Antony Gormley is one the most famous British sculptors working today. He was born in 1950 in London and after going to university he travelled to India and the Middle East. These travels and his interest in Buddhism and subsequent meditation practice (he studied Buddhism and meditation for 3 years in India) awakened a passion for how artists use their work to express spiritual ideas and beliefs.

Gormley learned the importance of just "being" not always thinking or doing and has set out to create art that encourages people to contemplate, and be more 'aware' and 'in tune' with our environment.

'Just being' is something I find very hard to 'do'...or should I say 'be''– perhaps this is the life lesson I am learning at the moment as I struggle with a severe neck injury (Which I funnily, or not so funnily, got while doing a yoga class.) I have been in so much discomfort I have been unable to do anything and feeling quite sorry for myself. So sorry for myself that I re-watched the inspiring story of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and reminded myself to get a grip. If you haven't seen the DVD it is a must see, re how, after suffering a crippling accident, told she would never walk again and being confined to bed for a great part of her life she began her artistic career and eventually got back on her feet - literally. She later went on to marry(twice) the very sensual and talented Mexican muralist Diego Rivera

One of Gormley's most famous and controversial sculptures is Angel of the North, which is located in Gateshead, England. Its wide-open wings greet visitors as they reach Gateshead by The AI road or east coast mainline railway.

Although the angel is a traditional image of western art, depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures, Gormley has recreated it in a thoroughly minimalist and modern way. Sculpted our of steel and standing 20 metres (66 feet) tall, with wings 54 metres (178 feet) - it is wider than the height of the Statue of Liberty.




The Angel of the North is as much a feat of engineering as a work of art. The sculpture has a greater wingspan than a Boeing 757, and has to be able to withstand winds of over 100mph. Due to its exposed location, 150 metric tonnes (165 tons) of concrete were used to create foundations which anchor the sculpture to rock 20 metres (66 ft) below.

The wings are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has been quoted as saying was to create "a sense of embrace"

Construction work on the Angel started in 1994 and was completed in 1998. At first, Angel of the North aroused some controversy with local councillors and the British newspapers - largely due to the expenses incurred. The Angel of the North cost nearly £800,000 - which was controversial in a relatively deprived area of Britain. It has now come to be considered as a landmark for the North East of England and is one of the 12 official "Icons of England."

There is no doubting that Antony Gormley has created a powerful sculpture, which is seen and enjoyed by tens of thousands of people every day.



Gormley describes his work as "an attempt to materialise the place at the other side of appearance where we all live." Many of his works are based on moulds taken from his own body, or "the closest experience of matter that I will ever have and the only part of the material world that I live inside." His work attempts to treat the body not as a thing but a place and in making works that enclose the space of a particular body to identify a condition common to all human beings. The work is not symbolic but indexical - a trace of a real event of a real body in time.

Antony Gormley's Quantum Cloud was commissioned for a site next to the Millennium Dome in London. At 30 metres high, it is Gormley's tallest sculpture to date (taller than the Angel of the North). It is constructed from a collection of tetrahedral units made from 1.5m long sections of steel. The steel section were arranged using a computer model with a random walk algorithm starting from points on the surface of an enlarged figure based on Gormley's body that forms a residual outline at the centre of the sculpture.
The sculpture was completed in 1999 in time for the opening of the Millennium Dome.
The idea for Quantum Cloud came from a comment about algebra made by Basil Hiley, quantum physicist (and long-time colleague of David Bohm), in which he said "algebra is the relationship of relationships". The comment was made during a conversation between Gormley, Hiley and writer David Peat at a 1999 London gathering of artists and scientists, organized by Peat.

I first stumbled upon Gormley's work in a book about sculpture and instantly fell in love with Angel of The North, and as I began to learn more about him and his work, I fell in love with everything he does. To me that is spirituality in art - the ability to inspire love and transport the viewer to a world far away from the mundane; a place where one can contemplate life's mysteries and the simplest of joys. Thank you Antony Gormley!













Source: Wikipedia and various articles and websites to numerous and inspiring to mention:)


Interesting links: http://www.antonygormley.com/

Labels: Spirituality in art

IIt’s official: black is banned from everything I do. It’s fine as an accent but other than that does little to lift the spirits or inspire. John Gage, author of Colour and Meaning, believes that colour is more than just a physiological phenomenon. It affects feelings and emotional states. Just how and why it does that, he believes, lies in the particular historical context in which it is experienced and interpreted.

In parts of Asia for example, black is believed to be a very lucky colour. What about New Zealand? Other than the (normally) positive association with the All Blacks, black too often is a colour of mourning – the stock standard attire for funerals. I walk down Lambton Quay in Wellington and I feel like I am going to a funeral every day. Perhaps it is the same in your city or office building. Heaven forbid it may be the standard color you put on every morning!

As artist Paul Klee said, “one eye see and the other feels.” If you want to feel passionate, positive, motivated, excited or any other joyful state join me in the November Colour Challenge and banish black from your life too. If you can’t banish it completely try to do something every day to bring a little more colour in the world. You could accessorise with new shoes, a scarf or tie, a brooch or environmentalise (new word) with flowers on your desk, a lick of paint, happy music (see interesting facts) a colour screen saver etc.

The truth is that the more colourful you are the happier you can make others feel. Today it was rainy and cold so I put on my most colourful dress (purple, orange, red and white- recently purchased in sunny Hawkes Bay) grabbed my orange bag, popped on orange shoes and headed into town. The first thing my local barista said was, “here’s my little rainbow - you’ve brightened my day.” I didn’t even say a thing. What I wore said it all. What are you saying when you wear black? How do you want to be remembered? Maybe you don’t! Some colourists believe that black can prevent us from changing and growing.
"We often wear black when we wan to hide from the world,” says author Suzy Chiazzari.

Note: if you love the colour black, it suits your skin tones and it makes you feel good, then by all means wear it! Think “little black dress", think The All Blacks, think Audrey Hepburn. Put together well black can be ultra sophisticated. However my ardent, not evidenced by exhaustive research, intuitive sense, is that the majority of people wear black because mass produced clothing outlets offer few alternatives and people just don’t know what suits them. See a colourist, find a tailor - or fly to colourful Thailand and get your clothes there! If you can’t afford to travel, buy a colourful painting or purchase a photograph that puts some joy on your walls….I know just the place:) Come visit me at www.cassandragaisford.com



Websites
http://www.soothingminds.co.uk/Articles.aspx?artid=158
interesting articles including one on colour astrology – no surprise to see that not one of the zodiac signs is black. Being a Libran my colour is green. Currently though my favorite colour is orange…but I am shifting to purple….but I thought it was interesting to learn what my astrological colour says about us “greenies:” Libra is the balancer and green is the energy of the heart chakra and harmony. Those who are born under the sign of Libra are known to be peacemakers. 'Green' people are the ones that you can go to when you have a problem as they are the most compassionate of all the astrological signs. So colour can also help clarify your vocation! As a life coach being compasssionate is essential! Check out the site to see what colour you are.

Books
Colour and Meaning John Gage

The Complete book of colour Suzy Chiazzari.
Includes tips on clothes and make-up, colour and interiors, colour diets for health, finding your soul colours, colour in the garden, healing with colour, your personal colours and more much more!

'How to Heal with Color, Balance Your Chakras! Ted Andrews

Faber Birren Color Psychology & Color Therapy.

Interesting facts

Several of the world's best musical composers have seen colors in music. Franz Liszt was known to say things like, "This is too black," "More pink here," and "I want it all azure."? Ludwig van Beethoven referred to B minor as "the black key." Franz Schubert described E minor as being "unto a maiden robed in white and with a rose-red bow on her breast."

In Thailand every day of the week is assigned it’s very own colour
Sunday - red
Monday - cream/yellow
Tuesday - pink
Wednesday - green
Thursday - orange/brown
Friday - blue
Saturday - black/purple
What is your lucky colour. Go back and check out what day you were born to find out
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=5&title=what_is_your_lucky_colour&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Try it! It really works. My colour came out as orange! Anyone who knows me knows I wear a lot of orange – I even painted my garage wall orange!


Note: if you love the colour black, it suits your skin tones and it makes you feel good then all means wear it! Think “little black dress, think The All Blacks, think Audrey Hepburn. Put together well it can be ultra sophisticated. However my ardent, not evidenced by exhaustic research but intuitive sense is that the majority of people wear black because mass produced clothing offers little alternatives and people just don’t what suits them. See a coloursit, find a tailor (or fly to Thailand and get your clothes there!)

Labels: Life coaching