'Sideshow' - Bruce Arnott at the AVA
by Paul Edmunds
At first glance, Bruce Arnott's work comes across as a daring mixture of formal austerity and whimsical humour. On looking further, though, one sees that these two notions are not so clearly delineated or mutually exclusive; that there is a light touch brought to a serious undertaking and that there is a satisfying geometry underlying Arnott's delightful images. Which is not to say that I enjoyed 'Sideshow' unreservedly, but there is more than enough to justify Arnott's reputation as a well-known sculptor and academic.
A number of "themes" underscore the show, appearing in both ink drawings and bronze sculptures. Arnott reveals his interest in pre-Classical Greece in three drawings, Theseus, Minos and Minotaur. The small drawings depict simple side-on views of the mythical characters. Theseus and Minotaur crouch almost in supplication, while Minos parades upright, kicking his leg out before him. Arnott's ink line is shaky in quality but delineates shape with great confidence and precision. The figures are composed of simple, flat geometric forms, and all face the same way, suggesting some kind of decorative procession. Nearby, the three find themselves arranged in a bronze assemblage. Minos leads the charge, striding out ahead; Theseus stoops behind him, and the Minotaur crouches even lower at the back, the whole looking something like a depiction of human evolution.
The Cretan myth of Theseus also provides the subject matter for Minoan Princess, Athenian Prince. Minoan Princess, her arms aloft and breasts emphasised, recalls many similar Neolithic figures, the most famous being the Venus of Willendorf. Said to have been produced by early Neolithic societies, these figures apparently arose from peaceful, agrarian, matriarchal cultures. Whether or not Arnott considers this important, his apparent reverence for pre-Classical culture suggests that he is not subverting any mythology or history, perhaps instead noting the endurance of its symbols. This figure is flanked by an equally fertile prince and both of them appear to be on wheeled structures, as if they have been wheeled out for the occasion. Interestingly, these wheels don't appear in the related drawings.
Arnott's small figures are problematic in some ways. While one can appreciate his lightness of touch and their fine finish, it is difficult to ignore the way they reveal their construction. It is clear that Arnott has made them from conveniently sized wax sausages and spheres, and while this relation to the hand is warming, it seems too easy a solution. The size of the resultant figures is also problematic. They can't help but refer to children's action figures, and although this is an interesting reference it falls flat on figures like the Jury with Clown/Chef/Crocodile, which are just a little too close to Smurf-size.
Another area of interest for Arnott is Central and West African sculpture. This is most evident in his series of bronze heads. Some of these also make reference to pre-Classical Greece, but more generally to Europe. Head 4: Soothsayer and Head 3: Soothseeker are not placed next to one another but it is impossible to ignore their complementary forms and concepts. Each is approximately life-size and shaped like a sphere with the lower half chamfered and elongated, not unlike the head of an artist's wooden figure model. The eyes are reduced to tiny, simple raised rings touching each other. They recall the cowry eyes of West African masks.
Soothsayer has a spiral for a tongue, ready to unfurl like a party whistle with the breath of speech. He is crowned with shallowly inscribed astrological symbols. Breaking with the strict frontal symmetry of the two, Soothseeker has a funnel protruding where an ear might be. Head 2: Icarus has a similar protuberance, but this does not disturb his symmetry. A propeller rises from his crown, and at the back of his head there is a small fin. This figure makes a witty reference to the lost-wax method ordinarily used to cast bronze sculptures. The surface of Head 1: Green Man is only disturbed by thin inscriptions of foliage around the mouth. "Green Man" is the name used to describe the foliage covered heads which are best known from the capitals of Romanesque columns. This image is also speculated to have originated in Neolithic times.
Having previously known Arnott's large public sculptures, it is interesting to see smaller, more intimate works and begin to join the dots, as it were. European culture has many of its roots in pre-Classical Greece, and the juxtaposition of this with Arnott's African references provides the context for him to invoke the mythical themes he does. His lightness of touch and whimsy are enjoyable, as are the underlying geometrical structures. I wasn't entirely convinced however, and feel some of the works, particularly the smaller ones, could use more consideration.
Until October 13
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