In The World Of Sculptures

Last week I promised you some photos I took at a sculpture exhibition, but with things happening in real life and other commitments, the post got delayed till today. Never too late in my opinion as the sculptures you're going to see are exceptional, in my opinion, of course.

In The World Of Sculptures.jpg

The artist's name is Vince Bocskay, a very talented sculpture working with all kinds of materials, like clay, wood, stone. I found a recent article about the artist and started reading but gave up reading it right at the beginning. The truth is, if you read something written by others, it influences you and those are not your thoughts anymore, so better not. Maybe I'll read it after I publish my post. So, let's see what I have for you today.

Susanna - 2017

The good thing nowadays is that titles are bilingual or in best case for me, written in three languages, so I don't have to translate them. We don't know who Susanna is, or if the sculpture resembles with her but it doesn't matter. We enjoy what we see. The rest doesn't matter.

Savonarola - 1980

This was when I started smiling. I don't know about you but the sculpture looked so funny, with his head held high and that smile. So funny.

I'm not sure if the sculpture wanted to make it a bit funny or not.

Here, on the other hand we know who Savonarola was and can check if the sculpture looks anything like him. The sculpture looks like him, but it's still funny in a good way, of course.

Girolamo Savonarola, OP (21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498), also referred to as Jerome Savonarola, was an ascetic Dominican friar from Ferrara and a preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He became known for his prophecies of civic glory, his advocacy of the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor.

The other day I posted some clay art, and here it is, another one. I'm not sure if the cracks on the statue are intentional or it's part of the drying process, but it doesn't look bad. It's not the sculpture I'd display in my living room, but I love it as it's funny.

The Gate of Tyranny - 2006

I had to take two shots as the meaning is not visible if you have a front view. It's a simple sculpture, with deep meaning and it is terrifying as well, for those who have lived under a tyrant regime and the artist knows this well. There are so many still living in such countries, unfortunately. I'm not sure if the pedestal is black marble, but it looks good, was a good choice.

Laudatio terrae - 2009

In praise of the World, I suppose. At this point (as this was the second stone sculpture and both were oversize women) it became clear to me that we're going to see more sculptures like this.

Hymn - 1977

My first reaction was, "I've seen this sculpture before", but could not remember where and when. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter.

Look at the dedication on their face, how enthusiastic they are, singing the hymn. Why are they naked? Beats me, but it's funny :)

Judas Iscariot - 1991

Look at that face, look at the expression of that face, even if he has no eyes, or not in a sense we are used to. I think you agree with me that the artist is an exceptional talent.

I tent to believe most of you know who Judas Iscariot was, but I suspect there's a part of the world where people are of other religion and may not know, so here it is.

Judas Iscariot (c. 3 AD – c. 30 – c. 33 AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of silver, by kissing him on the cheek and addressing him as "master" to reveal his identity in the darkness to the crowd who had come to arrest him. In modern times, his name is often used synonymously with betrayal or treason.

Potiphar's Wife - 2017

Do you see what I meant earlier? Another stone sculpture featuring an oversize lady, this time Potiphar's Wife. Who's she?

Putifar or Potiphar is a character from the biblical story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. There it is said that Putifar was captain of the palace guards. In the Qur'an it is mentioned with his title, Aziz." IosifJoseph, sold as a slave by his brothers, is taken to Egypt, where he is sold to Putin as a domestic slave. Putifar makes Joseph the head of his household, but Putin's wife, who is not named in the Bible or in the Christian tradition, becomes angry with Joseph because he resists her attempts to seduce him and falsely accuses him of attempted rape. Putifar throws Joseph into prison, and his ability to interpret dreams will later be found by Pharaoh from the other prisoners.

There's no way to know, but so far it looks like the sculpture likes to feature religious figures, which is always an occasion for the viewer to look these figures up and learn about their life and work. Those who are curious to learn, of course, not everyone.

My Father - 1977

Another clay sculpture, but a serious one this time as it's about his own father. Many artists chose to use their loved ones as models, partly to pay tribute to them, partly because they are the people they know best. It's a bit disturbing to me that this sculpture has no eyes either.

This is the first part of my experience, but stay tuned as the best pieces are yet to come. You're going to see some very funny and interesting sculptures you've never seen before.

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides: