Validity of Historical Sculpture

Hand-colored lithograph by Day & Son. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

            While still wrapped up in the continuous desire to depart from the past and define itself as a new age, the 21^st century must grapple with the precedents set and philosophies solidified by past movements just as much, if not more so, than previous centuries. To effectively reconcile ourselves with the past, we must not simply disregard it, or look upon it with the removed, passive eye afforded to us by our position in time. We must empathize with the struggles and uncertainties express by those who lived through historic events, as often the struggles of their day are in fact still our own today.

            Thus, past sculpture should not be looked at as something that is invalidated by its place in history, made irrelevant and trivial by our ability to see with historical hindsight. For example, the dynamism expressed by Italian Futurist sculpture may seem to us as ineffective since the sculptures remained static objects. This seems a fair evaluation in our current time, since kinetic sculpture and high-speed transportation are commonplace by now, but we cannot discredit the desire to represent speed in these sculptures as they were some of the first to venture into such territory. The 21^st century must understand that sculpture as an art object is often inseparable from the circumstances in which it was made before passing judgement.

            This is a double-edged sword in many ways. Some work may strive to put forth objective, timeless forms that are perceived to be standards for aesthetic beauty, exemplified by the long tradition of figure sculptors that seek to perfect ideal proportions in line with great classical works. Inversely, some work may be very intentionally tied to a historical event, whether made to commemorate or as a reaction, and is meant to be seen in a historical light. Unfortunately, whatever the original intentions, sculpture often remains fixed in a historical moment. As modern observers, we must take this into account when judging a work, which may result in varying interpretations. A meaning derived by someone who looks at a work without historical context could be drastically different than a meaning derived from that history. This alone proves the importance that past work has to the present, as it presents opportunities to think about work objectively without history as well as subjectively in historical contexts.

            To illustrate this point, imagine a car. A simple mode of transportation, a box on wheels that carries a few people, made largely of metal: this is an objective view of the car and it’s intended function. We can begin to place it in time by looking at recorded facts about it, manufacturing date, company, etc. Let’s suppose it’s an open cab cruiser from about 1938, vaguely identifiable by a large radiator grill, rounded cowling around the wheels, and running boards to either side. Still, a rather objective view, it is simply an old car. Adding a singular fact can drastically change perception. While many might not react to how the car looks at first, revealing the car was part of a Nazi motorcade through Munich drastically changes how the object is viewed. It does not change the object, only the world’s perception of it.