Could you say a few words about your final presentation of works at Emerson College?
It was quite an experience to see all my work, produced over a period of three years, together in one room. I could see my sculptures for the first time in relation to each other. And I saw certain themes running through my work. Especially with the animals. It was like being in front of a kind of explanation for me. Because in these three years of study I just followed my enthusiasmn and my feeling, without looking for any meaning.
The meaning came just at the end of my studies. All these animals together were able to show me my present position on this path of being an artist and they gave me some clear indication for my future.
It became more clear to me how life is able to create perfect proportion.
As an artist you must have to try and find a connection to these life forces. That is what distinguishes us from just being a creature or a co-creator of this world!
Can we speak about the little bird ?
I carved this bird at Emerson about one year ago, and I left it for dead on my desk for months.
Until I found a screw driver handle with a perfect shape to make the legs of the bird.
So I asked Rudolf if it would be possible to sacrifice one precious tool in the name of art. And for a man who sacrificed his life for art a little screwdriver was a small price to pay!
And of course immediately the bird with its new pair of legs became immediately more happy and elegant.
I did the first base in a very complicated way and the journey my eys had to take to go from the bottom to the top was too complicated for a sculpture like this. So here in Italy I changed the base by using a black wooden cone, as you can see in the photograph.
Now tell me a little about the fish
The most precious thing of this sculpture is the base!
It took me three times the time I used for making the fish!
First I started to do the fish in sandstone, but I chopped it into two pieces.
And then with a deep feeling of frustration for the loss I started again with a piece of marble.
I did it compleetly by hand – and it took me a very long time to finish it. Especially because close to the tale, the stone is very thin. So I worked with the hammer, but in a very gentle way!
That meant I had to carve very slowly!
But it was very interesting to see how it is possible to change a very deep feeling of frustration into a feeling of love for something.
And it is a good exercise, because you realize how important it is to take your time to do something.
The interesting thing is that some people, when looking at the sculpture saw a fish and some others saw a bird , depending on where they positioned the head.
And I was very happy about that fact, because in the end that meant that this sculpture is just a movement in space. If you catch this fact, then you can see how life moves independantly of its manifestations.
To see more work from 2010 Exhibition click on the links below:
Emerson Visual Arts
Andrea Donadoni