Ideas and Emotions in Stones and Marbles
Jyoti Khataniar
Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have been interested in creating concrete shapes that reflect their imaginative world. Sculpture is one such product of the human mind with concrete shapes . Next to cave art, sculptural objects exhibit some features of the human mind which are essentially realistic in nature. The bronze statue of the Dancing Girl found in Indus Valley Civilization (2300-1750 BC) , the Thinker of the Neolithic Period (5300 BC) of a Romanian village, the Venus of Holhe Fels in Germany (42,000 years old), Chinese Terracotta Army (2nd century BC), the Surrya statue found in Kabul (7th century AD) belonging to the White Huns , the extraordinary symmetrical features of the Greek sculptures are some of the manifestations of the religious and aesthetic experiences of man.
Sculpture is a three dimensional form of art with height, width and breadth. Sculptures can be made using additive and subtractive techniques with materials like wood , clay , stone , metal , marble and other objects. Relief sculpture, additive sculpture, subtractive sculpture and casting sculpture are the four types of sculptures. Modern sculptors use a range of materials to concretise their vision. One of Pablo Picasso’s most famous sculptures included bicycle parts. In the world of western sculptures, the names which have a distinguished presence include Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) , Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957) , Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) , Pablo Picasso ( 1881-1973) , Henry Moore ( 1898- 1986), Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) among others. Each of these sculptors have their unique ways to handle the materials to create a world of their own . All of them introduced certain degrees of deviation from the ordinary mode of expression of ideas yielding a world of peculiarity. The Thinker(1904) by Auguste Rodin is a reflection of intensive thought and contemplation and often used as an image to represent the philosophical dimension of human existence. Rodin’s Thinker is the result of the intellectual strength of the human mind and the poetic serenity in the tradition of Michaelangelo. While Rodin is largely traditional in his thought, Brâncuși and Giacometti wanted an absolute level of distortion and abstraction in their material. Brâncuși’s Bird in Space (1923) is an example of the peculiar kind of feeling that one can draw from the idea of flight. Giacometti investigated the human figure for more than 40 years and intensively focused on the human condition with its socio-political dimensions. Barbara Hepworth as a sculptor was interested in depicting forms and shapes and how this would change over a period of time. Barbara’s work bears a lyrical touch and a symmetrical design with feelings for the material. Her works like Wave (1942-43) are hollowed so that the interior space becomes as important as the mass surrounding it. The idea of the creation of holes became an important part of modern art. Henry Moore extensively uses these holes in his various sculptures to introduce a sense of consciousness regarding space and the solid body that was encroached upon. Moore created an environment where the human body shares an intimate relation with the natural world. His sculptures express the idea that humanity is a part of nature and we’re connected to something timeless and universal. His UNESCO Reclining Figure (1957 -58 ), Recumbent Figure ( 1938) are some of the examples of intensive use of holes in the material.
Modern and contemporary sculptures respond in a way that suits the moment in history and time. Here, the sculptor focuses on a specially designed journey that involves intricacies of situating the ideas in the world in their own unique way. Sometimes, the medium of the sculptures are a part of a meaning-making process. Every modern sculpture carries at least two things. Firstly, it carries a reason beyond existing as a purely aesthetic object. Secondly, it invites the viewers into a process of dialogue formation. Examples may include creations of the famous sculptor Anish Kapoor.
In both the cases , a specific narrative is created. Also, sculptures become a story which is explicit and transparent. Examples may include Lidice Children Memorial and Irish Famine Memorial . The first one is a reminder of the Nazi horrors and the second one is a reminder of the cruelty of the British imperialism.
The journey of the Indian sculpture began in the Indus Valley civilization, the monumental sculptures during the reign of Ashoka, especially various cultural works at Sanchi, Graeco Buddhist Art of Gandhara (which is now southern Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan) , the Amravati artworks stored in the British Museum , Mathura School of Art are some of the finest examples where religious ideas were presented in marbles and stones. Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980), widely regarded as the father of modern Indian sculpture , was keenly interested in general human situations and the ethnic life was his major source of inspiration. The Santhal family (1938) , the first public modernist sculpture in India symbolises the dynamism associated with migrant labourers at the time of industrialisation. It reflects the level of proximity experienced by the sculptor towards his subject and the situation that he experienced for narrating the event. The Santhal family sculpture shows a father, a mother, a child and their dog. The Public Sculpture by Devi Prasad Roychowdhury ( 1889-1975) at Shahid Smarak in Patna immortalised the Indian lives lost in the freedom struggle. This bronze sculpture is a bold representation of Gandhi’s clarion call ” Do or Die” that triggered the Quit India Movement on August 8, 1942. It is a timeless representation of the public protest against the British Colonial power. Today, it is one of the strongest manifestations of India’s unflinching desire for freedom. In contemporary Assam, Biren Singha has set a new trend of identity formation among various ethnic tribes , especially Karbis and Dimasas through his sculptural works. Singha uses materials like bronze and fibre to create a world of ethnic past and contemporary revivalism for identity formation. Another bronze sculpture of his, the Unheeded Cry, may be considered as a three – dimensional sculptural representation of the famous painting the Scream of Edvard Munch (1893) . His other sculptures representing various scenes of the Battle of Saraighat have already attained an iconic stature.
Today, sculptures enjoy a profound degree of autonomy with their vast range and complexity. Since the dawn of civilization, sculptures stand as entities that give meaning to our existence. In one sense, sculptures form an irreducible nucleus of our aesthetic experience and cultural heritage. Sculptures combine inner experiences of the human soul with objective conditions. In sculpture, a form stands with a pent up energy of the indomitable human desire.