Modern sculpture: from external effects to awakening the spirit in form

Sculpture as a form of fine art expresses the development of human thought and the state of consciousness. Modern sculpture has come a long way: from stone women – objects of worship of prehistoric times to abstract images – symbols of modernity. By visual images, one can trace the ability of mankind to think from a concrete image to an abstract, spiritual one.

What is modern sculpture?

First of all, sculpture is a way of expressing in the form of the characteristic features of modernity. For example, sculptors of the Renaissance created the ideal of the human body in the form, depicting a person as the crown of God’s creation. Modern sculptors, on the other hand, express actual concepts and meanings in a form and rarely resort to realistic images of a person looking for deeper meanings. Gradually, human consciousness goes on to unravel the laws of being and, consciously or unconsciously, seeking the meaning of life. Modern sculptors of the 21st century translate attention to the internal content of the form. Sculpture materials have also changed; stone, clay, bronze have been replaced by plastic, glass, non-ferrous metals, synthetic materials and artificial stone.

History of development

The events of the XX century brought a lot of changes, destroying the old foundations. The technological leap, the development of industry, and revolutionary movements freed up space for the development of thought in new directions. By the end of the 19th century, the works of the greatest Auguste Rodin had modernist features that appeared in new senses and themes. In the work of Rodin, this was manifested in the contrasts of the texture, as well as in the special effects of light.

More radical changes came at the beginning of the 20th century from France. The desire to simplify the form and deepen the meaning gave birth to cubism. Modern sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque turned the world around. Ordinary objects appeared before the viewer with a set of geometric shapes. That is how the main idea of ​​modernism was expressed – the self-sufficiency of creativity and the independence of art. Picasso’s modern sculpture has opened up new possibilities in the visual arts – not to mirror reality, but to create a new, meaningful reality.

The example of Picasso was followed by Jacques Lipschitz. Against the backdrop of cubism in the 10 years of the twentieth century, new trends in art began to actively develop. Modern sculptures were performed in the styles of Dadaism, Futurism, as well as constructivism, primitivism and functionalism.

The tendency to simplify forms led to primitivism – rapprochement with pure abstraction while maintaining the meaning. Jean Arp’s perfect abstraction is attractive with ironed shapes. The bronze modern sculptures of birds of the Romanian master Konstantin Brynkushi are known for simplified copyright polished surfaces.

The dynamics of life tried to depict the Italian futurists. Modern sculptures by Umberto Boccioni conveyed in the sculpture the speed of modern life, movement in front and rapid changes in form over time. Constructivism brought closer the sculpture with scientific models and forms of technology, cars. Soaring, light as membranes, innovative sculptures of modern sculptures by Naum Gabo (1890-1977). Constructivists worked with new industrial materials – threads, plastic, glass, steel. Sculptors of this direction rather constructed skeletal structures, rather than sculpting, cutting off the stone. Modern sculptures of the Dadaists were performed as “anti-art” from a set of random objects and even rubbish.

For the sake of expressing the emotional effect – expression – modern sculpture has undergone changes, for example, the proportions of the human body have been greatly simplified. A prominent representative of expressionism is Alberto Giacometti. His subtle men are the embodiment of emotional states of disappointment, guilt, loneliness and anxiety.

After 1945, the modernist trend spread. The language of art will change and abstract modern sculptures were made of metal structures. For example, the American David Smith created a variety of modern sculptures from metal cubes, balls, cylinders. The English sculptor Anthony Caro in the 1930s presented metal as the basis of his work, demonstrating its plastic and aesthetic properties.

Since the late 1950s the age of consumer culture was glorified by a modern sculpture of the direction of pop art. Bright representatives are Jasper Jones, who became famous for beer cans, Klas Oldenburg with huge hamburgers and ice cream cones.

Inspirational modern sculpture

Modern sculpture is often created to excite the emotional principle of a person – to amaze with scale, cause surprise and even disgust, but not leave the viewer indifferent. In pursuit of external effects, modern sculptures often lose the permissible edge of morality, ethics and aesthetics.

Art has always been called upon to serve the highest ideals and the creators of the workshop “Author’s Sculpture” call on to return to this truth. Modern sculptures by Alexey Leonov, Vladimir Shevchenko and Vasily Boroday are filled with inner light. In the work, the masters express a single desire – to fill the world with positive images, to create a sculpture in which the presence of a vital soul is felt. The sculptors devote their work to universal values, affirm love, joy, harmony, prayer, faith, hope, mercy, compassion, and create works of the same name. Modern sculptures by artists “author’s sculpture” in many ways bring the concepts of the spiritual world into shape and become a channel between the earthly and the supernatural.

Of particular note is the theme of the Great teachers of mankind. Sculptor Alexey Leonov creates portraits of the great sages, founders of spiritual teachings, scientists, writers, discoverers and mentors of humanity of all times and peoples. The modern sculpture of Alexey Leonov is a unique phenomenon of the spiritualization of sculpture. The sculptor manages to achieve the effect when the eyes of the sculpture turn into a conscious, deep, lively look of a philosopher, a sage on a contemporary. A gaze uplifted, illuminated by the highest ideas of the French national heroine Jeanne D’ark or the founder of the spiritual teachings of India, Krishna, the Persian sage poet Omar Khayyam; Euclid, Pythagoras, Hypatia, Paracelsus, Copernicus and Giordano Bruno, Michael Faraday, Descartes, deepened in thought, concentrated on their discoveries in the world of science, captured the special world of discoveries that was brought to mankind through great scientists. With special reverence, the sculptor created the sculptural faces of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Zoroaster, Germest Trismegistus, Lao Tzu, Confucius.

Modern sculpture of the 21st century, leaving external fanciful effects in the past, goes on to realize that which is hidden in form, sculpture is increasingly becoming an expression of higher meanings.