Romany Mark Bruce
The Relationship between Sculpture, Art & The Human Body
One of the differences between sculpture and painting is the tactile variance in the nature of these art forms and potentially the more interactive and surprising impact installations can have on the viewer, particularly when their landscape becomes part of their power. These can sometimes be more unexpected than a flat canvas can manage and be powerfully impressive.
However the link between the two is of course inseparable in the artistic sense and the power of sculpture, art and the representation of the human body is an area that we appreciate with so many sculptors and something that has intrigued me in many of my works. A fascination with the muscles in the body has been reflected in much of my work, in both my painting and sculpture. When sculpture became a passion for me I was absorbed by its potential and how I was able to incorporate my same interests in the body and muscles in such a very tactile and impactful medium as clay, with different effects from casting in a variety of mediums.
Sculptures may be produced in many materials from marble, to bronze, to concrete, to clay, to glass — an almost limitless list! I have enjoyed working with many of these mediums and at the end of 2019 I decided to go to live in Pietrasanta in Northern Italy, to sculpt in marble. The unpredictability of the stone, from both its power and its fragility to its colour makes it a material that surrounds both gentleness and strength.
‘Breaking Free’ ’Sunbound’
These varying qualities in sculpture enabled me to express movement, balance, emotions and a whole range of artistic expressions. Some of my pieces like ‘Breaking Free’ and ‘Sunbound’ needed careful preparation to ensure their physical balance worked and that the initial building of the sculpture’s form is correct. Something I learnt the importance of in quite a dramatic manner when my Aids Memorial ‘TAY’ collapsed because my initial armature was not strong enough, so I needed to re start using scaffolding poles. You live and learn!
Me at work on ‘TAY’
There are so many artists that I admire who cover both the sculpture and artist list and have truly embraced the wonder of the human body from Michelangelo, Rodin and Alexander Calder to Giacometti and Antony Gormley.
Gormley said; ’My interest is in the contours, the rhythms and the texture of space in relation to the human body. I want my sculptures to be lived in and experienced physically, emotionally and intellectually.’ Something I hope to also achieve in my work.
