Stone Talk
by Athar Jaber | 29 September 2024
Quote
“I say that the art of sculpture is eight times as great as any other art based on drawing, because a statue has eight views, and they must all be equally good.”
Happy Birthday Benvenuto Cellini
Many versions of Cellini’s his autobiography are available for free online, but this one has my preference for readability on screen.
Every occasion is good for a shoutout to Jason Arkles’ podcast The Sculptor’s Funeral. There’s nothing better you can listen to while sculpting, and this episode is dedicated to Benvenuto Cellini.
However, if you prefer music while working, Hector Berlioz’s opera, based on Cellini’s life, is an excellent choice.
Najla El Zein
With Beirut and the Levant on my mind, I though of sharing the work of a contemporary Lebanese artist who works with stone. Here is a short documentary on the making of “Us, her, him”, a public artwork commissioned by Qatar Museums.
No bigger game than politics
With the U.S. elections approaching, voting is once again in the spotlight. Elections always remind me of the kleroterion, an ancient Greek device used to randomly select citizens for political roles. For years, I envisioned creating a contemporary version, but Taryn Simon beat me to it with her participatory sculpture, which turns politics into a game. You can read about the work here. And if you’re interested and nearby, she’ll discuss her work at the Storm King Art Center on November 9th.
Monuments 2.0
I’ve always been interested in the “monuments debate,” a conversation on how societies should handle controversial monuments, especially those tied to colonialism, racism, or oppression, questioning whether to preserve, remove, or reinterpret them to align with current values. A favorite example is M’hamed Issiakhem’s reinterpretation of Paul Landowski’s Monument to the Dead.
Currently, in the city of Baltimore, a discussion is ongoing about what to do with the empty spot left after a stone sculpture of Columbus was taken down by protesters on July 4, 2020, as part of the nationwide George Floyd protests.
This article captures a recent community meeting, highlighting the diverse ideas shared and testifying to the complexities behind the conception of a fully inclusive public monument. However, I was pleasantly surprised to read that, while a final decision isn’t yet made, my friend and fellow sculptor Sebastian Martorana has been appointed to carve the future work.
Q&A
Do you have specific question around sculpture and stone carving? Submit your question here below and I’ll do my best to answer it in one of the next Stone Talk Newsletters.
I hope you enjoyed these points and that you learned something new.
Until next week,
Athar
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