A Pair of 1970’s Sculptures, Geneva, Switzerland

Biomorphic Sculpture, 1970’s, Switzerland.
Courtesy of Rayon Roskar.

Steel Sculpture, 1970’s, Switzerland.
Courtesy of Lost City Arts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pair of sculptures shares the same creative principle in large exploring the form of abstraction. They are also from the same period, 1970’s, and the same region, Geneva, Switzerland.

However, the juxtaposition of the two sculptures reveals a very interesting visual language of opposites; while the Steel Sculpture poses a solid shape piercing the space, refusing any traces of human hand (in a way this is what humans do, removing the trace of hand-made but seeking for a machine-like perfection in the modern world), the Biomorphic sculpture is burgeoning from inside into an organoid shape, the abstract form originating from an observation of nature. The traces of carving proudly but present the hand of creation.

Biomorphic Sculpture (detail), 1970’s, Switzerland.
Courtesy of Rayon Roskar.

 

Interestingly enough, the seemingly aggressive Steel Sculpture embraces the void within whereas its biomorphic counterpart holds solid mass.

In this case of these two sculptures, the antithetical nature and yet the creative principle within in turn ties them into a bigger idea of artistic creation.

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The Book of Anonymous Design

¹brand

noun \ˈbrand\

: a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name

: a particular kind or type of something

: a mark that is burned into the skin of an animal (such as a cow) to show who owns the animal

The world seems crazy about brands or branding. Not to mention the craving for the “named” brands over “no name” brands in a market place, the notion of brand, or branding, is deeply penetrating into our daily life.

Art world is one of the places where the notion of brand plays a powerful role. People seem to feel more trusting when there is a name attached to an object. Of course it is understood and even forgiven when old stuff doesn’t have a name (of designer, creator, producer, etc.). But when it comes to a modern era certain information is expected, like who made this, how he/she made this, why he/she made this, and so on. However, in reality not all modern objects can have a clear label attached to them. Are they, if they don’t have name with them, not noteworthy or less noteworthy?

Many eminent people and their works are recorded in the history. In many cases, however, people invert this logic. In other words, if there is no name left in the history it is not important. This is the premise that I want to re-evaluate.
There were so many creative minds and still are. The creativity is smeared into all creation, in different level, whether the artist is known or unknown. And at some point all creators have their names. It just that we don’t know it now, or just yet.

So this venue, the Book of Anonymous Design, is dedicated to the objects of “no name brands” that are underrated, under-appreciated, and sometimes forgotten. Do you want the name of artist? Do you need a brand to appreciate the beauty? Here it is; these are by “nemo.”

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