Sculpture by the Sea

Australia’s largest outdoor show for sculpture has been going on since 1996. Bondi Beach’s Sculpture by the Sea is an amazing gathering of artists from around the country to participate in this long upheld tradition. More companion exhibitions have been sprouting up ever since the popularization of this coastline exhibit. One at Cottesloe Beach and another at Aarhus in Denmark are complementing the movement started by  Sculpture by the Sea.

The large-scale exhibition is an annual event always held during the hot summer months. The event started out as a brainchild of David Handley. Handley saw that there was an outdoor park in Klatovy, Bohemia and he wanted to bring that kind of event to the artists of Australia as well. He was inspired to start a yearly ritual of exhibiting artworks from various parts of Australia so that the whole country could also bask in its own aesthetic evolution and culture. The entire long-haul exhibit spans from Bronte Beach to Tamatama Beach to Bondi Beach. The two kilometer long coastal sculpture exhibition draws in crowds up to half a million people in number. The hundreds of participating sculptors create larger-than life visual attractions for the tourists and locals to view alongside the magnificent seascape scenery of Bondi Beach.

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The Walk of Ideas Sculpture in Berlin

Six sculptures were designed by Scholz & Friends for the 2006 football world cup (FIFA). These six sculptures were set in Berlin and made a part of Germany’s Idea campaign; “Deutschland – Land der Ideen”, and were named “The Walk of Ideas”. They were put up for a certain period of time, but made a big impact on tourists who visited the nation for the big event. Among the sculptures, there were many that conveyed thought, idea and innovation throughout the country’s history. These sculptures cost about 300,000 euros each from start to finish, and were made with a new kind of material called Neopor. The sculptures consisted of these designed subjects: A series of books with names of German poets and writers, a giant tablet signifying the milestone of medicine, a few huge musical notes to symbolize bach, beethoven and the rest of their musical prodigies, a silver car signifying contributions in the automobile discovery, A modernized foot ball boot, and Einstein’s equation: E=mc squared. The feedback from the worldwide community was simply astonishing. The British Times, CNN and many other coverage media companies broadcasted positive clamour for the overall success of the campaign.

They also said that Germany was turning away from pessimism and starting to convey the fact that it was lead by people with vision and a sense of national innovation.The only downside to this series of sculptures was the fact that some people complained that their artistic value was compromised by the “platitudinous advertising”. Examples of these complaints were the fact that the football shoes had stripes that pertained to the Adidas brand and the silver car looked almost exactly like the new Audi model of the time. Some people thought that corporations were behind these seemingly innocent discoveries within the artworks. Despite this, the event was a good thing to have for Germany, and the world appreciated this well-prepared acceptance of the 2006 football world cup. For a land with its history, Germany has really grown into an excellence of creative minds and great thinkers. (Picture Accreditation: Walk of Ideas (Berlin) + Photography by Lienhard Schulz)

An Artist or An Art Company

Sculptors throughout the ages have long since aspired for an artistic status that rivals the great museum-status of the renaissance masters, but what happened to these groups of artists that dared to dream a different direction?

Sculptors throughout the ages have long since aspired for an artistic status that rivals the great museum-status of the renaissance masters, but what happened to these groups of artists that dared to dream a different direction?

Let’s take a look at a case study:

The lladro brothers were tile makers in Valencia, Spain when they began their artistic career as young boys. Two of them were painters and one was a sculptor. With a borrowed capital, they bought a kiln for their small home and started honing their artistic skills in porcelain. Today, the Lladro brothers are the leading company in the industry of fine porcelain, boasting a large porcelain-making city of artists and craftsmen. After acquiring majority stocks in jewelry company, Carrera y Carrera, their company encountered exponential growth in the market share.

Despite a small setback in their attempt to launch a leather products brand, Lladro made its way through every artistic trend that came and went. These days they’re moving into contemporary abstract as a theme for their porcelain masterpieces. With the help of artists like Jaime Hayon, Lladro launched several modern collections like Re-Cyclos (recycled porcelain into abstract creations).

Today, Lladro stands as an inspiration for emerging artists to consider a different path that may sometimes deviate from the stereotypical artist’s mindset, but still allows for the growth of personal style and development.

The State Art and Sculpture Museum in Ankara

Ankara’s Resim ve Heykel Müzesi (The State Art and Sculpture Museum) was a brainchild of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the country. Its semi-regal architecture came from the design of Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu in 1927. The building originally exhibited a lot of 19th century art from the country’s artist community. The modern museum now restored and declared re-open to the public is a heritage center that creates a doorway into Turkey’s past and present artistic personalities. Along with an extended library dedicated to the plastic arts, the museum also features spaces where guest exhibitions can be held as well.

The restoration of the building gave it prime conditions to create a sound environment for the preservation of every artwork. The architecture and settings prevent problems due to temperature, humidity and the like. Aging damage can also be repaired within the museum grounds at a special restoration area specifically tasked for this purpose. The entire complex is laden with controlling systems that also signal for fires. Workshops that the museum currently offers are vast in number and are mainly about sculpture, painting, traditional printing, ceramics and the ornamental arts. The level of workshops may also vary, as people have demanded to create two levels of professional and beginner.

The Turkish museum holds many multi-cultural and multi-platform exhibitions in cooperation with foreign countries. Three of its galleries are reserved for periodical exhibits to showcase he work of foreign artists, and permanent pieces from the Turkish corner will be traveling to be displayed in other countries as well.