Detail & Form
Texture can be of the moment or deliberately manipulated.
There is a certain honesty in leaving some surfaces and forms direct from the tool but for me it has to be beneficial to the piece. It could be part of the narrative or it could be a device to enhance or delineate form. We have to bear in mind that in general, stone, has little colour differential. Hence we have to take advantage of the infinite subtle tones between very rough and finely honed surfaces. We have to take note of a raking sun or artificial light to enhance these aspects. Particularly a raking sun, and how it can transform a single sculpture into many, throughout the day.
Project Details
Detail I have found very intriguing. Intricate and intimate ….I love it. From the Aztecs, Mayans, Assyrians, Egyptians, and cave painters to some more contemporary works. It meant something. We may have studied the culture and taken our educated guess as to what exactly that meaning is. Did the craftsmen of the time have leeway. My experience of hierarchical workshops and studios suggests not, and the ‘Gods would have dictated’ detail and definition on pain of something mighty sinister should it not come up to standard.
In the images above there is detail …. A very indulgent detail. What does it mean ? Well that is difficult to define. I love simple form , but I also love tight intricate detail. To dig in and ‘put’ something inside the stone , to indicate there is more inside. The form and balance of a piece, if that your aim has to be considered and planned at the start. This material is tough and expensive and without plans you may end up with a levigated leviathan.
The detail …well where does that come from. The work is abstract so the argument is that it comes from nowhere and means nothing , but I disagree.
Ideas do pop into my head and you could argue ….from nowhere. But, my experience with architecture and love of science nature and society all have an influence. We are all influenced by our memories, consciously or subconsciously. I cannot pin it down and it totally depends upon which memory has decided to vacate it storage file at that moment and promenade into existence. The secret is, not to call then but to let them flow randomly,…… to be noticed and to influence that moment, and be forever remembered in to rock, or to just pass quietly by until next time.
The purchaser of a piece that a maker makes, rather than has made, should know that they are not just the owner of three dimensional piece of work. They are custodians of the many hours of the maker devoted to that particular unique piece, together with the thoughts, the emotions, the waking hours and the dreams the grazed skin and blisters. There is everything, a part of someones existence invested, within a unique piece of work made specifically by the maker. It cannot be taken back, retrieved. A commodity that no other can own.