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limitedbut representative numbcr of works from withinthe developmenlofmodcrnsculpture.Therefore,the methodusedhasmorelodo withthe process of thecase· slud
)'
thanwith Iheproceduresof
;l
historiealsurve)'. Thesecase·studi
es
arein tended lodevelop agroup
of
con·ceptsthat isnot onlyrevealingof thesculpluralissucs
im
ol
ved
inthe particular worksinqueslion
bul
ean
31so
begeneralized loap
pl
ylo
Ihe widel"
bodyof objectsthal form the historyofscu!plurein thepast
ce
nlur
y.
It
is
rn
}'
hopeIhat
th
egains
lO
be derived from ade·tailedexamination
of
asingle work,
01"
g
roupof
related scu!ptures,
will
off·setthelossesthis hasmeant for a ",holl}' inclusive historiea! survey.Therearernanysculp. tor
s,
sorne
of
whorn have produ
ce
d work ofhigh quality. who havebeen leftoutof Ihisle
xt
,while olhers,sorneof lesser merit,
ha,
'ebeenincluded. Guiding
Ih
ese choices wasadecisiontoaddress
lh
eprimar)' issuesthaldislin. guish modern
sc
ulpturefromthework thatcomesbefore it.So,forexample,the
co
nlinuation intothetwenlielh
ce
nluryof atraditional treatmentof
Ih
ehuman
fi¡:wr
eisnolgivenaplaceinlhesepag
es
alon
gs
ide¡heolher mo\'e· menlsthalare discu
ss
ed. Bulitismyeontention¡halthe questions that bearon a deeisionto depiclthe
human
form, whether
by
means ofa primitivist,gOlhic,
or
archaicvocabulary,are nolcentrallo
th
e subj
ec
Iof Ihishook. There
wiII
be readerswho
wiII
seeIhisastoo
na
rro\\-'
aconceplion ofmodern
Sc
ulplure. However,thecomplex manifeslations
of
amodernsensibility
are
whal1 haveundertaken
to
explore. And
it
is my hope thal the issuesse! forth inthe
follow
inglext
will
act as a se! of rneaning·fuiprobesin
lo
the largemass
of
sculpturalproduction through which thissensibility
ha
sheen given
formo
•
6
•
r),.
1
Néu"'atlve
une:
the
questÍon
01
the
Gates
01
He"
•
October,
Eisenstein's
epic
film
of
the
Soviet
Revolution
,opens with a
shotof
a
statue,harshly
lit
against
a
dark
sky.It isa statue
of
Nicholas
n,
theCzar
of
Russia
(
fi
g.
3),
which the film·maker
explores detailby
detail,
building it
¡ntoan
ima
ge
ofimperial power
.
In
the
scenethatfollowsIhis
beginnin
g,a
crowdrushes into the
square
whichthe
monument
occupies.
Tying
ropes
around
it,
theinsur
gentstopple the
statuefrom
its
mount
,
performin
g
an
act
by
whichEisenstein symbolizesthe
destructionof
theRomanov Dynasty.In
that
firstsceneEisensteinsets
upthe
two poles
of
his film:
the
two
opposingmetaphors
that
establish
both
his
analysis
of
histol"y
and thespace
in
which
it
occurs
.TItecrowd und
the
realspace
throu
gh
which
it
moves
are
askedlo represent
the hero
of
the Revolution; while
7
 
th
e
enem)"
of
th
al
Revolulion is castas aseriesofideolo. gies andf
or
malspaces. cachone symbolizedby
me
ansoí sta
lu
ary.In
th
efilm'sre·creat
io
noí
¡h
e strug
;:
:d
eloreta
in
imperialpower
in
Ru
ss
ia,sculpluresaremade inlo s
ur
·rogaleaclors: and
Ih
ere isconSiSle
n!
identifica
ti
o
ll
of
pani
culariconswith parlicul
ar
politic
alvi
ews. Acompe
lli
nginstance oílhis
id
cnt
ifi
ca
li
on acc
ur
swhen Ei
se
nst
ei
nintroduces
th
e
f i
~ur
e
oíKerensk)'.
Ih
e elecled
Pr
es
id
enlof Ihe
Pr
ov
isionalCovernmentwhohas
<lS
'
sumeddictatorialp
o""e
r
s.
AsKerensk)'stands
al
th
edoor.
....
·ayloIhethroneroom
oí
lh
eWinlerPalaee.
Ei
se
nste
ill
cutsbackandforlh ht:tweenshols ofhimaudsholsofa peacock.Si
gn
ifi
can
ll
)',
Ihe objecllo whi
dl
Kerensk
)'
iscompared isnol alive animal,
1I0r
is
jtasta
li
crepresenla· tian made
01
china,sa)',orlapestry.The pcacock
EiM!n
.sleinshows,inawhiroí
~
I i t t
crin
;!,
metallicplumaj!e.is
8
3.
Stl'Ú
Eis
tluuin
(
1898
-
1
9-18)
:
OC
l
olJer
(slilf),
1927
-
28
.
(Pltoto,
CoU
rftSr
film
Sf
ill
s
Alrhht.
T
ht
Mustum
01
II
fotltrn ,4rl,
Ntw
)'ork)
,
111
automaton-an
inlricatelyconstruetedmechanicalhird.
AmI
whalEisenslcin wa
nl
stheviewer to sec,
in
Ihespace of Ihnl
nn
shof
Ih
ebird'sprecisio
ni
stmo
\"
ement. isnot
nn
im
a,g-e
ofpersonalvanjlybutIhesymbolofan im· po\'erished, outmodedralionalism.Asanautomaton.the bird reprcsenlstherationalisl
ar
gumentabout,heCreat Chain
al
Bein;!,whereCod as
Ih
e
Fir
slCauseof
Ih
euni
ve
rse\\'as l
ik
enedlo
Ih
e supreme
cl
ockmak
er
.InIhis anal
o;!}'
Ih
cveryexislencc
al
Ih
e clockwork
(s)
'
mbolizin~
Ih
e artfulness
01
humanconlri\'an
cel
wa
susedaspr
oo
fof
Ih
elogicand
"Coo
d Desig
ll
"of aninherentlyjusI \\'orld"ForEisclIste
in
,Ihis
ar
g:
ument
wa
Sidentified",i
th
apoliticalphilosophyopposed tochnnge andintent
on
usin:;"Ihingsas
th
ey ar
e"
tole:;itimize oppression.
Wh
enKerensky e
nl
ersthe Ihroneroom,hedoessolorestare capital punishmenl lO
Ih
elaws of
Ru
ssia.Inotherscclions
oC
he
film
Eisensteinex
pl
oits o
th
erkinds
01
sculpture:images ofNapoleon.
fi
gures ofChrist. and primilive
idols
.
~
Al
onepointhe shows'female soldiers.who
are
defending
Ih
eWinl
er
Palaceagainst
Ih
ecomingBolshevikanack,eying
1""
0 worksbyRo
din:
TheK
iJs
nnd
TheEternalIdol.
Usingthesesculptures in
Ih
e
ir
marble,'ersions,Eisenstein photographs
th
em tolook like
50
ft
moundsof
Aesh
,
which lhe \\'omenob
se
rvewitharapl.ecslatic
fa
scination.
Thr
ough Ihi device Ei.senslein filmsasenlimenl heobviouslyabhors:a
cl
oy·in:;nostalgia
lor
pasl fantasies oflove.
Th
epointor these sculpture
s-a
nd
01
a
1l
sc
ulplur
e-
lor
Eisensle
in
isnol itsmimeticquality,not
Íl
sc
apadly
loimilate Ihelookof living
fl
esh,but itspowerloembody ideasaudaltiludes.
It
isEisenslein'smost basica
ss
ump·lion
Ih
al
sc
ulplure.
a1l
art,isfundamenlally ideologica
l.
Oneof theironiesaboutthevirtualmuseumofsculp. turalrepresenta
li
onsemployedin
Octa
be,
isIhe inelusion
01
Rodin,
For
hi
lO
career,whichended in
19
17
,
on thever)' eve of Ihe RevolullonEisenstein'sfilmcelebrates produceda
llI1rt
¡nle
ns
elyhostiletorationalism,Asa whole,Rodin's sculplure was lhe firs!extremeattack
011
Ih
ekindof thinkingrepresenled bythemechnnical
bird.
!ln
ideolo!;)'thal
wa
sdeeplyimplanted in"coclassic
al
sculpture, 6ndpersist
e<
l inalmoslallninClee
nth
·ce
ntur
ysculp
lur
euplothework ofRodin.
Th
erlltionalistmodel.
9
 
onwhichneocJassismdepends.holdswilhin
il
tw
obasic suppositions:
Ih
econte
xt
through
whi
chunderst:lllding unfolds istime:alld,for
sc
ulptur
e.
thenaturalcont
ex
t
oí
rationalityis
lil
emediumoírelief. Logic
al
ar
g
um
cnl
s-
proc
edur
essuchas"ir
x,
Ih
en
Y"
-fo
ll
ow
atemporal
de\
'
e1
opment.
Al
Ih
eh
en
rt
of
suchreasoningis
th
enotionofcausalil
Y,
oí
the connection betweene
ff
ectsandlheircau
se
swhichdependfor th
ei
rvery relatednessupon
Ih
e
pa
ssa
ge
of lime.In
lil
e eighteenth andnineleenthcenturi
es
ambiliouspainters and sculptors acceptedwilhouldisputethenotion thal time wasthemedium through which
Ih
elogicofsocialand moralinstilulionsrevealed
il
self-hencelheexaltedpos
i-
lion theygavetohistor}' painting asagenreandtohis toric
al
monument
s.
Hi
s
lor
ywasunderstood lobe akindof narralive,involvingIhe
pr
ogression
oí
aselofsignifi caneesIhal
mUlu
a
ll
rreinforce andexplicale eachother. and thatseem drivenasif
by
adivine
mechanism Inward a
co
nclusion,lowardthe meaning
oí
anevent.Thereíor
e,wh
en Fralll
;:o
isRudeundertooka
scul
ptural
co
mmission f
or
Ih
eArchoí Triumph.he undersloodhis laskastranscending
th
esimplere
pr
esenlalionoínmo· menl from
Ih
eFrench Revolulion.Theaspiralionsbehind
LaMarseillaise,
alsoknownas
DeparringVolunrccrs
(
fi
g.
4)
oí
1833-36,
were lo fashion
Ih
e
co
mposilioninlo a kindofte
mp
oralcut Ihatwould knifethrough lhedi
s-
arra}'
oí
historical incidentand uncover itsmeanin
g.
Thisaspiration,which Rude s
har
edwithhis contemporaries. hadbeenarticulaled altheendof theeighteenthcentur
)'
byGottholdLe
ss
ing.The workofvisual
art
,
"in
its
co-
existent
co
mp
os
itions,"Le
ss
ingargued,
"can
use
hUI
asing
le
momentofaCion,and
mu
st therefore choosethe m
oS
I pregnanlone,the onemostsuggestive of whal has gone before and what isto fo
ll
ow."3In
La
Mar
5c
illai5
e
Rude doescapturethat momenlofabsolute
pr
ep;
nancy, of forms
fo
cused loa pointofuttersharpnessfrom which meaning
will
then be seen to spreadoutward,
co
nnccting thisparticu
lar
co
mposition lo the eventsIhat (orm ilspast
aod
its future.In
arder
toachievethisfocu
s,
Rudeorganizes
Ih
e
co
mo
position alongtwoaxes:a horizontalaxisthal divides the friezeofsoldiers
in
thelower haHoí
Ih
eworkíroro
10
4.
FI(ftJ(
;oisRlIlle
(l
i
84
-1
85
5
):
La)Iamillaise.1833-3
6.
Stone,
C
Il
.
sor
l
312".
Ar
ch
o/
Tr
iu
lIlph.
P ( ¡ f i
.~
(
Ph
Oo,Giffllldof/)
.
.
..
•
-
-
thesplayed formof Ihewinged victorythat
fiUs
the upperregister;and a vertical axisthat plumbsthespacefrom theheadofIhevictor)'
do
wn the cenlerof
her
bodyIhrough theverlicaljunc
tur
ebetween Ihe twocentral soldier
s.
The meaning of Ihecomposition-andconse quently oí the moment
it
depicts-revolves
around
thepoinlwherethese
t\Vo
axes
jo
in.RudeproducesIhe feel. in:;
01
movement rotatingaround
Ih
evertical axisbyover lappingthebodiesin the
low
erregister to formasemi ch·ele.The line
oí
soldiers seemslObe issuingfrom Ihe far right.out of
Ih
every groundof Ihearch, andlo
be
m
ov
ingforwardas
il
pr
oceedsto
Ih
eleh.
The
pointal which Ihal wave
ol
bodiescrestsis Ihepoint
ol
contact wilh the
ve
rticalaxis, asIhe
l\Vo
central
fi
guresrecogn
iz
e
th
e
s}'
mbolofviclory.
Al
Ihat juncture,as they
mirror
Ih
eimn
ge
suspended above
Ih
em,the soldiers
soo
m to
n
of 00

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