by popular request: more on Hepworth

I won't go on at great length about her there is so much information on the web if you're interested, apart from to say that the main thing I like about the work of Barbara Hepworth (January 1903 – May 1975) is (and I'm putting this in quotes because they aren't my words) her "sculptural interplay between mass and negative space" which she developed during her time at the first art college she attended in 1920; thirty years on, she was still using the central void to great effect as well as her sculpture, I find her paintings and sketches interesting

(note the "interplay" between "mass" and "negative space"!)

I'm not so keen on the following piece, which is in the garden of the museum in St Ives, but what I do like about it are the colours of the bronze. . .

the next one, Sphere with Inner Form, I do like, because of the roundness of the sphere and again the colour of the metal
(altho the I must confess I don't like the "inner form"!)

now, look really carefully - in the background of that photo, can you see the slabs with holes (to put it bluntly)? I wonder if the following sketches were Hepworth working her ideas up for that piece (Walk Through)
and here it is, Walk Through (but not photographed by moi in her garden, as you can see):
and the following sketch shows more of these ideas:

Abstraction: Squares and Circles

now I promised man that I'd find a photo of one of her strung pieces, which in a way remind me of his dreamcatchers. . . so here it is:

7 comments:

Spadoman said...

That is quite the art. Circles and squares, spheres, elipticals, all on top of one another, asymmetrical. I like most of it. Art objects that large might need to be felt. I'd like to run my hands on the edges of the circles.
The webbing on the end is sort of a dreamcatcher. Thanks for mentioning mine,(and the one you linked to I liked a lot!). I have had thoughts, and still look today, for a large natural opening in a tree, somewhere in the woods. I'd like to weave a larger than life natural dream catcher into a tree, or trees, that are still standing and living in the woods.
Some day soon, I will make a dream catcher for you. I am still not sure how to proceed with it, the colors, shape, etc. It takes time.

Peace.

mig said...

The round one in two halves is winking : )
I like the sphere with inner form a lot. Reminds me of a chinese ball but at the oposite end of a scale from tiny detail - huge simplicity.
The dream catcher one is interesting. I wonder why she chose that shape for the outer frame.
Oh and I forgot to say, I love the photo of the mirror at her workshop.

I, Like The View said...

mig oooh, dragon balls are beautiful! they remind me of temari!

man they are interesting aren't they. . . I like your living dream catcher idea. . . what about this for tree art

see, this is like looking around an art gallery with friends, having lovely chats - wonderful!!

Mel said...

Oh......are you allowed to touch? Cuz I'd wanna touch. It all looks so silky smooth.

The photo with the flower in front--is way cool. There's one I'd like to touch and run my hand over. And I like that the 'walk through' is just a glimpse behind it.
But it's the one with the laces that grabs me and pulls me in. Seriously...

I really, really hope a tree avails itself to Spadoman--what a cool thing to stumble upon while out for a walk in the woods. I wonder if one could be made in the branches of a tree--so that as the tree grew, the webbing became a part of the tree.......

.......whoa......

I, Like The View said...

talking of trees to lace up, imagine creating something around this sculptural piece (started in 1977. . . trees take years to grow!)

(-:

katherine. said...

I've lost my dreamcatcher somehow. It was all natural products...no plastic et cetera. Spadoman's is way cool...and I love that sculpture too

and the ash domes are intriguing

Mel said...

Whoa......now how cool is that?! :-)