The second work was different. I had prepared structures for modelling a human figure. Inspired by my latest work, I decided to build a creature - a Guardian Angel. The task was to see my painting in space.
The work progressed vigorously. I enjoy working with clay. It is soft and pliable. I like the realization that I, as it were, not limited in thoughts. I can create whatever I want. There are no frames and borders. In drawing or painting, I am limited to the plane, but I began to perceive this as a motivating moment, since, in my opinion, it is much more difficult to convey the essence on the plane than in volume. A figure in space gives more verges for analysis, but the plane surface gives only one.
The 40 cm figure resembles a human from a distance, but his face looks like Tapirus's trunk. These animals, as I just learned, can hold plants with their trunk while feeding. Almost like our hands near our face feed us with social rubbish from Instagram and FB. Visually it looks like the phone (or something) has stuck to the face and has become a part of it. In general, I think that the functions of the phone will soon be integrated under our skin. Although, after all, man instinctively protects his body from extraneous elements. Let's see where it will end?
Wikipedia, Schabrackentapir (Tapirus indicus), Tiergarten Nürnberg [Photo] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_tapir#/media/File:Schabrackentapir_Tapirus_indicus_Tiergarten-Nuernberg-1.jpg (Accessed 14.08.2020)
Why angel? These creatures are unreal and sublime. They have the appearance of a human and the wings of a bird. It's like a dream of flying, which we are not destined to realize. Angels are a big part of Russian culture. They protect a person and are his protector. To fulfil this duty, they observe a person, but it was not clear how? They may be watching us through the phone.
Also, I was interested in the fact that when I draw a black rectangle on a plane, it is not clear whether it is completely on a person's face or there is a space between the face and the phone. Thus, if a mobile phone is close to the face, most likely man is looking into it, if we photograph something at a distance, then our expression and behaviour also change, and if we take a selfie, then this is always the arm's length.
In the process of work, the hands seemed to me unnecessary, they simply loaded the composition and did not make sense. We also see The Winged Victory without arms and only with wings. Perhaps here you can imagine that the sculpture is from the past and chipped off a little over the years.
Wikipedia, The Winged Victory of Samothrace [Photo] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace#/media/File:Victoire_de_Samothrace_-_vue_de_trois-quart_gauche,_gros_plan_de_la_statue_(2).JPG (Accessed 14.08.2020)
From a certain angle, the absence of hands reminded me of the work of Bruno Catalano. The sculptor seems to erase a part of a person. The environment becomes part of the sculpture and vice versa.
Bruno Catalano, one of the “Travelers”, Marseilles, France, 2013-2014, source: easyvoyage.com [Sculpture] At: https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/sculptures-of-bruno-catalano/ (Accessed 14.08.2020)
In my case with the Angel, the missing hands do not completely cause such an effect, rather their absence refers to Roman sculptures. But their absence makes one think about their necessity ... or here's another example that I accidentally found.
Artist Jaume Plensa Installs Giant Head Statue At Rockefeller Center [Sculpture] At: https://www.urdesignmag.com/art/2019/05/02/jaume-plensa-behind-the-walls/ (Accessed 14.08.2020)
The meaning of the sculptor's works is rather in an overly elongated form and huge size, which create a feeling of a kind of hyper-reality. The child's hands close his eyes, you might think that he wants to hide from reality. In my work, a phone sticking to the face becomes a kind of magnifying glass that magnifies the object for our consciousness. Or telephone becomes a conductor, a gasket between our perception and the outside world.
The angel looks up, as if he is praying, or calling out to someone, putting some talisman/icon/amulet on his face. The movement of his body is ready to take a step or lift off the ground.
Its limbs are those of an owl, inspired by my previous work. The Angel needs these claws to fight our enemy because he protects (so you are not avoiding the evil, you are fighting with it?).
The figure turned out to be extremely figurative, although I wanted to add a feature with the hair and legs of the Angel.
Every now and then I wanted to radically change something in the direct narration of this work. Stick in a blue stone, as in the previous work, or place something prohibitively huge and bright instead of a brush with a phone on the face. In my opinion, this work is successful, but not radical. It does not scream, although it makes you analyze and think, because the Angel itself is ambiguous and what is on his face requires long research.
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