On My Emotional Approach to Making Sculptures Referring To Humans

Leonardo, Vol. 12. pp. 213-214. Pergamon Press Ltd. 1979. Printed in Great Britain. ON MY EMOTIONAL APPROACH TO MAKING SCULPTURES REFERRING TO HUMANS Franco Adami* with Ben Chehida** 1. My quest as a sculptor is dominated by my wish to communicateartistically testimonies of humancharacteristicsand of aesthetic qualities that I value. My intention is that my works serve not to produce responses of the intellect but of the senses of sight and touch. I find that there is a strong tendency among numerous visual artists in Western industrial societies toward a more rational approach to the making of their works. I do not sympathize with this tendency, and my aim is to demonstrate with my sculptures the superiority of the subjective, emotional approach [1-31. I call my approach ‘therebirth of the real’and chose for my materials marble and cast bronze, which I regard as noble substances. By the ‘real’ I mean only that which deals directly with human beings, that is, their appearance , characteristics and behavior. I do not consider works of the nonfigurative or ‘abstract’ kind asconcerned with the ‘real’. I have ‘dialogues’with my sculptures, however I do not believe that viewers need to resort to a process of interpretation to understand their messages. I have not made any tests to confirm my belief. 2. The three views of my sculpture entitled ‘Developement *Sculptor, 250 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris, France. **Philosopher, 250 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris, France. (Based on a translation from the French by Dominique Renoult) (Received 5 July 1978) germinal’ (Fig. 1) led my friend Ben Chehida and me to compose the following three-part poem: For the view shown in Fig. 1. (center): ‘Fugacious but surprise of discovery/The thrilling moment of emergence/That we await and apprehend/Or the Genesis of an unforeseeable essence/I am the enigma of the Possible/The unfathomable mystery of life:/The birthgiving beam that radiates/And streaks through the trembling Tissue/Of the Infinite.’ For the view shown in Fig. 1. (center):‘Fugacious but Present/Deep in the unknown/I bear the latent potentiality/Beneath the folds of a strange novelty/The tremor of being/At the threshold of existence. ‘Imminent hatching/Of individualized forms/ Rythmical innervation/That plays arpeggios/On the abrupt thrusts/Modifies the textures/And their complexity:/lt is the arrival to being.’ For the view shown in Fig. 1 (right): ‘Marvelous birth/Of differentiated things/Of which the spasmodic convulsions/And the overcome obstacles/Let spring forth/From the mountain of origins/The Source of life/And suddenly smoothe down/In the protective biosphere/Of Security found once more.’ My idea of the ‘rebirth of the real’ applies not only to my sculpture but also to my hope that the ‘real’will free humans of their mistreatment of each other. The message intended by the piece ‘Les Deux faces’ (Fig. 2, cf. color plate) is the need to become free of hypocrisy and by ‘Molosse’(Fig. 3)is a plea for the avoidance of the horror of violence. ‘La Pensee dans le visage’ (Fig. 4) is a head with a form descending from its forehead to signify a growth of the intellect while attempting to get rid of Fig. 1. ‘LeDevelopement germinal’ (three views), Turkishpinkonyx,70 x a m ,1975.(Photo:Ortrud,Paris) (Collection of P. Trequesser, Paris) 213 214 Franco Adami and Ben Chehida FI (Photo: Ortrud, Pans) (Collection of J. P. Cautru, Orleans, France) oppressive conditions of life. The piece is meant to call attention to the arrogant and despotic misapplications of reason that sacrifice the individuality and diversity of humans. References 1. J. Pietrobelli, Franco Adam a la Medicea, L'Eru. p. 32 (No. 103. 1976). 2. J. Pietrobelli. Owra di Franco Adami. in Pitrori e Scultori (Leghorn, Italy:'Domenici, 1977) pp. 114-1 16. 3. C. Gleiny, Franco Adami-Courbes voluptueuses, Arts er lettres, p. 15 (No. 181, 1978). Fig. 4. 'LaPenser dans le visage' Belgian black marble, 150 x 90 x 60 cm, 1973. (Photo: Ortrud, Paris) (Collection of A. UsherAssouan , Abidjan, Ivory Coast) ...