Constantin Brâncuşi – Bird in Space Sculpture Series

Have any of you ever encountered Constantin Brâncuşi’s Romanian pieces of modern art? Two days ago while going about my daily rounds about the worldwide artweb, I saw this picture of a remarkably stunning minimalistic sculpture. Clad in a golden hue and oriented like a vertical spire, it was an attention-grabbing artwork I just had to blog about. In the early 1920’s, I believe the original first work, “Pasărea în văzduh” was created. That very same sculpture came up at auction last 2005 and demanded the high selling price of over twenty million dollars. Today his series of sculptures under the known name “Bird in Space” is well spread out across the globe. Australia’s National Gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Italy) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are just some of the places that house his works of bronze and marble.

What’s amazing about this series of works is how movement is visually captured in a static field of presence. Brâncuşi ‘s unique depiction of his subjects allowed for their artistic beauty to be derived from an alternate source rather than mere physical beauty or symmetry. He posed the notion of dynamic life in his body of works. To showcase this, he made people see a different side of the subjects, encompassing their existence as a visual purpose. Flight, movement, speed and distance can all be felt from one look at his majestic creations. Aside from being a colleague of the famous Marcel Duchamp (The Fountain), Brâncuşi was able to even change the outlook on fine art in the United states customs department when an late 1920’s issue regarding customs inhibited the dignity of his art pieces momentarily. A lot of people supported Brâncuşi  and he eventually won out the favor of society after an appeal. This was the very first non-representational abstract sculpture to be considered as a type of art by the government bodies involved.

Photography credited to Dennis Irrgang
Sculpture by Constantin Brâncuşi

Han Sai Por : Singapore’s Organic Sculpture Artist

Singapore’s recent fame with the art world isn’t just because of its status as a prestigious place to attend art auctions. The country’s own sculptors have a big impact on the global community as well. Now, let’s delve into the artistic life of Singapore’s Han Sai Por.

Han Sai Por is one of Singapore’ treasured artists. She studied at several notable art schools such as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, East Ham College of Art, the Wolverhampton College of Art and the Lincoln University in New Zealand. Her sculptures reflect upon the eyes as very organic and natural in shape. She plays with the theme of life and the role that natural design plays in our world. Han’s very first exhibition; Four Dimensions was held at the National Museum Gallery in the early 1990’s.

Sculpture by Han Sai Por – Photography by Stefano Sartor

Han founded the Sculpture Society of Singapore at the turn of the millennium, and was the very first resident sculptor of the organization’s sculpture Pavillion at Fort Canning Park. It was there that she leaned on her taste for organic sculpture even more and created masterpieces from the trunks of Tembusu trees. Despite this, she is known much more for the stone sculptures that she creates to portray natural wonders like the birth of seeds and the spirit of nature. Han is a sculptor who has achieved more in her lifetime than most artists could ever dream of. She was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Art in 1995 among several other recognitions that were given to her during the course of her career.

Lucien Wercollier : Sculptor Against the Nazi Occupation

Wercollier was an artist who was famous for defying the Nazi Occupation. He was born sometime in the early 1900’s at Luxembourg. As an artist, he worked mostly with bronze and marble, but also explored the sculptural properties of wood, alabaster and onyx. Today, many of his art pieces can be found internationally.

When Luxembourg was occupied by the Germans in World War II, Wercollier had a choice to make. There was an organization called the Reichskulturkammer that had been tasked to ensure that all artworks made by anyone had to be at an agreement with the “Aryan” spirit. Wercollier decided not to follow this organization and instead participated in strikes during the 1940’s. He was eventually arrested and imprisoned at the Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg. Wercollier’s history at the abbey has not been forgotten to this very day. The location now houses many of his sculptures in a permanent collection.

Sculpture by Lucien Wercollier – Photography by Claude Meisch

Later on, Wercollier was transferred to the Hinzert concentration camp in Germany. Wercollier sympathized with the victims of the Nazi oppression that were sent there and this experience led him to create many of his future works.  After being rellocated to Lublin for a while, he was later freed at the turn of the war. As a free man, Wercollier was able to pursue his artistic career yet again with more vigilance and passion. He founded the Iconomaques, along with some friends. It was a group of Luxembourg artists who had been spreading the movement of abstract art all across the nation.

Today, Wercollier’s works can be read about in the history of the city and in many international news articles as well. The government of Luxembourg gave one of his sculptors to the Kennedy Center in Washington to honor John F. Kennedy. Another of his sculptures was also sent to the Olympic Sculpture Garden in Lausanne Switzerland. Wercollier’s history as a sculptor was defined by his story and because of his unique experiences, his art was able to move thousands all across the globe. It only shows that art can be a force for change an a pioneer for good in our modern world.

An Short Introduction to Brazilian Abstract Sculpture

Many people say that the art of each person is completely unique, this is because what defines an individual person’s art is also what defines that individual. Upbringing, history, locations and surroundings all affect the artist in a manner that shapes his art as well as his ability to conceive ideas.

Today let’s take a look at Brazilian sculpture and where the modern era of art is taking them. Sculptors in Brazil have currently evolved beyond the Neogothic, Deco and Art Nouveau movements already and are in fine tuning with contemporary themes such as minimalism and surrealism. In 1951, the São Paulo Art Biennial was one of the ground breaking events that gave abstract sculpture the push it needed in the Brazilian community. Max Bill, a Swiss sculptor was the gold winner for the competition during that year.

Sculptures by Franz Krajcberg – Photography by Sam Emerick

Since then, abstract sculpture has grown into more modern themes in Brazil, however the people’s preference fro figurative resemblances did not vanish along with the trends of the past. They incorporated this into many of their contemporary works, even with subtle hints or meaningful symbolism plays. Pop art and Neoexpressionism were among some of the artistic movements that gave abstract sculpture its diversity in the country in 1960. These days, several Brazilian sculptors have made their way into the international art scene. Some of the popular artists include Francisco Brennarnd, Sergio de Camargo and Willys de Castro. Brazilian sculpture continues its journey to transform the local art community into an assemblage of noteworthy personalities that can teach younger generations their wide appreciation of art and design.

What is the Plop Art Movement?

Used as another word for public art or community art, Plop art usually refers to art that has been made for outdoor viewing. These types include the large emblematic structures outside government offices or NGO buildings. The term actually refers to art that does not match its surroundings well enough. Plop art is usually seen as a work that stands out of place when compared to the rest of the surrounding environment. In 1969, the term was coined by James Wines and was a play on the term “pop art”. Since then, people have began using it in everyday conversation to refer to these gigantic structural objects they see all around them.

Many conservative people actually liked the term because it suggested a negative meaning. They made it look as if plop art had something to do with ugliness or strangeness, because of the word “plop” which sounds like a random dropping of an object without any care or particular attention to where it would fall. Others who enjoy plop art, have been trying to reclaim the term for a positive meaning, suggesting that “plop art” refers to public, contemporary, environental sculptures that are on display for the whole community to experience. Plop art is a type of sculpture that usually entwines itself with architecture. Some public artists now try to blend their art with existing structures like buildings and houses to make the scenery seem like part of the artwork.

Introduction to Abstract Sculpture

Abstract Sculpture is a sensual expression of the mind to the heart. It does not promote a full accuracy of the real world, but does so intentionally so that its elements can penetrate the cognitive thinking of an audience. There are two types of abstract sculpture, just like there are in painting. These are Representational Abstract and Non-Representational Abstract. The first pertains to a sculpture that was partially or completely derived from a source in reality, such as the subject of a human body. The latter pertains to a sculpture that is purely imagined out of reality (like a Jackson Pollock in painting).

Sculptors in the modern sense, create works that range from simple pinwheel sized moving sculptures, to large monument-scaled shapes contoured to the environment. Despite the common measuring element of size, sculptures can gain deviance and popularity manipulating other elements as well. Texture, weight, balance and color can all play a distinct role in transforming a novelty idea into a concrete work of art.

There will be many more articles and stories to come that will intrigue and poke at your definition of what abstract sculpture really is, but for now let us just leave it at this:

Abstract sculpture is made by people who do not think or walk like we do. It is an art that was born out of human error, and yet judged by human creativity. It chooses imagination over knowledge (following Eintein’s famous quote) and speaks a meaning that can be heard differently depending on the ear that hears it. We may simply see the beauty in its sublime randomness and modern existence, but to truly understand its power, we must first shrink ourselves to be more humble than intellectuals, but far greater than logic.