 |
 |
|
|
Reproduced from InContact - Fall 2001
Book Review - On the Perception of Human Form in Sculpture: A History of Figurative Understanding
Review by Sydney Anne Neuwirth
On the Perception of Human Form in Sculpture: A History of Figurative Understanding
by Nathan Cabot Hale
White Whale Press, Armenia, NY (2000)
This intellectually challenging book by artist and educator Nathan Cabot Hale details the history of sculpture from a unique perspective. Hale writes: “I am concerned with the ability of sculpture to express the soul of things . . . that elusive spirit that animates the life of the universe ... what scientist Wilhelm Reich called Orgone Energy."
Hale’s long career, beginning at the end of World War II and continuing to the present, has followed an innovative course that has included painting, sculpting and poetry.
Profoundly influenced by Wilhelm Reich, Hale bases his philosophical approach to sculpting the human figure on the premise that the energetic movements found in all manifestations of life affect the structure of their form and subsequent surface appearance. Reich’s theory that galaxies form through the converging action of two energy streams is the bedrock of Hale’s belief that every natural form originates in energetic patterns present in the galaxy.
Hale also recognizes that an artist’s energetic and emotional state plays a vital role in the reation of sculpture. He feels that energy within the artist flows during the act of fabrication directly from the artist's own being into the corpus of creation. He maintains that artists project their characters on to their work. Any distortion in the character of the artist will surface in his artistic creation. Similarly, Hale feels a successful artist must have the capacity to sense the inherent character of his subject. Such insight is required to fashion an accurate representation.
Hale’s book traces examples of sculpture from prehistoric times to the Twentieth Century, depicting ascending levels of awareness humans had of the world they perceived. He maintains that how we treat the individual, from infancy to old age, is announced by the revealing hands of the artist.
On the Perception of Human Form in Sculpture should provide its readers with an understanding of the strong link between man’s creativity and his core being. The book is unconventional, intellectually stimulatingand ultimately rewarding in shedding light on Hale's unique approach to the creation and appreciation of sculpture
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 American College of Orgonomy Contact us aco@orgonomy.org
