• Crowds of Steel or Burlap Bodies: The Disturbing Sculptures of Abakanowicz – Daria Meoli

    Date posted: June 15, 2006 Author: jolanta

    Crowds of Steel or Burlap Bodies: The Disturbing Sculptures of Abakanowicz

    Daria Meoli

    In
    Coexistence.
    Magdalena Abakanowicz sheds a beautiful tear over gang mentality. This powerful and surprising exhibit marks yet another evolution for the rebellious Polish artist. Born to aristocratic parents in 1930 and raised on an estate east of Warsaw, Abakanowicz came of age during the German occupation of Poland; the specific malady of this time and place informs much of her work.
     
    Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bambini (1988-99): 40 Bronze Figures [[Source site for image: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Abakanowicz/aba5.htm]]

    Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bambini (1988-99): 40 Bronze Figures [[Source site for image: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Abakanowicz/aba5.htm]]

     
    The show’s
    eponymous piece consists of a group of 14 burlap and resin figures standing
    between six and seven feet tall, and arranged in a sloppy, pyramid-shaped line.
    The figures, depicted as human bodies with animal heads, are all heading in the
    same direction, like a flock of migrating birds, or a group of cloaked
    executioners; and they follow a leader who is dwarfed in size by his followers.
    In Dancing Figures,
    by contrast, Abakanowicz preserves the human figure with much less distortion.
    This group of six burlap and resin figures are light, graceful, and apparently
    whimsical. They are making strides in a careless flow. The bodies, headless,
    look as if they are trying and failing to connect their hands. While this piece
    is decidedly less ominous and more utopian than the others in the exhibition,
    it is still relevant that the suggested motion of the sculptures indicates that
    the dancers could be running away.

     

    Another
    notable part of the exhibition is Stainless Embryology
    style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’>, consisting of six stainless steel
    pieces. These lead-colored sculptures are shaped more like coffins than wombs
    or cocoons. They are a departure from the Embryology
    style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’> Abakanowicz created between 1978
    and 1981: the precursor was a “morass of 600 hand-stitched elements made of
    burlap, cotton, gauze, hemp, nylon, and sisal, shaped like boulders, stones,
    and pebbles." Twenty years ago, the artist broached her theme of dead
    bodies in a pile by using organic materials; today, the steel Embryology
    style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’> is a synthetic condition created
    by man.

     

    The most
    awe-inspiring piece of the exhibition is Marching Shadows
    style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’>. Arranged on a rooftop patio above
    West 57th Street, this is a group of 20 headless bronze figures that appear to
    be walking slowly and deliberately toward the viewer. Their motion feels
    awkward and tense. And, as is common with Abakanowicz’ group sculptures, each
    eight and a half foot figure has its own bulk, line, color, and texture. The
    figures are out of step with one another, but, as with Coexistence
    style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’>, they are moving in the same
    direction. Marching Shadows is meant to be a monument to victims of state terrorism
    in Argentina. Abakanowicz intends to represent foreboding crowds of faceless
    soldiers of the state and, because of her time spent behind the Iron Curtain,
    this is an image that she can empathize with and express effectively.

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