Thursday 27 December 2012

The Beauty of Forms.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

Michael Whynot. Torso Study, 2012. Detail. Water-based clay.

There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may -  light, shade and perspective will always make it beautiful. (John Constable)



Light reveals form - which is a beautiful thing - that can be infinite in its variety, owing to its orientation to light and the viewpoint of the beholder.

In a drawing, the draftsman fixes the source of light and the viewpoint of the beholder to a single moment in time, in essence, selecting a moment from the infinite for each new drawing. But the sculptor, creating in the round, is able to offer infinite variety in a single work. Both the sculptor and the draftsman offer infinite variety: the sculptor in a single work, the draftsman in many.

Note the variety in the photos of my clay torso study above. Each is taken from a different viewpoint and orientation to the light source. A draftsman could create many different drawings from the photos, while the sculptor creates one work with infinite variety.

As men have done since the beginning of time, I become lost when pondering the infinite, the possibilities for beauty being endless. The artist's job is to embrace one of these moments of beauty from among the infinite variety available and endeavour to convey it to others so that they can see form as the artist sees form. The degree to which the artist succeeds is dependent upon their ability to clearly render, not only the form, but the essence of the form which is beyond verbal definition and is the crux of the artist.


                                    The Beauty of Forms.

                             That I am blessed to bear witness
                             To the beauty of forms
                             Amid these common aspects of daily life;
                             But, oh, how it consumes me,
                             Like a flame,
                             As I struggle to release it,
                             Burning me
                             From the inside out.

                                                      (Michael Whynot, 2012)

                                                                     

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