Date: 2017
Author: Martim Brion
“The Sculptor usually abstracts the three-dimensional form, and abstracts from colour (…)”
– E.H. Gombrich
The space in question, the atrium of the Museu Nacional da Historia Natural e da Ciência in Lisbon, is to date the biggest space within which I have had the pleasure or the challenge to integrate a sculpture. It has a very high ceiling at the centre (where the sculpture will be placed) surrounded by pillars, and thus a sort of division of the space takes place, where the ceiling diminishes to half the height, even though it is the same atrium. The focus here was on how to apply my practice and interests as an artist to this specific place, making something of interest to me intellectually, which would relate well with the space in question and the flow of people through this atrium, as it is a live space used by thousands of people monthly.
When dealing with this kind of location, one needs to present something which integrates into it effectively; of course, this is the case for any space one presents work in or makes it for. But in smaller spaces, one can afford to focus more on the work itself and discount the impact of its location, as it will have a lesser effect, since the proportion of the location to the impact of the work is more or less equal. In a large space, one has to equal this impact – space and work need to be equally impactful, but to do this, a further problem or proclivity presents itself. Scaling up a work or making a sculpture of a bigger scale requires simplification (i.e., Richard Serra) or a further division of the work into smaller parts and deep-seated planning and time to achieve a complicated set of designs within the sculpture (i.e., Gates of Paradise by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti). Here, it is also important to study architecture and its elements, as with problems of scale and flows of people, architecture is key.
In this case, a simplification was in order, as going for the second option would have required time which I did not possess; furthermore, I believe that in relation to my work at this moment of its development, it is what would work best. The scaling up did not take on the space at its dimensional level, as this would entail too much cost and perhaps would be perceived as too bold a move. Therefore, the levelling up of the presence of the sculpture towards this wide space was made using colour (4 different colours) and expanding the base of the sculpture, spreading it out and also having it high enough to be seen from above, but only just. Thus, the height, even though not extreme, has an impact, and the base, together with the colour, completes the composition. The shape is also of importance (as all these elements have always been in my practice), but here it takes a more architectural tone, boxes, yes, but boxes which could be perceived as a model for something bigger and livable or not.
The work aims to engage with the space in a meaningful way, asserting its own personality and image. It does this not in an antagonistic way but by using the features of the space where it is positioned: a real sculpture, which could also embody a study of a still-bigger object. Thus, space, dimensionality/scale, colour, material, and form are key in this composition, together with people who will walk around and through it, making it the most interactive object, if one can call it that, I have made so far.
Martim Brion 