Monday, September 5, 2011

Some 'Lost' Old Art

AND A CURIOUS MISTAKE



This piece was the central attraction at a show I had way back when, at the Simard & Halm gallery (which no longer exists). It was during a troubled and somewhat desperate time for me, and when it was sold I was only too glad to get the money; I didn't bother asking who the buyer was (I suppose I just assumed I could always ask later, only the gallery soon went out of business and I gradually lost contact with Mssrs. Simard and Halm), nor did I remember to document it; so all I have are these low-quality images from a magazine review. Which is why I say it's 'lost'.

It's a kind of temple-mandala-stupa with four sides, with three of its sides showing images with dreamlike -- or nightmarish -- themes: St. Anthony assailed by devils; a nude and rather voluptuous St. Margaret with a dragon; and a toy airplane in both the actual (sculpted) and dream (painted) versions -- and the fourth side opened up to reveal a hollow interior in which hangs what might be a skinned carcass (not shown in these photos); all very Vajrayana Buddhist if you ask me, despite the presence of Christian saints.

What I only just realized today is that the figure of St. Anthony (right panel in the first photo) is mislabeled as 'Jacob' -- I literally just realized the error as I was preparing to upload these pictures. Given that the Temptation of St. Anthony is a major theme in Christian art, the story of Jacob is also famous, and I am well familiar with both, it is strange that I should have conflated the two. But then, as I stated at the beginning, this all happened during a period in which I was beset with issues.

One last thing -- it was never quite finished. I was seriously pressed for time, and in the mad rush to get the piece into a presentable state for the gallery opening, I had to cut a few corners; that is why the base and the plaques bearing the sub-titles are so plain and simple, in contrast to the rich ornamentation in the rest of the piece. Had I had more time to work on it, everything would have been as elaborately finished as the main 'building'. In fact, I was still touching up the St. Margaret panel when guests started arriving. Later the curator chucklingly told me that some of them noticed the paint was still wet.

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