In the body mind has become actually
incarnate; there purpose, emotion, and thought have taken shape and
manifestation. And this shape, through its appeal to the amorous,
parental, and gregarious feelings, and through the complete organization
of its parts, has no rival in loveliness. What wonder, therefore, that
sculptors have always thought of their work as simply one of mere
imitation of nature, the divine. Yet in sculpture, as in the other
arts, the imitative process is never slavish, but selective and
inventive. For the body is interesting to the artist only in so far
as it is beautiful, that is, so far as it has charm and exhibits the
control of mind; some of its details and many of its attitudes, having
no relation to either, are unfit for imitation; and, although inspired
by his model, the sculptor seeks to create out of his impressions a
still more harmonious object.
To give to his material the semblance of the body beautiful is the
technical problem of the sculptor. Although this semblance is primarily
for sight, it is not exclusively so. For in sculpture shape is not
two-dimensional, but plastic; and for the full appreciation of
plasticity, the cooperation of touch is required. Moreover, not only
the perception of the form, but also a large part of the appreciation
of the charm of the body depends upon touch. Of course we do not
ordinarily touch statues, but they should make us want to touch them,
and we should touch them--in the imagination.
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