Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Or are you just terrified to see me?

Sculptors are famous for thinking in 3D - with most of them it’s what they do best - so when you see a sculpture that looks comical from one angle or another, the chances are that it’s intentional. This is why the story about the sculpture of William Rolleston that stands (hopefully) outside the Christchurch Museum always rang true. The word was that the sculptor had no time at all for his subject and arranged the sheaf of papers the great man was holding at groin height to raise his membership in the embarrassment stakes. We saw a significantly more sinister riff on this idea in Soho Park in London. Sculptures of naked men stretching over to pat naked young boys on the head is a high risk venture at the best of times. Add rope and you’re just asking for it. And that’s what sculptor Bruce Denny did.