The Created and the Un-Created
Assignment Five
Deanna D. Roberts
Art 100
Instructor: Beth LaCour
Northern Arizona University
During the Paleolithic “Venus” figures era, sculptures were created that would
greatly influence artists up until the present day. I could have created the sculpture
Maman, designed in 1999 and traditionally casted in 2003 by Louise Bourgeois, because
this sculpture is unique, fascinating and provokes its viewers to endlessly analyze the
possible scenarios that gave rise to this intriguing three-dimensional beauty. This
sculpture is a 30 foot-tall bronze spider. Its oversized existence makes it an abstract piece
whose name is Maman, which is French for “mother” (Getlein, 2005). Maman is a
sculpture in the Round because it stands by itself and is meant to be viewed from all
sides. You could consider this sculpture an Earthwork as it is usually displayed in
outdoor settings, making it become part of the environment. Maman is accompanied by a
smaller bronze spider whose name is simply Spider, although Maman has also been
displayed with white eggs underneath her taking the place of Spider. This sculpture has a
three-dimensional depth, which is also easily captured by staring upward at the spider
from a seated position. I consider myself to have a strong awareness of depth and
therefore greatly appreciate this sculpture for that very reason. I would greatly enjoy the
opportunity to walk around this sculpture to thoroughly immerse myself in the diverse
views it offers with every single step.
I believe Bourgeois used bronze for Maman to capture a strong shape because
bronze flows when highly heated for casting and will pour effortlessly into small cracks,
taking detailed shape just before turning extremely hard and sturdy (Getlein, 2005).
Bronze is very solid and will not break, making this sculpture a good candidate to travel
around the world, in which it has. The casting process creates glistening smooth rounded
shapes, making it appear reflective. Maman was created in 1999, during the
Postmodern/Modernism period when sculptures had such energy because of the
abundance of material and techniques that were literally not accepted or unheeded a
century ago (Getlein, 2005). Bourgeois’ most postmodern works combine Surrealism
with troubling dream images consisting of a continually changing prim approach creating
refreshed works for new generations to see (Getlein, 2005). Bourgeois was extremely
influenced by Surrealist artists who arrived in the United States after World War II. She
began to use rubber, bronze and stone in the 1960’s as her works grew in size to better
reflect her prominent theme, her childhood (PBS Home, 2007). Bourgeois’ interest in
sculptures was nurtured by her infatuation with solid geometry and one of her teachers,
who was a French artist named Fernand Leger (Parchin, 2005).
Upon viewing her sculpture, Maman makes me feel like a child in a fairy tale. I
think this gigantic spider appears graceful, elegant and strong. There is nothing about this
work that displeases me and, in fact, I’m thrilled with every aspect of it. This is why I
strongly feel I could have designed such a work. Sculptures are among my favorite works
of art as they are tangibly present and, often times, accompany a three dimensional space.
Maman is one of a kind and it exudes a powerful, dominant presence that continues to
draw me in every time I look at it.
A work I would have never created is the oil on canvas titled 100 Cans by Andy
Warhol in 1962. This piece if from the sixties and is referred to as Pop Art and I simply
would never have thought of such an idea. Pop art is short for popular art, which consist
of visual materials from everyday life that become mass produced images and objects of
America’s most popular culture (Getlein, 2005). The American pop culture consists of
comic books, advertising, billboards and the world of packaging of home appliances,
basically whichever commodities are/were hot at the time including cinema images,
newspaper clippings, and television ads (Getlein, 2005). Andy Warhol was the most
mysterious Pop artist because he failed to fulfill critic’s desires to understand why he
created 100 Cans, a secret that Warhol never revealed to critics (Getlein, 2005). His
piece 100 Cans consisted of an oil painting on canvas of one-hundred Campbell soup
cans all aligned side to side bottom to bottom in a square space and consisting of the
same flavor, “Beef Noodle”. Warhol’s 100 Cans, and other pop art pieces are
representational because theses commodities are images of objects in everyday life.
The Campbell soup can contains the goldish-yellow, white, red and black lettering
that reads SOUP on the fronts of all the cans. What was Andy trying to communicate?
Whether the meaning behind the painting was positive, negative or neutral, the answer
will never come to light. It is evident that Warhol copied the exact replica of a beef
noodle Campbell’s soup can and that this is the reasoning behind his choice of colors.
Sizing and or priming of canvas creates a ground for the surface where paint is applied.
Warhol used oil on canvas whose support is sized with rabbit skin glue. Subsequent coats
of gesso are applied as a ground, which will prevent the canvas from rotting from the oil
leaking into it (Getlein, 2005). Warhol may have used ready-made canvases and, if so,
the canvas did not need to be sized and or primed as it has already pre-performed.
This particular piece of Andy Warhol’s displeases me because of its repetitive
pattern. I find myself disinterested by it all together. This piece is mind-numbing, tedious
in nature and does not provoke any thoughts of curiosity, pleasure or happiness. I almost
feel anxious when viewing 100 Cans because of the bright repetition of pattern and color.
These characteristics remind me of a place with repulsive wallpaper surrounding me
creating a very uncomfortable environment. I definitely enjoy other works of Andy
Warhol and find him to be one of my favorite artists of all time. I cannot fall in love with
100 Cans, but do give Andy Warhol credit for his hard work and dedication to the art
world. I can only hope that 100 Cans is a sociological commentary by Warhol that
reflects his feelings about the pop culture of his time. Unfortunately, we will never know
and can only speculate.
References
Getlein, M. (2005). Gilbert’s Living With Art. New York, NY
McGraw-Hill.
Parchin, S. (2005). Louise Bourgeois' Spider Sits Down Beside National Gallery of
Canada. Retrieved April30, 2007 from the World Wide Web:
http://arthistory.about.com/b/a/172842.htm
PBS Home. (2007). Biography. Retrieved April 29, 2007 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/bourgeois/index.html