Name that Modern Art

[narya]

Something that I thought up while passing something that passed for fine art in San Francisco.

My daughter Aiwe and I were looking at several large outdoor sculptures, and she could actually tell one pretzel like object from another, and could tell me the artist, just based having seen other pieces by that artist, and being able to recognize the style. As you can imagine, she has a much better appreciation of modern sculpture than I do, but was able to join into my spirit of irreverence, when discussing the piece.

So this thread is dedicated to posting modern art pieces and discussing them. The more off the wall, the better.

The first is Henry Moore's. Aiwe decided the piece represents "the essential bagel-ity of mankind".

What say you?

[truehobbit]

I think it represents the superiority of the female principle (the figure on the left, standing erect) over the male principle (the figure on the right, stooping and focussing on the other figure's pelvis).



I think I'd have guessed it's Henry Moore, but I think it's the most abstract work of him I've ever seen.


And your daughter once correctly identified a Claude Lorrain picture I had in my sig on TORC.

[Primula Baggins]

Another argument for hobby's interpretation: the cheerful attitude of the figure on the left, while the one on the right looks seriously grumpy to me.

I would only have guessed it was Henry Moore because I feel an urge to run my hands all over the sculpture, and his work has that effect on me.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

The first is Henry Moore's. Aiwe decided the piece represents "the essential bagel-ity of mankind".

What say you?

I say the bagel-ity needs some cream cheese-ity.

Actually, that is reminscent of the pile of orc carcasses that the Rohirrim left burning on the plains. If you look really closely you can see Merry's belt tucked in there. No wait, that's Pippin's. He's the smaller of the two.

[vison]

I have the same reaction to Henry Moore: I want to touch the sculptures. But they are too big to pick up and roll around in the hands. I think they should make little versions for me to play with.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The first is Henry Moore's. Aiwe decided the piece represents "the essential bagel-ity of mankind".

Wasn't it Beth that observed that it looked like a crushed bagel? Or was I confused?

[Frelga]

To me, the one on the right, the male of TH's interpretation, represents a unicorn, a symbol of virginity. Paired with the wide-hipped mature female on the left, the sculpture speaks to all women about the proud cycles of the femininity and the powerful bond that exists between the generations.

Also, the unicorn needs mucking out.

[truehobbit]

the cheerful attitude of the figure on the left,

Indeed, she looks as if she's offering something - I think I can hear her say: "Cookie?"

Tom, ROFL!

But as an alternative to the male/female theme (shamefully anthropocentric), I think the figure on the right could also be a bear. He's a grizzly and he's wistfully looking into a crag formation by a river into which a particularly juicy salmon has just disappeared.

The statue was actually meant to illustrate a children's book - a tragic and epic story, and pedagocially meaningful - but was found too bulky to be reproduced en masse.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

The statue was actually meant to illustrate a children's book - a tragic and epic story, and pedagocially meaningful...

Pedagocially! Hobby earns bonus points for that!

I'm happy that you enjoyed my silly LOTR reference.

[truehobbit]

Nice word, innit?

Um, yes, pedagogically, I meant.

[Lidless]

IMHO, it looks more like droppings from a giant robot.

I remember my daughter when she was three, making exactly the same sculpture, albeit on a smaller scale with some plasticine. Actually, I lie, that was on the scraps, the left-over plasticine, once she had created her masterpiece.

[axordil]

You representationalist you.

[Lidless]

Yes I know.

I'm sorry, but the sculpture looks like most modern art. Do something random, then try and think up a name for it.

"the essential bagel-ity of mankind"

Please...




At Churchill College, Cambridge (my alma mater) there are a few sculptures by both Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Here's the Hepworth:



Four blocks, each with a hole in them. Great. The only talent involved is persuading rich people it's valuable. It is commonly referred to in the college as The Hepworthless. As you can see, it's only value comes as a place to sit down in the middle of the field.

The Henry Moore (which I'm trying to find a picture of) was nicknamed the Henry Less.

[axordil]

I have grown to appreciate some modern art over the years. It often comes down to individual pieces and their context: two works by the same artist, in similar places, and one intrigues me where the other does not.

Which is really not so different from my reaction to pieces from earlier eras. Some Rembrandts leave me cold, too.

Actually, the Hepworth is interesting in the way it divides and separates the views through it, while simultaneously adding a uniformly textured mass to the otherwise heteregenous textures of grass, tree, sky, building and people. But I like large outdoor sculpture that people can interact with, personally.

[Lidless]

I go and see a climbing frame at the local park for that.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Here's one for you Ax, at Hain's Point in D.C., called The Awakening:

[axordil]

If someone made a climbing frame (I prefer the term monkey bars myself ) with an aesthetic sensibility in mind, it could do double duty.

Wait, someone has:

http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp

One of my favorite places, actually.

[Lidless]

The Hepworthless can look pretty:



But my basic rule is that if *I* could have designed it and built it, it can't be art. More con-artist than artist.

[axordil]

But my basic rule is that if *I* could have designed it and built it, it can't be art. More con-artist than artist.

Or perhaps you, too, are an artist. Perhaps art is a central part of the human condition that gets beaten out of us at a young age if we aren't particularly good at drawing things.

The idea that only "specially trained" people can create art is the con.

Vorownwe--

That's an interesting piece. I would like to see it in person, since massive size is something that gets lost in pictures (as anyone who has been to the Grand Canyon with a camera can tell you).

[Primula Baggins]

"The Awakening" is striking, but at least in the photo the proportions look wrong—the arm and the leg are too far apart, and the head is too far from the shoulder. Maybe it's an artifact of the camera lens?