Snite Museum Exploration

Today, I visited the Snite museum and found various forms of 3D sculpture that gave birth to wonder among my many thoughts.

Homer

(circa 18th century)

By an unknown artist

marble

This first piece stands as a representation of all that appeals to me as an artist. I love the intricate detail and realism in the face of this sculpture. It is in tandem with all that I want to be able to accomplish as an artist; intricate, smooth, and startlingly realistic. Homer in this sculpture seems to me as if he is resigning to some deep thought process in his own head. The smoothness of the curves and the folds of the clothing so beautifully rendered here make me forget for a moment that this is made out of a material as hard as marble. Marble sculptures have always appealed to my aesthetic eye, and have always garnered respect from me. It will always remain a wonder that someone can have the patience (and steady hand) to make such a masterpiece.

Latent Emissions

1998

Chakaia Booker

rubber, tires and wood

This piece was so interesting to me because it was the complete opposite of what I would normally gravitate to. However, it caught my eye immediately. Upon first glance, it looks like some sort of alien metallic substance to me, as if it came alive and began to grow and move on it's own. It gives a strong sense of movement, and it drew me in. It wasn't until I was very close that I realized it was actually made out of rubber tires, an incredibly inventive feat in and of itself. I have always thought that the top way to draw peoples' attention was through people themselves. But this caught my attention with just the opposite. It feels like many stories could lie hidden within interpretations of this piece and it makes me wish I could hear them all. I am amazed by the ability to take something that seems so ordinary and completely shatter my paradigm of what it can look like.

Flat sello (stamp) with life/death duality squid

Classic period: Circa 200 B.C.-400 A.D.

La Tolita Culture-- earthenware from Ecuador

I think this is a beautifully unique form of 3D sculpture. It is a piece whose purpose is explicitly for something else. It's a piece of art utilized to make even more art. I wish I could see what the stamp would look like placed upon something. It's so beautifully and intricately sculpted and carved; without even reading the description I felt that there was some deeper symbolism here than simply visually appealing designs. It caught my attention further to read the title. The piece paid homage to a "life/death duality squid". This idea itself is so interesting! It's such a unique cultural idea, that a squid in some way relates to the relationship between life and death. It holds a symbolism that I can't quite grasp upon hearing in today's culture, but ignites my curiosity in what this meant to the hands that molded it. It's incredible that art still holds the ability to connect us to so many different cultures from so many different ages. In a way, art is like a universal language to me, appreciated by all, but unique to every individual and their culture.