Alision Wilding

Alison Wilding’s Ambit 1999, is a large sculptural piece constructed from metal and lighting which floats in the River Wear at Sunderland. The work is shaped like a ship with a pointed end and a stern but an interactive thing about this work is that it moves with the tide and flow of the river. The reflective quality to ‘ambit’ means that the city is reflective back at itself and the underwater lighting give it a glow in the dark, although this may sound flashy the piece actually draws attention to its surroundings due to the fact that it is reflective therefore making it a discreet work of art.

Got a positive response from the city of Sunderland’s people as where it floated in the river wear created an interesting introspective as there are many view points to this work which give the public a different background on which the work is displayed as it is underneath the Wearmouth bridge so can be seen from the river with the city as a background or from the bridge looking out to sea.

The city originally requested a monument to their past but instead got a glimpse of the future with this ship-shape abstract work by Alison Wilding, a reminder that the world progresses constantly and its identity with it, as this piece makes the city feel like a work of art as its reflected back on its self.

The BBC had an interview with Alison wilding on the 25^th may 1988 where she goes into detail about the struggle she has when creating her works and what is important for her to portray to the public through the sculptures that she creates.

Pure sculpture, it’s the start of the art, as its uses intuitive materials which are freeing to form allowing the artist to have an interaction with the materials which then relate in the final piece which then the audience can also see the interaction. Alison Wilding has an emotional response to her work with the materials she uses and the shapes she creates, she believes that her life nourishes her work, so her personal relationships affect the outcome of her sculptures.

Although she admits that she has trouble working, gets stuck like a fly in a spiders web, and can stare at the work for hours before she sees how to move it forward but this is the way she work she has to really look at a sculpture so she will know how other people will view it as you can often be your hardest critic so only you will know when a work is at completion.

Henry Moore

Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure 1951

The reclining figure was commissioned by the arts council for the festival of Britain in 1951 but is now kept outside the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. As it was, he made the figure, and then found the best position for it that he could. He was simply concerned with making a sculpture in the round and it was out in the open most of the time he was working on it for the festival.

The sculpture is a bronze womanly figure which is over 2 meters long laying on a plinth, its shapes give it an interaction feature with the surroundings as there is visible gaps through the sculpture where point of the body touch the base. The piece was supposed to be based upon the theme of family symbolising ‘discovery’ but instead he chose to create a large reclining figure in Bronze.

He began making reclining figures in the late 1920’s and several small bronze figures these conventional long lean forms which define this sculpture. The sculpture more recently sold of £19.1 million, which was more than 3 times the estimated price, which some people have commented that the buyer must have had more money than sense but this sculpture is a piece of history and perhaps it was its public interaction in the festival of Britain in 1951 which pushed its price so high as the sculpture was certainly exhibited in a widely seen public arena.

An interview with Henry Moore broadcasted 30^th April 1951 gives an in depth analysis of the artist but as the filming was over 60 years ago it’s like a time capsule of information, not only of an artist but of the publics’ thought’s from that era.

The interview gently explained the ethos of modern abstract sculpture. Through innovative filming techniques and a specially commissioned soundtrack Henry Moore’s works come to life. Sculpture is working of rock or wood and Henry Moore is skilled in both, whether it’s modelling or carving.

Viewers see the ‘reclining figure’ sculpture from start to finish, sketch to model to final bronze sculpture, which gives great insight into the mind of Henry Moore. The audience must understand his approach to his work before we can appreciate the work itself. Although at the time of creation his world is unfamiliar to us with his odd shapes and although he proved popular his abstract modernist works moved British sculpture forward with unity from great originality and strength.

“Art is the expression of the imagination and not the imitation of life” Henry Moore.

Jacob Epstein

Starting with a work from the early 20^th century, looking at Jacob Epstein’s Memorial to W.H. Hudson in Hyde Park, 1925, which was a stone structure constructed for public viewing. W H Hudson was a novelist and naturalist best known for his exotic romance tales and when he dies in 1922 Jacob Epstein built a memorial (completion 1925) to honour Hudson’s memory. The memorial depicted one of Hudson’s characters, Rima, which was a half bird half human creature, so it seems fitting that the memorial stands in a bird sanctuary.

From an interview with Jacob Epstein that was recorded by the BBC on 2^nd February 1958 he describes how he feels about his sculptures and sculpture in general as well as how the art works should interact with the audience. Sculpture involves the relation of the masses as without the support of the public an exhibition would go unnoticed and the artists’ hard work would be unaccredited. Although the thought and motivation behind a work of art should be the upmost importance so the work doesn’t become an exercise. It’s ironic that Epstein would say that “Mechanical forms shouldn’t be recreated in sculpture” as he created the ‘rock-drill man’ sculpture which was radical for its time but also a massive difference to his usual works of portraits which involved soft curves and expressive figures. He had academic training but broke away from the confines to express himself through his sculpture although never created truly abstract forms referring back to organic materials in his works which suggests that was something he may have been taught, as we often refer back to what we have been taught as it’s what we are usually comfortable in. Although as a supporter of modernism he aimed to break with classical and traditional forms.

Ever since Jacob Epstein transformed the possibilities for sculptors in Britain before the First World War a remarkable momentum has been maintained, as sculptors have become a league of their own with a confidence that allows them to experiment with new materials and techniques and break away from tradition. Having in previous centuries occupied a position subservient to painters, modern British sculptors shook off their inferior status. Therefore men and women alike have proved that outstanding British sculptors can gain high international reputation. Along with Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore has also influenced younger artists as Moore works a traceable line of descent for younger artists with a meticulous tradition of object construction in Britain concerned with its standing, it’s worth and value.