I stumbled across these awesome bronze sculptures on Pinterest and wanted to share them. Matteo Pugliese is a Spanish sculptor who works in bronze. See more of his great stuff at http://www.matteopugliese.com/
Archive for the ‘Sculpture’ Category
Matteo Pugliese
May 16, 2012Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
May 6, 2012
I should add a disclaimer before I even start this post… if you know me, you probably know I am not personally very fashion conscious. That is to say, I appreciate fashion, and love many of the fashion designers that I have met over the years. I have to give Anna a whole lot of credit too, and the people and ideas she has introduced me to, because they have opened my eyes to what is possible. Unfortunately, I still don’t give what I wear or how I look a lot of thought. This is a shortcoming, because there is a whole lot of power in presentation, and costume is also a powerful form of creation and self-expression. To be honest, I’d like to dress a whole lot more extravagantly, and I know I’d enjoy the hell out of it. But, for now at least, I will just appreciate and applaud fashion and costume on other people.
I know I am late to the party, and I also know I didn’t see the work in person, but I just came across photos of Alexander McQueen’s show Savage Beauty. I love what he created. The characters that he made are incredible, and I am in awe of the craftsmanship. I won’t even try to describe his work, but will instead post some photos, provide a few links, and hope you enjoy these photos of his work as much as I have…
blog.metmuseum.org | alexandermcqueen
yalepress.yale.edu | Savage Beauty
alexandermcqueen.com
en.wikipedia.org | Alexander_McQueen
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Willy Verginer
March 8, 2012I’m having a hard time finding written info about this sculptor. I know he was born in 1957. He is Italian, and he doesn’t have a lot to say, particularly to folks like me who speak English. So lets just have a look:
The Death Mask
November 20, 2011People have probably been making death masks since civilization began. In the ancient world, these masks were usually buried with the dead. At some point though, they became a keepsake, something kept in the house to help remember the dearly departed. In the West, a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face. The death mask became very popular during the 19th century and some famous faces from that time, like Beethoven, became common household decorations. Here are a few people you might recognize, and a few you probably wont:
 Abraham Lincoln |
 Woman |
 William Blake |
 Ancient Chinese Death Mask |
 Beethoven |
 Walt Witman |
 Veroica Giuliani |
 Benjamin Franklinstein |
 Bruce Lee |
 Unidentified Drown Woman |
 Dante |
 Nietzsche |
 Isaac Newton |
 Napoleon |
 Joseph Smith |
 Julius Caesar |
 Leo Tolstoy |
 Mayan Death Mask |
 King Tut |
 Mary, Queen of Scotts |
Moses’ Horny Head
November 13, 2011
“And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tablets of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord,” Exodus 34:29. ”And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them,” Exodus 34:29.
It’s known that these two verses from the Bible might not have been translated correctly. The word horned should be something like ray of light instead, and some versions of the Bible have changed the verses to read that way. Personally, I’d rather have horns. I think it’d be pretty sweet if all of the ancient prophet’s foreheads started to calcify and sprouted horns. Maybe they did. One thing is for sure, Michelangelo deliberately carved two short ram horns on the top of Moses’ head in his statue which is now in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli at Rome.
Tomb of Pope Julius II
Horns are an interesting symbol. Sheep are surefooted climbers, and remember, Moses had just come down from the mountain after visiting with God. When domesticated, sheep are so gentle that religions all over the world have incorporated them into their art forms. Apollo, Hermes, and later Jesus were all pictured as Good Shepherds with lambs either resting at their feet or carried on their shoulders. In ancient times, horns were also a symbol of divinity and physical power. When Alexander the Great was initiated by the oracle at the Temple of Amon, he accepted a great horned headdress so all would recognize him as a leader and conqueror. There were the Celtic druids, whose god Cernunnos was known as the “Horned One”. Or Pan from Greece. Even the marauding Vikings wore horns on their head to symbolize their power.
At one point, symbols were wielded by wizards and priests, symbols were worthy of respect and sometimes caused superstitious fear. Simply drawing an icon or writing a word was a magical act. Dressing like an animal could make you that animal. These days, it all seems so mundane. Symbols are so common and ordinary today that we hardly even think about them, and we tend to overlook their power. Maybe this is off-topic and should be the subect for a different post, but think of all we’ve accomplished through language and art. Pretty much everything we do, especially when communicating with others, relies on symbols. Even science uses language and images to communicate ideas. As I spell these words, you could say I’m casting a spell. We all do whenever we write. The words you’re reading right now are made from symbols that create ideas in your head. The icon you clicked to open this webpage was a symbol. And on and on and on. So damn common! And still, the words we use, the art we make, and the faith we might have all use symbols to communicate and express ideas.
As the adopted son of the Pharaoh and heir to the throne, Moses would have been educated in Egyptian philosophy and worship, and he would have been very aware of all the symbols that they used. Michelangelo, who was well educated in Neoplatonism, Christianity, and mythology, would have also understood the meaning of this symbol. With these horns, Michelangelo showed Moses to be a man of power and station. Moses had stood with God, and had the inner strength to become one with his own divinity.
WHAM, those horns did grow! I think they are fantastic! Someday, I hope to sprout some horns on my own head.
Glass Sculptures Express the 99 Most Beautiful Names of God from the Qur’an in Unique Art Exhibit
September 22, 2011
The Utah Cultural Celebration Center is pleased to present a new exhibit featuring the glass artwork of BYU art instructor Andrew Kosorok. The intricately designed sculptures are full of symbolism, each of which represents the “most beautiful” names of God in the Qur’an, will be on display with other art, including paintings, fabrics and other items reflecting the Muslim faith.
Utah Cultural Celebration Center
1355 West 3100 South
West Valley City, UT 84119
The show closes October 11 and the gallery is open Mon – Thurs from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and by arrangement.
Human-Eagle-Lion-Bull Hybrid. Attack!
September 18, 2011
Imagine walking through a great hall. A giant chamber lit by fire and torches, filled with sculptures of strange and powerful animals, flanked on all sides by menacing guards and soldiers. Before you finally make it to your king, you are forced to walk between two strange giant stone animals with bodies of a bull, the wings of an eagle, one with the feet of a lion and the other’s are hooves. Both of these giants wear the face of your king.
I have stood next to the nine or ten foot tall sculptures pictured above and, even though the only guards on duty now are old and out of shape, the towering sculptures remain intimidating. They are also very incredible to look at. These sculptures are an interesting mix of realism and stylized pattern. It is easy to get lost in the geometry and decoration of the beard and wings, while at the same time you might find yourself appreciating the artist’s understanding of natural form.
These beautiful Assyrian pieces of art are currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but I want to place them in front of my house as soon as possible.
googleartproject.com | Human Headed Winged Bull and Winged Lion Lamassu
Riace Warriors
August 27, 2011
Time is a strange thing. We blink, and years have passed. We all blink collectively, and whole civilizations rise then disappear.
I’ve been thinking even more than usual about history and permanence. And also the cultural legacy that we will leave behind. The truth is, like everything else in the modern world, today’s culture is pretty disposable. I guess that’s no real insight.
Thinking that we, or what we build, can completely withstand the march of time is an illusion though. I look to the Greeks, whose artistic theory and style took generations to develop. Whose artwork was made from materials that we might assume would last. Sculpted marble, or cast bronze. The truth is, there are very few original Greek sculptures left. Most were melted down for weapons or smashed apart. I’ve written it here before but, a lot of what we might consider to be examples of Greek sculpture today are actually Roman copies. The original pieces just haven’t stood the test of time.
I suppose that we should sometimes be grateful for tragic events, because they can help artwork from the ancient world survive. Take the Riace warriors for example. These two sculptures were lost for a couple thousand years. It is thought they were sunk during a shipwreck, lost and forgotten on the ocean floor. Finally rediscovered in the 70s by a scuba diver.
Sometimes I think about how temporary everything is, but I am glad we still have these two sculptures as part of our human heritage.
The Elgin Marbles
August 19, 2011
There are certain Greek sculptures that I consider perfect. They leave me in complete awe, and completely inspired. Of those, the Elgin Marbles are perhaps the most important and controversial.
Around 1800, Lord Elgin removed over half of the sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and put them on display in London. For people outside of Greece, these were probably the first examples of Greek sculpture they’d seen. But today, one of the main questions behind the Elgin Marbles is whether or not they should stay in London, or be returned back to Athens. Of course, Greece thinks they should be returned, and the British Museum thinks they should remain in London. Honestly, moving the sculptures is probably what helped them to survive as long as they have. But today, hundreds of millions of dollars are going into the reconstruction of the Parthenon. The Elgin Marbles, which used to surround the top of the temple, need to be considered during this restoration.
In ancient times the Parthenon was a powerful national symbol for Greece and, even now, it still is. The Parthenon sculptures portray both Grecian myth and daily life. The inspiration behind these sculptures, and for the building in general, was to achieve perfect proportion, harmony, and balance. The Parthenon itself was a temple dedicated to Athena, and was built on the Acropolis in the center of the city. Originally, in the heart of the temple, was a statue of Athena herself that was made of gold and ivory. Later, the temple became a treasury, used to finance Greek defense against the Persians. Hundreds of years after that it was used as a Christian Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. And still later, a Turkish Mosque. I think it was sometime around 1670 that the Parthenon was used for munitions storage, until one fine day they exploded, causing the majority of the damage to the structure.
Originally, marble sculpture was everywhere, and it was all painted in reds, blues, and gold. These surrounding sculptures portray all sorts of battles. Between gods and giants, centaurs and soldiers, Athenians and Amazons. This isn’t a surprise, because in the ancient world, Athens was constantly at war. The sculptures are relief cut, but almost free-standing. The human figures themselves stand somewhere around 4 feet tall. Most of the surviving statues have been significantly damaged.
I love this artwork. I’m fascinated with these sculptures. The folds and drapery in the clothing, the gestures and posture, the figures and war-horses. So nice! Probably my favorite though are the fight scenes between the centaurs and the humans. There is something nice about seeing a man punching a drunken centaur in the face.
POW!
Taiwan’s Jade Cabbage
July 17, 2011
When I was a kid, my family lived in Taipei, Taiwan. I had many adventures living there, and spent a lot of my time riding the bus all over and running around the city. There were a lot of things I liked to do and see, but one of my favorites was to spend time in the different museums. I spent a lot of my time at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, just because it was close to where we lived, and I had this nice spot in the surrounding park by a small waterfall where I could read and nobody would ever find me. That was my favorite place, but it wasn’t the only spot I liked wandering off to. Another place I also liked to stroll through was the National Palace Museum.
I’ve been thinking this week about a piece of artwork in the National Palace Museum that somebody once told me was Taiwan’s most important and valuable piece of art. When I’d come across the piece, I’d wonder why it was so important. It just looked like a piece of cabbage to me. There were these little grasshoppers or crickets crawling up the leaves that I liked a lot, and the color of the jade was very interesting in the way the white at the bottom would gradate to a nice dark green toward the top. Just like cabbage, I guess.
Now, I don’t really know if that jade cabbage is really as important as I thought, or if it stirs up all sorts of national pride in the Taiwanese people. It could be that my eleven year mind made a big deal out of some random comment. But maybe not. When Chiang Kai-shek was forced to retreated to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War, I imagine his government didn’t have a lot of time to bring many pieces of art. Perhaps the cabbage is a link to mainland China. Maybe looking at that cabbage is a way for the Taiwanese people to remember and feel a link to the history and traditions that they were forced to leave behind.
