Random Axial Sculpture in an Historical Context:
Alberto Giacometti's Multi-Position Sculpture
Derek Kerslake
July 1999.
Illustrations:
Fig. 1. Head/Landscape. Plaster,1930-31, 27 inches longest dimension.
Fig. 2. Disagreeable Object. Wood, 1930-31, 8.5 inches long.
During Giacometti's surrealist years, he produced several sculptures in plaster and wood. Exploring a variety of innovative ideas, "Head/Landscape", fig.1, is the clearest example of a sculpture the artist intended to be viewed in more than one orientation.
In her essay, "No More Play," Rosalind Kraus discusses the innovative shift Giacometti made from the predominantly vertical orientation of pre-Giacometti sculpture to a horizontal axis. The dual nature of Head/Landscape is such that when "...rotated onto the horizontal plane, the face resembles a landscape" (Kraus, 75). She sees the vertical position as,". . . less like a head in rotation than . . . a mask" (75). It is clear from fig.1, even without the benefit of a second illustration, that Head/Landscape is a two position sculpture. The title also makes it clear Giacometti intended the work to be interpreted differently in each position. Fig.2, "Disagreeable Object to be Discarded", can be imagined in a different position but the artist gave no clue in his title and Kraus makes no mention of this work's dual or multi-position possibilities.
After 1935, Giacometti left surrealism, turning to figurative work, where he remained for the rest of his career. He did not pursue mult-position work after 1935.
Head/Landscape was made from plaster; its whereabouts, unknown.
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BronzeSite Alberto Giacometti. Modified 25 February 2003.© File.01.745.4469.03
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