of the culture from which the works come and consequently distort their purpose and significance. Understanding the purpose and significance of African works of art from the perspective of the people who created them requires studying them in their cultural context. Some would assert that it is not possible to understand something in the way that another culture does (Blocker, 1993). Though it may not be possible to fully understand the cultural meanings generated by the object, one can gain insight into some of its messages through empathetic understanding. Empathetic understanding is the ability to share someone else's thoughts and feelings about something and see how another culture's philosophy of life, works of art, and other ideas reflect and parallel aspects of your own (Chanda, 1995). Even within African cultures, the purposes and meaning of an African object are not fully revealed to everyone. Understanding of African objects by Africans comes in stages and over time. It depends to a large extent on one's age and status in an African society and the context in which the object is seen or used (Chanda, 1993b). For example, a mask seen by an uninitiated young person in many African cultures might simply recall a story or song heard at some point while growing up; where as the same mask to an initiated older person carries a deeper meaning related to social order or cosmological beliefs. This means an art object can provide multiple layers of information that would generate layers of understanding. This is especially true of Ndop statues from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire). Ndop statues are wooden sculptures said to be portraits of Kuba kings who reigned from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Examples of these statues are found in museums through out the world, Belgium, Switzerland, England, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States. In and of themselves they represent the embodiment of history and the royal culture of the Kuba kingship. Ndop statues were chosen for this study because each object or attribute attached to the statue, such as the sword or the hat, relates to some aspect of the kingship, the history, and the culture of the Kuba people. By studying the attributes and their functions, art historians have been able to glean insight into the meaning of the kingship to the Kuba society. But what was the purpose and significance of these statues? The statues functioned in several ways and have several layers of meaning. For the most part they were used to remind people of the power of the various kings, their contributions to the Kuba society, and to represent the king in his absence (Vansina, 1972). This study examines attempts by American children (ages 8-9) to construct a contextual understanding of a series of related artworks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, using art history constructivist inquiry methods. Contextual understanding means comprehending the purpose and significance of the works in the same manner that the culture that created it would. As we have seen, there can be several layers of understanding connected with African works of art, depending on the knowledge level of the observer. One may understand the composition, the subject matter, the economic value, the expressive quality, the underlying social significance, etc. …

The aesthetic and spiritual contexts of Giriama vigango in Kenya and their relationship to contemporary sculptural form

My research attempts to cross the boundaries of art and ethnography/anthropology in particular, but also those of art with craft, religion, or environment, with the result that the work overall subverts categorisation and deliberately creates ambiguity, often about its origins and intentions. Showing the work in differing contexts, can lead to its reinterpretation thereby emphasising that context becomes a determining factor for its meaning and intentions. By living in Africa as opposed to merely visiting it, this experience for me vecame all the more poignant for subsequent artwork. Paolozzi (1995) in Lost Magic Kingdoms suggested that in order to invent something new from ethnographic material in the West, it could be an advantage not to know too much about the cultural context of the artefact. However as a result of the field trip, I became much more aware of the physical, social, cultural and religious contexts of the vigango and the sense of the surrounding natural environment. Consequently, I belive that the context of production is more interesting an of greater relevance to an understanding of vigango, that their physical appearance

Hawthorne's Ghost in Henry James's Italy: Sculptural Form, Romantic Narrative, and the Function of Sexuality

Hawthorne's Ghost in Henry James's Italy: Sculptural Form, Romantic Narrative, and the Function of Sexuality

Boboli Gardens: fountains and propaganda in sixteenth-century Florence

A sixteenth-century Florentine villa fountain is generally characterized by a candelabrum form, is surmounted by a sculpture, and has a minimum play of water deriving from wells or rain collected in reservoirs.1 This type is best exemplified by Niccolò Tribolo's 1545 Hercules and Antaeus fountain and the Fountain of Florence (both originally at Castello, a Medici villa), known for their innovative integration of water and sculpture.2 It has been suggested that in contrast with the fountains at Castello, those at the Boboli Gardens lack such inventiveness. Furthermore, it has been thought that the Boboli fountains, planned at different times and for different purposes, lack the geographical specificity and thematic unity of fountains at other Medici villas.3 Indeed, the monumental scale and overall sculptural form of the Boboli fountains distinguish them from contemporary garden works and liken them to civic fountain designs. Consistent with these urban projects, the fountains of the Boboli Gardens, long minimized and misinterpreted, can be seen to carry contemporary political and historical messages in a cohesive iconographic program, desired by and created for Cosimo 1 de'Medici.

Gods, men, and heroes: ancient art at the Dallas Museum of Art

This volume considers not only the art historical meaning of a representative selection of ancient artifacts, but also their wider meaning. The authors have tried to make clear how these pieces reveal the religion, social values, political events, and commerce of the Mediterranean world. These objects, most made by anonymous craftsmen, are a record of peoples' beliefs and desires in the form of marble sculpture, bronze work, gold, and ceramics.Extending from the oldest Mediterranean civilizations of Egypt and the Near East, through Greek, Etruscan, and Roman arts, the book concludes with illustrations of the classical heritage in later European and American art.

The Holiday Yards of Florencio Morales: "El Hombre de las Banderas"

Art and Artists: The Series The Holiday Yards of Florencio Morales: El Hombre de las Banderas. By Amy V. Kitchener. 1994. Pp. 72. $29.50 (cloth); $15.95 (paper) Santeria Garments and Altar Speaking Without a Voice By Ysamur Flores-Pena and Roberta J. Evanchuk. 1994. Pp. 72. $29.50 (cloth); $15.95 (paper) Americana Crafted: Jehu Camper Delaware Whittler. By Robert D. Bethke. 1995. Pp. 71. $32.50 (cloth); $16.95 (paper) Chain-Saw Sculptor: The Art of J. Chester Skip Armstrong. By Sharon R Sherman. 1995. Pp. 72. $29.50 (cloth); $15.95 (paper) Chicano Graffiti and Murals: The Neighborhood Art of Peter Quezada. By Sojin Kim. 1995. Pp. 72. $32.50 (cloth); $16.95 (paper) Earls Art Shop: Building Art with Earl Simmons. By Stephen Flinn Young and D. C. Young. 1995. Pp. 72. $32.50 (cloth); $16.95 (paper) Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art. By Daniel Wojcik. 1995. Pp. 72. $29.95 (cloth), $15.95 (paper) Sew to Speak: The Fabric Art of Mary Milne. By Linda Pershing. 1995. Pp. 72. $29.95 (cloth); $15.95 (paper) Vietnam Remembered: The Art of Marine Combat Veteran Michael D. Cousino, Sr.. By Varick A. Chittenden. 1995. Pp. 72. $29.95 (cloth); $15.95 (paper) Home Is Where the Dog Is: Art in the Back Yard. By Karen E. Burgess. 1996 . Pp. 72. $35 (cloth); $17.95 (paper) Birds in Wood: The Carvings of Andrew Zergenyi. By Melissa Ladenheim. 1996. Pp. 72. $35 (cloth); $17.95 (paper) All volumes published by University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MI. The University Press of Mississippi began its Folk Art and Artists series in 1994, with a number of monographs planned dealing with a broad range of creative arts. These books are short case studies, usually comprised of around 40 pages of text, followed by approximately 30 pages of color plates. Each monograph is meant to be a brief case study of a particular tradition, intended for a general readership. Reviewing books that are part of a series can be a different task than reviewing each book separately; instead of merely listing the contents, strengths and weaknesses of each volume, it is more useful to find common links that indicate why the series is important, what are the overall strengths of the volumes, and how an editor might have shaped what was finally chosen for inclusion. These are my intentions here. The Folk Art and Artists Series, Western Folklore 55 (Winter, 1997):85-98 85 started in 1994 under the Editorship of Michael Owen Jones, has a clear mission statement as expressed adjacent the title page of each volume: Books in this series focus on the work of informally trained or selftaught artists rooted in regional, occupational, ethnic, racial, or genderspecific traditions. Authors explore the influence of artists' experiences and aesthetic values upon the art they create, the process of creation, and the cultural traditions that served as inspiration or personal resource. The wide range of art forms featured in this series reveals the importance of aesthetic expression in our daily lives and gives striking testimony to the richness and vitality of art and tradition in the modern world. This series, not surprisingly, shows the influence of Jones' behavioral view of artistic activity in the choice of who and what is studied (Jones 1993). These choices logically fall under specific categories: What can be considered art? What are the characteristics of the makers? What role does art play in the everyday life of the maker? In these volumes, art clearly is not something from a disappearing past, but is a quite vibrant activity in late twentieth-century America. However, some of these studies inadvertently perpetuate the notion that art somehow resembles folk versions of elite art. Seven of the books deal with wooden sculptural forms: Earl Simmons's making of toys; Michael Cousino's diorama sculptures of his Vietnam experiences; Jehu Camper's whittled scenes of his Delaware farm life; Chester Armstrong's chainsaw sculpture; the carved birds of Andrew Zergenyi; the yard art of Florencio Morales and Carlton Burgess. …

Problematique de gestion de l'elephant d'Afrique dans la Reserve de Faune de Conkouati, au Kouilou (Congo)

Based on observations made between 1988 and 1995 the author outlines the constraints to the management and conservation of elephant populations in the Conkouati Reserve created in 1980 in the coastal region of southwestern Congo. Exploitation of the forest for timber and other products including bush meat, land needs of subsistance agriculturalists, and the poor economic base of the area plus the lack of authority regarding land use and hunting rights made it very difficult to work in the area or to find out what the elephant population may be at present. Evidence of some remaining populations are present in the form of fresh meat and tusks in the markets. In 1989 24,050 kgs of ivory in the form of sculptures and 16,400 kgs of raw ivory were recorded by the Forestry office in Kouibou. In 1994 the same office recorded 41,240 kgs in sculptures and 64,700 kgs in raw ivory as coming from the Conkouati area.

Georgia O'Keeffe: American and modern

Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings - the exquisite recesses of flowers, the southwestern hills, clouds, and bleached bones, the sculptural abstract forms painted in strong, clear colours - are beloved by critics and public alike. This book examines O'Keeffe's life and work, focusing on the quintessential American qualities of her art and her idiosyncratic way of seeing. Charles C. Eldredge begins with a discussion of O'Keeffe as an American artist, describing the openly nationalistic billing that her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, gave to her New York one-woman show in 1923, the ways in which she fits into an American tradition in painting that extends back to Copley and the Peale family, and her reluctance to be influenced by foreign art trends. Recounting how O'Keeffe left New York and returned to the rural subjects of her childhood, Eldredge shows that the artist's preoccupation with subjects such as barns not only reflected an urge to paint something I know but also aligned her with the Transcendentalist tradition in American thought. Eldredge explores the psychoanalytic speculation surrounding the strong element of sexuality in O'Keeffe's work, setting her in the context of America's awakening enthusiasm for Freudian theorizing and assessing the extent to which her work can be seen as feminine self-revelation. He describes O'Keeffe's modernity, her innovative readiness to push her art towards abstraction and serial art. And he analyzes her aesthetic vision, which, moulded by western landscape, the photographic techniques absorbed from Stieglitz, and her faith in a spiritual cosmos, helped her to create a unique body of work. This book, which reproduces a rich selection of O'Keeffe's paintings, and includes full commentary for each work, will serve as the catalogue for an exhibition of O'Keeffe's work opening at London's Hayward Gallery in April 1993 and then moving on to Mexico City and Yokohama.

The Terracotta Protomai from Gela: A Discussion of Local Style in Archaic Sicily. By Jaimée P. Uhlenbrock.

The Archaic sculpture of western Greeks challenges stylistic categorization. Identification of distinctive local schools in southern Italy and Sicily is hindered by relative paucity and scattered occurrence of monumental sculpture. Moreover, statues and reliefs in baked clay (often quite fragmentary) comprise a sizable portion of corpus of large-scale works. Discussions of Archaic sculpture in West tend consequently to include examples even of small, molded, terracotta figurines-accompanied, of course, by customary caveats about comparing different scales and materials as well as cautionary reminders about problems inherent in assessing value of mass-produced, moldmade objects of minor art for stylistic analysis of monumental sculpture. Uhlenbrock attempts to demonstrate how by focusing on a single class of such moldmade terracottas-female protomes or masks-local sculptural style can indeed be successfully characterized. She bases her study on a corpus of some 1,000 female protomes from Gela and its hinterland in southeastern Sicily. The protomes come from excavations primarily of sanctuaries at Bitalemi, Predio Sola, Feudo Nobile, and on acropolis at Others come from sites further afield, such as Grammichele and Monte Bubbonia. The protomes from Gela lend themselves well to stylistic analysis due to their abundant number, near life-size scale, excellent state of preservation, high quality of workmanship, and their presence in stratigraphic contexts that provide well-defined chronological limits. By tapping this distinctive form of coroplastic sculpture for a discussion of Archaic style, Uhlenbrock's work joins studies by F. Croissant (Les protomes fiminines archaiques, Paris 1983) on protomes of mainland and eastern Greece and by M. Barra Bagnasco (Protomi in terracotta da Locri Epizefiri, Turin 1986) on those of Locri Epizephyrii in southern Italy. In introduction, Uhlenbrock deftly points out strengths, weaknesses, and inconsistencies of previous attempts to define local Siceliot sculptural styles and asserts that trends and traditions can only be illustrated by a plurality of works, sufficiently well preserved that demonstrate consistent and regular traits over a period of time. She holds that protomes from Gela provide just such a body of material; she sets out to show how this rich group of terracottas illustrates existence of a homogeneous local school of coroplastic sculpture, which, in her view, reflects the taste and traditions of monumental aesthetic of artisans at Gela.

Desperately Seeking Africa, New York, 1991

Journal Article Desperately Seeking Africa, New York, 1991 Get access Africa Explores: 20th-Century African Art , Susan Vogel , assisted by Ima Ebong ; with contributions by Walter E. A. Van Beek , Donald John Cosentino , Ima Ebong , Bogumil Jewsiewicki , Thomas McEvilley , V. Y. Mudimbe , The Center for African Art , New York , and Prestel , Munich , 1991 . ISBN 3-7913-1143-3 [cloth], 0-945802-09-9 [paper], 296 pp, 400 illustrations, 228 in colour, $70.00 cloth, $39 paper. JOHN PICTON JOHN PICTON Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Oxford Art Journal, Volume 15, Issue 2, 1992, Pages 104–112, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxartj/15.2.104 Published: 01 December 1992

JoAnne Akalaitis: Post Modern Director or Socio-Sexual Critic

JoAnne Akalaitis: Post Modern Director or Socio-Sexual Critic Andrea J. Noury eh JoAnne Akalaitis, one of the consistently important directors working in the American theatre, develops her art as a critical tool. By systematically covering each of her major productions, this study examines the unique directorial aesthetic of this winner of five Obies, a Drama Desk and the Rosamund Gilder Awards, began her directing career in 1975 with Mabou Mines, a company which she helped found in 1970. Her original pieces have been compared with the best performance art and her productions of Kroetz plays have been lauded for their harsh realism. Most noted in her eclectic style have been the atmospheric quality of her productions and her strong visual imagery. From the beginning, Akalaitis was not interested in serving as an intermediary between the audience and the script (Rabkin 61; Marranea 38). Rather she wanted to present the creative and personal responses which reading the script elicited from her. She began her directing career with a staging of Samuel Beckett's radio play, Cascando. His Opener became a derelict, his Voice became four men and a woman, his Music became a solo cello score composed by Philip Glass and performed on stage. The action took place in a room, more like an old ship's cabin, cluttered with objects from Akalaitis's Nova Scotia home. She added a silent prologue: seven performers were each engaged in a variety of repetitive activities—painting landscapes, knitting, soap carving, building a model ship, wiring a small machine, passing around photographs—ending with a careful construction of a house-of-cards. In keeping with the play's themes, each activity reflected the frustration and difficulties encountered in the creative process. The prologue stopped when the Opener began to speak. As the Voices alternated with Music, the audience heard the disjointed story of Woburn. Recitations overlapped, creating a rhythm of flowing words rather than meaning . The table levitated, a picture shifted on the wall, and the woman seemed to go into a "state combining possession, labor and sex" (Munk 113). Beckett's world created by language was thus replaced by Akalaitis's interpretation of that world, manifested primarily through visual stimuli. Akalaitis soon began writing her own scripts based on political and social issues that interested her. Drawn to book reviews, memoirs or diaries, and actual historical photographs and film footage (Bartow 3), she created the texts 177 178 Andrea J. Nouryeh for Dressed Like An Egg, an exploration about what it means to be female; Southern Exposure, a piece which contrasted our romantic notions about the Antarctic and brutal reality; and Dead End Kids, an examination of scientific knowledge and nuclear power. These were developed into performance scores during collaborative rehearsals with members of the Mabou Mines company. Dressed Like An Egg, produced in 1978, used Colette as the focus of the production without being biographical. Objects and scenes from Colette's life as well as her writings were used for their sensuousness and evocative qualities. Against a setting of abstract elements like various fabric curtains, a mylar rug, foot lights, colored gels, and shafts of light, Akalaitis created a series of disconnected tableaux: Colette leaning against parallel bars, a pantomime from her music hall days, a trapeze act, an opium den, a wedding dance, the seaside. Other references to her life were a real Victorian bathtub which took three minutes to fill with steaming water from a kettle, an inanimate replica of Toby Chien, her dog, and the red carnations from her wedding night. To add to the atmosphere, rose perfume was put on the back of the auditorium chairs before each performance. Although romanticism and femininity were at the core of the production (Fox 77), Akalaitis used several jarring elements to counteract their influence. For example, the image created by blowing the men's scarves in the beach scene with a wind machine was achieved by arresting the movement of blown fabric in sculptural form using celastic. Colette's dress, reminiscent of those worn at the end of the nineteenth century, was also of celastic and stood empty and disembodied upon the stage when it was abandoned by its wearer...

Evolution by Esthetics.

William Latham's art is still and eerie. Some of his sculptural forms look like strange, attractive plants just about to bloom. Or they look like docile, eyeless slugs making their way slowly through black space. Other shapes seem dark and ominous, as if floating silently in 3D space, just waiting for the chance to turn around and show their fangs.