Assignment 5- Sculpture and Installation

Assignment 5- sculptures

This is one of my favorite Renaissance sculptures, the Crouching Boy, by Michelangelo. Marble, 1530-1534.

Crouching boy, Michelangelo, Marble, 1530-1534















I like this sculpture because it is a lot more raw than what he usually does.  So many of his other sculptures, like the Pieta, are so immaculate.

Pieta, Michelangelo, marble, 1498-1499

While the Pieta is absolutely beautiful, it does not appeal to me in the way that the Crouching Boy does.  It is too perfect.  When I look at the Pieta, I feel like it is high above me.  It is so shiny and there is so much detail that it feels real.  It feels like I am looking at something that is too good for me.  The Crouching boy, however, is very simple.  You can still make out the form, but the details are not present in the way that they are in the Pieta. 

            So many of his pieces were religious, which makes sense because the church hired him to create many masterpieces for the cathedrals.  Another piece that he created that is religious in nature is Rachel.

Rachel, Michelangelo, Marble, 1545

Beautiful sculpting did not end after the Renaissance, and I really enjoy the work of modern sculptor Emil Alzamora, who, like Michelangelo, mainly focuses on the human form.  Much like Michelangelo, he is incredibly keen to proportions and to the details of the human anatomy.  However, he skews parts of the body in an amazing artistic representation, for example, his piece Tether.

Tether, Emil Alzamora, Bronze, 2006

I think that this piece is amazing.  The way that the body looks so real and yet due to arm length you know that it is not possible.  I love his sense of the human body as well as his use of the arms to show an emotion. 

He mainly does humans, but in the piece Sleeping shark, he shows us that he also has a talent for animal anatomy. 

Sleeping Shark, Emil Alzamora, Ceramic and auto paint, 2010

I am really amused by this because a living shark could never take this position, it would literally drown.  A shark needs to propel water to keep oxygenation, either by moving or constantly open and closing its mouth.  Perhaps this shark is not sleeping but rather is dead.  It is an interesting piece even though it is not scientifically accurate.  It shows a more peaceful side to an animal that we almost always associate with violence and death. 

Out of all of his pieces, my favorite by far is Hone.                  Hone,  Emil Alzamora, Bronze, 2011. 

It is a very lager piece with exaggerated features, but when I look at it I can imagine this person standing up and walking away.