Scultura.org

[mountshang]

Has anyone here ever seen the Italian version of an online sculpture community:

http://www.scultura.org/visualizza/scultore/


It shows 5 pieces from each of 488 living Italian sculptors ! -- and I don't think that they're all young students.

(I can't say that I've yet found a single one that I like -- but I'm still looking)

[Denis]

I agree Mountshang, It took about a hundred or so until I found Riccardo Bremer (Pg 15) ... his portrayal of "Anna" is a magnificent example of "Fine art". Follow the link to his website.
D

[fritchie]

I find quite a few sculptors I like, and I've just jumped quickly through the first 1 1/2 pages. For example, here's
http://www.scultura.org/visualizza/scultore/?&page=21
a randomly chosen "page" from the second group of 100. More or less, five workers are featured per page, and the first person here is Anna Cassarino, who seems to work in a variety of natural materials. Her work probably would be described as somewhat conceptual,, and I find it quite imaginative. Other artists use bronze, wood, ceramic, and various metals. The works cover virtually all fields.

I recommend that people who are inclined, take a look. I haven't tried to investigate the site's motivation or sponsor, but it's quite professionally presented. (Actually, I seem to recall that someone gave us a link to a similar site about 6 - 12 months ago, but I think that was only one region of Italy.) Thanks, Mountshang.

[mountshang]

Originally Posted by fritchie

I seem to recall that someone gave us a link to a similar site about 6 - 12 months ago, but I think that was only one region of Italy.)

Could you direct me to that site as well ?

After spending a few more hours on this one -- I have finally found someone I really like:

http://www.scultura.org/visualizza/scultore/270.html

... but he's been dead for almost 20 years.

Regarding the younger sculptors -- it's mostly a wasteland of the ugly, contorted, and clumsy -- with almost zero
sense of volume and space and rhythm etc.

But, thank God, at least I've yet find one, single bodycaster ! (Italian sculpture may have fallen on hard times -- but at least the
sculptors still have some self respect !)

I'd consider the 20th C. as something of a golden age for Italian sculpture -- with at least dozen sculptors on the level of Martini/Greco/Manzu -- possibly many more (since it's so hard to find them without living in Italy) -- and most of these masters taught in various universities -- so why is the generation that studied with them so bad ?

The clue -- for me -- is found in those who show one good piece among many awful ones --- i.e. they can make good things -- but there's nobody there to notice and reward them for it.

Behind all those great sculptors of the earlier generation -- were great collectors and patrons of fine taste -- collectors who could spot a young, unschooled, renegade like Manzu and elevate him to cultural prominence.

Well.... that's my theory anyway.

[fritchie]

Mountshang, I'll try to locate that site. I believe it covered part of North Italy - Piedmont, Florence, ... ?

[Denis]

In the area of realistic figurative sculpture I don't see a lot of technical skill but there are some gems and Paola Foppiani's piece is one that made me smile.

[dondougan]

For what it is worth, if you don't mind browsing for sculptors a bit farther north — the Finnish Sculptors' Association has some great links to (what else?) Finnish sculptors. A couple of years ago I went through all the two-hundred or so listed — looking at the examples on the association's website and also looking at the sculptor's home page links (those that had their own). Amazed at the overall level of sophistication and variety of sculptural approaches there considering the small population.

Just logged onto the site again to get the link, and discovered they are currently re-vamping it, so many of the Sculptors' Association images are not currently up, though there are lots of hompage links to browse.

http://www.artists.fi/sculptors/eng_sculptors.htm

The homepage can be viewed in English, and many (perhaps half?) of the individual artist sites post in English as well as Finnish.

Have fun,
Don

www.dondougan.com

[Merlion]

Originally Posted by Denis

Paola Foppiani's piece is one that made me smile.

The three figures on the right look like they are dead animals hung up.

[mountshang]

Originally Posted by dondougan

For what it is worth, if you don't mind browsing for sculptors a bit farther north — the Finnish Sculptors' Association has some great links to (what else?) Finnish sculptors.
http://www.artists.fi/sculptors/eng_sculptors.htm

Thanks, Don

I've recently been assembling a site for Finnish figure sculptors of the last hundred years -- and I've become quite a fan:

http://www.ilovefiguresculpture.com/...nd/finland.htm


They've often got that dreamy-timeless-deep feeling of the best Eskimo carvings -- but they also have the European tradition of nude statuary.


The Finnish site you've shown above has been, so far, a big disappointment for me -- it's even worse than the Italian site I just found -- since the poor Finns have swallowed contemporary art ideology hook, line, and sinker.

Here's some art blather taken from one of the artist sites:



One of the problematics that have recently attained heightened actuality in the field of contemporary art has to do with trying to grasp the ungraspable. It feels, right now, increasingly important to reflect on the possibilities of giving precise visual expression to what is vague, unstable, or ambivalent. How could this be realized so that the expression itself would not be insecure and indefinite? Can the artist, in fact, address the state of helplessness without becoming helpless and inarticulate him/herself?"




But I have found a good one -- and curiously -- he's a 53 year old Japanese artist who moved to Finland at the age of 30 -- and who clearly has a strong affinity for the very best of the 20th C. Finnish figurative tradition.

His recent work seems to be getting weaker -- and maybe he's going after the adolescent male fascination with hot lesbian sex -- but there's still some nice figures to be found here:



http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/gorshi/