Jennifer Yap's Blog
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Santa Cruz, California is set to host the annual North American Sea Glass Festival yet again on October 6 and 7, 2007.
From 11:00 to 17:00, sea glass aficionados can converge on the boardwalk in Coconut Grove to hunt for treasures among the numerous exhibitors, socialize, and enter the “Shard of the Year” contest where they can win bragging rights and a grand prize of $1,000 as well as smaller prizes.
Grading is determined by qualities such as the colour of the shard and its condition. Bonus points can be earned for entries that can demonstrate advanced age, that possess identifiable text or patterns, or depict discernible figural characteristics.
Admission to the festival is $5 for adults and free for children under 12 years-old.
For information, contest entry rules and judging criteria, visit the North American Sea Glass Association.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Toronto’s Gardiner Museum will host Canada’s first exhibit of clay portraits and heads by one of the 20th century's most significant ceramic artists: Germany's Gertraud Möhwald (1929 – 2002).
A total of 22 pieces will be on display from October 12, 2007 to January 20, 2008.
Known for fragmentary, layered work influenced by her survival of the firebombing of Dresden during World War II, the crumbling baroque architecture surrounding her home in the former GDR, the work of Gaudi, Giacometti and Goya as well as travels to Samarkand, Rome and Barcelona, Möhwald’s figures are built up of collages of clay, fired ceramics, porcelain shards, and sometimes, coloured paper, gold and found objects.
The opening will be attended by the Möhwald family as well as German collectors who are lending pieces from their private collections.
On October 14, an exhibition symposium will be held featuring German experts Gabi Dewald, Editor-in-chief of KeramikMagazin and Möhwald’s university colleague and friend, Dr. Renate Luckner-Bien. Curator Susan Jefferies will moderate.
For information and tickets, visit the Gardiner Museum.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
The wedding of Bollywood royalty Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan on April 20 has inspired two Indian sculptors to create new works - in fiberglass and sand respectively.
Inspired by a lady who came into his dreams for 25 days and asked him to make 25 sculptures of Rai, Arjun Prajapathi started work two months ago and plans to finish by June. With help from his three sons, he models the sculptures with Haryana and Delhi clay. Plaster moulds will then be made, from which the final fiberglass sculptures will be cast.
Prajapathi plans to hold an exhibition of his finished works in Mumbai - which he hopes that Rai and Bachchan will inaugurate. He also plans to present one of the sculptures to Rai.
On the other end of the permanance and durability spectrum, acclaimed Indian sand sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik has completed a 15-foot film reel made of sand featuring imagined scenes from the Rai-Bachchan wedding ceremony. Incorporating giant faces of Rai and Bachchan and a shehnai (Indian oboe) musician accompanied by a child beating dholak (hand drums), the Puri beach sculpture provides a focal point for starstruck Indians hundreds of miles away from the celebrations who are hungry for details of the couple and their wedding.
Patnaik plans to send photos of his ephemeral sculpture to Bachchan’s father, film superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
The story broke on April 1 and I was wary because… well, it was April Fool’s Day for one, and people getting all worked up about a chocolate Jesus did seem a little far-fetched. Suspecting an elaborate media hoax, I hung back and dropped the ball on this.
My apologies.
Montreal-born, US-based Cosimo Cavallaro, known for highly visceral work and quirky use of food items (such as spraying an entire house inside and out with mozzarella cheese and piling sliced ham into a bed), has stirred up a storm of protest with a life-size milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus.
In a twist worthy of South Park, the naked crucified Christ sans cross is being hidden in a refrigerated truck in an undisclosed location. This, after a torrent of complaints and death threats were issued by Christian groups citing nudity and disrespect for Christianity.
Titled My Sweet Lord, the chocolate Jesus was slated for display from today, Tuesday, through Easter Sunday in the Lab Gallery located in Manhattan's Roger Smith Hotel. The hotel has decided to cancel and the gallery’s creative director, Matt Semler, has resigned – I presume, in protest. Meanwhile, Cavallaro claims to have received numerous offers to either exhibit or buy the piece.
If Cavallaro wants notoriety, he’s got it, but I think he was after something a little more thoughtful.
Here are my two cents, for whatever they’re worth. I hope this does not bring a chocolate fondue upon my head. Here goes…
Loincloths are themselves an act of artistic license, not biblical fact. I daresay no Roman foot soldier in the midst of crucifying his charge is going to pause to make sure that there’s a loincloth in place. If I remember correctly, soldiers were casting lots for Jesus’ clothes, so chances are pretty good that he was naked. Executions are messy affairs and if it’s alright to show the marks of violence, blood and gore on the body of Christ, why not nudity? Also, if crucifixion is about humiliating the prisoner, wouldn’t being stripped naked add to this and therefore reinforce the poignancy of Jesus’ human side and his grace in tolerating this abuse?
Next, chocolate is a relatively recent addition to Easter. Traditionally, real eggs were decorated and exchanged – and this practice still persists in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans made hollow cardboard Easter eggs to hold gifts and treats. Faberge eggs evolved for the highbrow and chocolate eggs for the relatively well-to-do as European tastes accepted chocolate as a sweet. Besides being a child of commercial opportunism by German and French confectioners, there is no historical or religious place for chocolate in Easter, nor for bunnies and chicks. Easter is a celebration of resurrection and re-birth before the divine – the crux of Christianity. As such, I think Cavallaro’s piece speaks to the commercial sugar-coating of Easter as it is commonly celebrated now; what have we done to Easter, and by extension, what have we done to Christ?
It’s too bad that the reigning debate at this point in time is about religious sensitivity, propriety and censorship when it should be about love for humanity, redemption, divine grace, and the old tension between God and Mammon.
We are in Holy Week after all.
Postscript:
After (literally) sleeping on it overnight with a head full of flu-induced weird dreams, I think that if Cavallaro had *really* wanted to get people's goat, he could have wrapped My Sweet Lord in thin silver foil, inserted a ticker-tape style slip of wax paper that read "Christ" and re-named the piece Kiss Christ, thereby spoofing both the popular chocolate and referencing American photographer Andres Serrano's controversial 1989 photo. Then things would really hop.
For a more gentle, compassionate view, read Mary Rayme's article Chocolate Obama Jesus on controversial Jesus sculptures at Easter time.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Got waylaid on my research for St. Paddy's Day and ended up at the Wikipedia page for Dublin Statues and their nicknames.
I’d almost forgotten all about Irish rhyming slang and then all of a sudden whatever little I knew came flooding back.
It’s rude, it’s crude, shockingly un-PC… but it’s such wicked fun! Absolutely no one is spared; even people the Irish *like* get rude monikers. But I enjoy these for their insolence and insistence on rhyme. If you have a warped sense of humour, you’ll enjoy these!
The politically correct will wince but remember not to take things too seriously… after all, the Irish don’t. In fact, they actually have quite a bit of affection for some of the people they lampoon in slang.
Just so you get a sense of what you’ll find:
James Joyce is “The Prick with the Stick” because his statue depicts him walking with a cane.
Patrick Kavanagh is the “Crank on the Bank” because his statue is set on a bench by the river bank looking over the water.
Oscar Wilde is the “Fag on the Crag” because his statue is lounging on a big boulder
Some statues even have quite a few nicknames… you’ll see.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
The streets are slick and hissing with the sound of tires cutting through melting snow. Spring cannot be far off now.
As for my earlier plans for snowman building, or any type of snow sculpting, for that matter…
The snow was dry and powdery and definitely in a non-cooperative mood. I gave up after failing to pack even one small snowball and spent the afternoon toboganning in -15C instead. Fun, but it was soooooo cold and windy.
Somehow, I had an affinity for trees and one particularly solid concrete pillar. As my friends yelled at me to steer with my feet - luge style - I stubbornly experimented with shifting my weight, desperately conjuring sailing season in my mind. I managed to navigate past the tree and concrete, but I now know that toboggans, while zippy, are no substitute for a sailboat.
While I prepare to bid adieu to winter, I’m also contemplating the beginning of International Polar Year, which kicked off March 1, 2007 and will last to March 2009 (so it’s 2 years, really). The geek in me is really excited by this international interdisciplinary research programme which involves scientists from 63 nations studying the environment and peoples of both poles.
So…in the next while, I will try to write about the art of circumpolar communities, nature (I know, sounds weird, but it’ll be fun), classic kitsch and, if I manage to get decent information, a wrap-up of the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale. There will also be more “how-to”s since those are extremely popular.
Drop me a line if there’s anything specific you’d like to read about and I’ll try my best to oblige.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Speaking of sculpting, remember LEGO? Ahh, endless hours of fun building stuff for the train set to run through… I never had the patience to build anything that looked really polished, generally settling for something utilitarian enough to integrate with my other toys. What I remember liking about LEGO was the fact that anything you built stuck together and couldn’t get knocked down by your playmates!
Now, the serious and the curious can both indulge at BrickFest 2007. This gathering for Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) from around the world will be held from March 30 - April 1, 2007 in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Convention Center. Serious convention attendees can register online, and for US$60 get access to all events, seminars and raffle tickets. The registration deadline is March 15.
Curious members of the public (and dilettantes like me) can attend for US$6 on Sunday, April 1, 2007 from 11 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and gawk at the displays made by people who combine creativity, passion and experience, and ask questions. Special US$20 family rate, and children under 3 get in for free. Tickets available at the door.
There are also links from the BrickFest site to several LEGO fan sites.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Attention Star Wars fans on the West Coast! Star Wars artist Lawrence Noble – yes, the guy who created the Yoda figure standing in the courtyard of the Lucasfilm offices in San Francisco – will be sculpting a life-sized bust of Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Star Wars Celebration IV Convention in Los Angeles from May 24 to 28, 2007.
(We’re talking about the original Obi-Wan as played by Alec Guinness here, which I find pretty ironic as he never really liked being identified with the part. RIP Sir Alec – we like your serious work too, not just the space operas.)
Fans can drop by and chat with Noble, and check out the work-in-progress as he works away.
And one lucky person will get to take the sculpture home at the end of the convention… or rather, have the final bronze version shipped to their home.
Details of the convention can be found here.
To those of you who will be attending... good luck! And may the Force be with you!
Posted by Jennifer Yap
The Winterlude ice carving and snow sculpting winners have been announced in Ottawa, Canada! Ice carving (solo category) was won by Ross Baisas of Canada with “Arctic Hunting”. Hitoshi Shimmoto of France came in second with “Water Goddess” and Mark Davis of the US came in third with “Pressure Sensitive”.
Ice carving (pairs category) was won by Junichi Nakamura and Ka Wai Wong (Japan/Canada) with “Queen of the Coral”, followed by Samuel Girault and Robert Burkat (France/Poland) in second place with “Hope” and Hideshi Terada and Takashi Ito, (Canada) with “Friends”.
Snow sculptors from the Northwest Territories won the top prize (no surprise there!), followed by a second-place finish from the team from Nova Scotia and British Columbia in third place.
Check out the above links for photo tips chronicling each stage of design, marking, carving and display of the work.
By the way, it's freezing as I write this, with a storm projected to dump 10 to 15 cm of snow onto Toronto. The city slowed to a crawl during the evening rush today, and I expect the morning commute to be a tedious affair unless the road crews manage a miracle overnight.
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the weekend's toboganning and snowman building with some of the kiddies in my life. The most popular pro tools appear to be scrapers, chisels and chainsaws; I'm going to be using a shovel, a scraper and my mitted hands...
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Ice sculptures seem to be extremely popular these days. From China to Austria and the US, there are competitions and festivals featuring carvings of mythological creatures, winter scenes and even film stars. But I think I can safely say that no one has yet built an ice memorial.
Today, Veterans Affairs Canada and the National Capital Commission unveiled a 26-tonne, 5.5 metre ice replica of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial as part of this year's Winterlude in Ottawa. The ice sculpture is created from 200 blocks of ice by master carvers from Canada, the US and Japan, and serves to mark the upcoming 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the dedication of the restored monument in France, which had been discoloured and eroded by acid rain.
The battle of Vimy Ridge took place in April 1917 and is considered a turning point in Canada’s military history. The Canadians employed detailed communications and planning to take the ridge despite the German army’s geographical advantage. However, this victory in defending nearby Arras left 3,598 Canadian soldiers dead and more than 10,600 injured.
In gratitude, the French gave the lands around Vimy Ridge to the Canadians to build a memorial to the war dead.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
The bust of the Indian prince Maharaja Duleep Singh will be sold at Bonhams on April 19th at 101 New Bond Street, England. It is expected to fetch £25,000 to £35,000.
Fashioned by British sculptor John Gibson in 1859-60, it shows Duleep Singh (1838-1893) in full Sikh regalia. However, his story is a tragic one of loss and of political manoeuvring by the British Government and the British East India Company.
The son of the legendary Lion of the Punjab, Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and Maharani Jind Kaur, the boy-king Duleep Singh was torn from his mother at age 11 and sent into exile in England with the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Although he made his way through fashionable society in England, he was eventually used as a pawn in a conspiracy by the British Foreign Office.
Nowadays, his grave at Elvedon Hall in Norfolk is a popular pilgrimage site for Sikhs.
To read his story, click here.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Quirky news from the ice sculpture world: an ecstatic, if frosty, Marilyn Monroe has beaten a slew of other Hollywood greats to bag the first prize at Europe's top ice-sculpture competition.
The 14th annual ice sculpture competition at Ischgl, Austria had international sculptors submitting entries to the theme of 'Ischgl meets Hollywood'.
Marilyn won for Italians Ivo Piazza and Rainer Kasslatte, beating out Jaws, King Kong, Cindy Crawford, E.T., Moby Dick, Dances with Wolves and Titanic.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
For collectors of transfer-printed pottery: the Transferware Collectors Club (TCC) is offering a new database of over 500 British transfer-printed patterns free to its members. Categories include chinoiserie, British themes, American themes, floral and botanical, romantic themes (after circa 1840), animals, European themes, Indian and Oriental themes, the arts, children's subjects, and miscellaneous. The chinoiserie and British themes categories currently contain the most patterns.
Detailed views of the item, the centre pattern, the border and marks are included, and the database is searchable by pattern (and series) name, maker's and factory name, border and predominant features. Additional information and a list of references are included.
North American membership is currently $30 p.a. and international membership is $40.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Looks interesting: Donatello to Giambologna: Italian Renaissance Sculpture” runs through July 28, 2007 at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).
This exhibit presents sculptures by masters in a range of media from marble and bronze to terra cotta and wood, with the centerpiece being a rediscovered and restored ceramic statue of John the Baptist by Giovanni Francesco Rustici, a Florentine sculptor (b. 1474) and collaborator of Leonardo da Vinci.
Christian themes dominate together with classical subjects, with highlights including:
- The only sculpture in America attributed to Donatello (the glowing marble piece "The Madonna of the Clouds")
- Giambolgna's "Architecture”
- "Virgin and Child" sculptures by Luca and Andrea della Robbia and "Judith" by Giovanni della Robbia
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Quick update on my previous post… Mere days after its official opening, Seattle’s new Olympic Sculpture Park is sparking debate about the meaning of public art.
Claes Oldenburg’s “Typewriter Eraser” bears a plaque with information about the piece and an artist statement. However, it concludes with the line: “Sorry, photography of this sculpture is prohibited”. This has got photographers debating copyright and fair use issues, since the giant sculpture is visible from a highway as well as surrounding public property. Is this a smart marketing move or a vain attempt at control? Read comments here.
Then there is the issue of the public making their own art on park grounds. Some visitors have taken to balancing hundreds of rocks on the park’s new beach – essentially building a sculpture garden within the official sculpture park. These rocks were dutifully knocked back down by Seattle Art Museum workers, to restore a natural looking beach. This obviously synthetic “natural” beach has started a debate about the public use of public space, the definition of just what is a “natural” environment, and the nature of public art. Just what is public space anyway? What is nature? Isn’t art created by the public also public art and not just specially installed pieces by professional artists? For a little more info, click here.
There are also a ton of photos on Flickr – just enter the search terms “Seattle Sculpture Park”.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Olympic Sculpture Park officially opens to the Seattle public on January 20, 2007. Part of America’s Seattle Art Museum (SAM) the 8.5 acre park is bordered by Myrtle Edwards Park, Western Avenue and Broad Street/Pier 70, and stretches down to the water at Elliot Bay. This rehabilitated brownfield houses 22 outdoor sculptures and an exhibition centre on ground that slopes down to the shore.
The Seattle Times seems to be right behind the project and the curious can get all the details and a few panoramas at their site. For those who like DVD extras, there’s a making-of video at Seattle Channel. The cynical amongst you (and I include myself) are hereby warned that the tone of this video is extremely earnest.
Apparently this was the last parcel of undeveloped waterfront land in Seattle, and while the museum, architects and philanthropists were going on about how the park was going to add to the prestige of the city and the cultural life of the city, and how it was rare to find prime waterfront land with unobstructed views of the water, I was quietly thankful for another fact that everyone politely neglected to mention: The park is built on three lots of land joined by walkways that run over train tracks and highways.
I’m happy that the awkward configuration of the land made it unattractive for commercial development or you could bet that it would have been home to office blocks and condominiums a long time ago – pollution or no pollution.
I like the fact that it is free, that they have built a little beach and that chairs are provided for people to move around as they like. I also admire the restraint and modesty of the key donors, Jon and Mary Shirley, in not naming the park after themselves. In an era of runaway marketing where everything is branded or turned into vanity projects, it’s nice to see a name chosen for its appropriateness.
However, the museum is posting admission hours, which means that the park is not a de facto public place. I’m curious to see how things settle in and how the park fits into civic life in the Emerald City.
It will be a long time before I’m in Seattle, so I would be grateful if anyone out there would share your impressions of the park.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Two days after Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario received its Bernini sculpture as a gift, there’s again news in the sculpture world.
This time, the story is about the adverse impact of the red-hot art market on American museums. High prices are driving museums to come up with creative ways to acquire new work, while tempting them to sell masterpieces from their collections.
Private collectors have been increasingly willing to pay astronomical sums for art. Their wallets are sometimes deeper than those of non-profit institutions, even well-endowed ones, thereby starting a trend of museums jointly buying new work.
Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo bought British sculptor Rachel Whiteread's "Untitled (Domestic)" together and will rotate exhibiting the work. You can read the Pittsburg Post-Gazette’s article and view a photo of the sculpture here.
(This follows on last month’s joint purchase of Thomas Eakins' painting "The Gross Clinic" by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, foundations and others. They bought it from the city’s Thomas Jefferson University amid a storm of controversy. Read on for details…)
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Knight contrasts the de-accessioning practices of Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University and Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Both plan to capitalize on the hot art market to fundraise, but instead of divesting themselves of the worst pieces in their collections, they are selling some of the best, most irreplaceable ones.
Thomas Jefferson University managed to sell Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic" to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and a host of partners, meaning that the work remains accessible to the public.
Meanwhile the Albright-Knox Art Gallery plans to send 170 pieces, many of them antiquities, to Sotheby’s in June 2007 where they will most likely be snapped up by private collectors and taken from public view.
Read his article here and shake your head at the power of the almighty dollar.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
This morning, a bronze sculpture of a crucified Christ by 17th-century Italian master Gian Lorenzo Bernini was donated to Canada’s Art Gallery of Ontario by real estate developer and AGO board member Murray Frum.
Regarded as a long-lost masterpiece, this “Corpus” is one of three versions created by the Baroque architect and sculptor, and was the one he made for himself.
Born in Naples, Bernini worked extensively in Rome on parts of St. Peter’s Basicila, and designed the Fountain of the Triton, the Fountain of the Bees, the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) and the Ecstasy of St. Theresa.
The CAD$50 million sculpture is set to be displayed by summer 2007 in Toronto.
You can read the CBC's detailed news article and view a photo of the sculpture here or visit the AGO's blog announcing the donation here.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Since my last post, I tripped over a whole whack of ice carving photos on the web. Here they are – enjoy! (I’ve saved the best (at least in my opinion) for last, so scroll down to the last 2 recommendations if you’re impatient.)
- Ice carving photos from past Saint Paul Winter Carnival in Minnesota
- I don’t think these images are new, but they do give you a good view of the ice sculptures at Sapporo & Harbin.
- What they get up to in Fairbanks, Alaska, and at the Meiji Shrine in Japan.
- The US National Ice Carving Association’s gallery, which shows ice sculptures in various settings besides winter carnivals.
- Now, what I consider the crème de la crème, the grande dame of ice hotels, the Swedish Ice Hotel, featuring two years of stunning photos of every nook and cranny of the hotel. Click around to the other categories.
- And finally… the phenomenal efforts of Big John Reeve at the Alaskan Alpine Club. Here are the pages showing how they built it, them having too much fun with it, and finally when it’s all over. The tone of their comments can be a bit abrasive to some, but the photos are amazing.
If you pick out the little people climbing up, you can see that this thing is pretty much a mini-mountain at a final height of 46.33m (152 ft) high.
I can’t decide if these people would rather build it or climb it – but their enthusiasm is infectious. And I wonder what I’d do if I ever encountered one in real life – stare, climb or run away. But they’re not the only ones who are besotted, as you can see if you visit here.
Posted by Jennifer Yap
Welcome to sculpture and ceramics at Suite101.com! I have a broad interest in the topic and hope you'll join me in indulging our curiosity. First...
A quick look around this winter seems to confirm that nothing is safe from the carver’s knife, chisel, chainsaw, or… um, spatula. Everywhere people seem to be carving ice, snow and various foodstuffs.
In frozen Harbin, the northeastern most city in China, they have just started the 2007 Snow and Ice Festival with 2 sprawling parks. Check out these massive ice replicas of famous landmarks and snow sculptures from a previous year. They’re lit a little garishly, but still impressive.
This has gotten so successful that it has spawned competitors in the capital, Beijing, which appears to have quite a bit of promotion behind it. We’ll have to wait and see if these newcomers succeed in taking down the frontrunner.
Then there is the Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. Sculpted anew every year, this fully functional hotel encourages snuggling. Take these 360-degree tours to see the chilling beauty of the place.
In Iran, a statue of Iranian poet Abolqassem Ferdowsi made of snow joined that of other Persian luminaries on display at the recently ended Sadabad Winter Festival.
And in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jim Victor carved 800 pounds of butter into a likeness of Benjamin Franklin with the Liberty Bell for a farm show. He also has plans to carve cheese in Hidalgo, Texas and chocolate in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the residents of Bassingbourn in the UK have rethought their initial decision to erect a dung sculpture. No, not real dung (phew!), but a bronze sculpture representing dung to commemorate the village’s historic fertilizer industry.