Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brancusi at Targu Jiu

Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France . As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools and making using of materials that were usually from the Earth itself. His art emphasizes clean geometrical lines that balance forms inherent in his materials with the symbolic allusions of representational art. Famous Brâncuși works include the Sleeping Muse (1908), The Kiss(1908), Prometheus (1911), Mademoiselle Pogany (1913),The Newborn (1915) and The Endless Column (1938). Considered a pioneer of modernism, Brâncuși is called the patriarch of modern sculpture.

The Kiss(1908)

The Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brancusi at Targu Jiu

The Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu is an homage to the Romanian heroes of the First World War. The ensemble comprises three sculptures: the Table of Silence, the Gate of the Kiss and the Column of the Infinite, on an axis 1,300 m (4,250 ft) long, oriented west to east. The Ensemble is considered to be one of the great works of 20th century outdoor sculpture. The monument was commissioned by the National League of Gorj Women to honor those soldiers who had defended Targu Jiu in 1916 from the forces of the Central Powers. Constantin Brancusi was at the time living in Paris, but welcomed the opportunity to create a large commemorative sculpture in his homeland. He accepted the commission in 1935, but refused to receive payment for it.

Names of the sculptures:

• The Column of the infinite 

• The Apostles’ Table

• The Monument of the Unity of the Nation

The Column of the infinite ( The Endless Column )

The Endless Column symbolizes the “Infinite Sacrifice” of the Romanian soldiers and it is considered by Sydnei Geist the top point of the modern Art. The Endless Column stacks 17 rhomboidal modules, with a half-unit at the top. The incomplete top unit is thought to be the element that expresses the concept of the infinite.  Brâncuși had experimented with this form as early as 1918, with an oak version. All 17 rhomboidal modules accumulate a total height of 29.3 m. The number of component modules represents the year on which Romania came into the First World War and the ending half module represents the half part of the respective year.

In the 1950s, the Romanian communist government planned to demolish the column, but this plan was never executed. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the fall of the Communist regime, there was renewed interest in restoring the column, which by that time suffered from tilting, cracking, metal corrosion, and an unstable foundation. For these reasons the site was listed in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. The restoration was facilitated by the Fund, which organized meetings for the stakeholders in 1998 and provided funding through American Express. Subsequently, the site was restored between 1998 and 2000 through a collaborative effort of the Romanian Government, the World Monuments Fund, the World Bank, and other Romanian and international groups.

The Apostles’ Table

The Apostles’ Table is made in limestone with dimensions: panel diameter 2, 15 meters, thick 0,43 m and the leg is 2 m in diameter and 0,45 m thick. It represents the table around which gather the soldiers before confronting their enemy. The Table is comprised of one large cut stone circle set atop another only somewhat smaller.  Around the table, the artist placed twelve stools, each at a remove from the table and from one another.  The table is larger than any one would find in a Romanian home.

At the same time, the twelve stools stand in silence for the time disposed in hourglasses. Some make an analogy with The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci the monument being composed of 12 seats (representing the apostles) and in the middle Jesus Christ place.  Next comes the Chairs (stools) Alley, representing those who participate without any implication, waiting for the end.
This is not a circle begetting intimacy.

In this sculpture, Brancusi brings a profound understanding of human grief to his work.  Losing someone violently is hard.  Losing the young without warning is harder still.  The mourner yearns, aches, even bargains:  “If there could be just one more word, one more touch, one more moment with the beloved…, give me that.  Then I could accept this death.”  We hunger for one word.  There is nothing.  Only silence.  Silence is the dark truth of death.

Thirty stone seats were designed by Brancusi to flank the walkway from the Table to the gate.  The artist had benches built from some leftover slabs of stone. These were placed on either side the stone gate.

The Table, walkway seating, and gateway all combine to provide the little riverside park with all the appurtenances of a sociable Romanian graveyard.  This kind of architecture is familiar today as it was in Brancusi’s youth.

The Monument of the Unity of the Nation (The Gate of the Kiss)

The Gate of the Kiss is the second element of the ensemble. Technically, it looks like a triumphal arch having 5,13m high;  on each side of the arch the pillars (1,69 m width)  have carved the symbol of kiss:two halves of a circle, so characteristic of Brancusi’s work, on every side– the motif of the eyes looking inside. The 5,45m long architrave has also carved this symbol, like a watermark.

Romanians erect gates at the entries to homes, to churches, graveyards.  On these gates are incised protective devices as each gateway marks a passage from an impure place to a better place. Brancusi’s design for the Gate of the Kiss is marked by an iconic image he returned to many times in his work:  the kiss.

The Gate of the Kiss is a simple post-and-lintel stone arrangement cut from locally quarried honey-colored travertine. On the lintel forty paired kissing figures are incised. This lintel stylistically relates to the Montparnasse sculpture Brancusi had placed years earlier, at the request of friends, on a young, unmarried woman’s grave in Paris. The eyes go first, not to the lintel, but to the gateway’s two supporting posts which are emblazoned on all four sides with a bifurcated circular relief. It suggests a dividing cell, an ovarian egg, even the eyes of the soul as Brancusi had mentioned himself. It can also have other readings, among them, the tree of life.

In Romania, the tree of life is visualized as a fir tree.  The tree is sometimes depicted as a bisected circle with a branching bar, its roots triangulated into the earth, the branches spreading to the heavens, pulling the sun down to the earth mother.  The device Brancusi cut into each side of the squared posts of the Gate of the Kiss similarly pulls the gaze downward to the earth below.  In the Gate of the Kiss, we have the perfect synthesis of the sculptor’s life-long focus on love, presented in a wistful, yet erotic, post-and-lintel presentation.

The significance of The Gate of the Kiss is making the transition to another life,  symbolizing the triumph of life over death. The second meaning of the  gate is that the kiss means union of the eight columns or regions that was attached to the mother country, Romania.

Personally, I feel that that these three sculptures are very simple, but efficient in conveying the message that the artist wants to bring across. The fact that these three works are linked by a common theme which I believe is life and death, shows the correlation among the three sculptures and it is definitely a successful ensemble the more I look at it. Although the nature and subject of the three sculptures barely bear any similarities to each other, the artist was clever in connecting them with the underlying ideas and concepts.     I would regard these as public sculptures, modern sculptures rather, as they bring new meaning to conventional places like a graveyard for example. People would think of the place differently, with a rather refreshing point of view since modern art is something that they seldom see, especially at places like a graveyard. Although the sculptures may look like or may be considered modern art, they still hold a certain value to them as they would be associated together with the location that they are found in; hence, they are not our conventional artworks, but rather, artworks that are meant for respect and being symbolic. Personally, I like The Endless Column the most as I feel that it was able to convey the idea of never-ending (infinity) most successfully. As much as it might look like a modern piece of artwork that is really simple, the complex idea that it carries with it makes it even more special. I especially like the half-unit at the top, which really captures infinity well. I feel that all of them work really well for me, in terms of the ideas that they convey and the simplicity of the sculptures too, together, they also make an excellent and unique ensemble which is abstract in execution but close to reality in idea.

An artwork which is effective simply means that the viewers would be able to get the message that the message that the artist is trying to convey just by looking at the artwork or just by knowing a little by how it is made or its history. However, the idea behind the message is also important in terms of its nature, whether it is greatly influential to the world or how people think. An example of such a ‘monumental sculpture’ would be the Pyramids in Egypt.

The Pyramids in Egypt are known to be very influential to mankind and are also an incredibly strong representation of human development. As the process of building a pyramid is extremely tiring and exhausting, the pyramid can be said to represent the sense of harmony and unity within ourselves and with the environment to which we aspire. The individual building blocks of the pyramid are lessons we have already successfully completed, e.g the ability we have already learned of how to live the basic rights of existence. As soon as the top of the pyramid has been built to the necessary height and the whole structure has been cleanly rendered the highest goal can be said to have been reached: The respective person is then in perpetual harmony with himself and his environment. The pyramid can easily illustrate many of the features and requirements of human development:

• The pyramid is only complete when all the building blocks are in place.

For the achievement of lasting harmony a person must successfully complete all the lessons of human development. No single lesson can be avoided, otherwise at the end certain abilities for living the basic rights of existence would be missing.

• When building a pyramid a certain sensible sequence of events must be maintained. The large stones can only be placed at the bottom. The foundation must be built before the top.

Also in the case of human beings a certain sequence of events must be maintained. If someone overtaxes himself with tasks (for example trying to build the top before the foundation) or if he doesn’t try hard enough (for example only ever working on the foundation of the pyramid) he will not develop further.

• A pyramid, which is built symmetrically in layers (and not one-sided), is extremely stable even during its building. No earthquake can destroy it. Repairs to parts already built are seldom required and the builder can work efficiently on the construction of the pyramid.

If we attempt to pursue our personal development in what is for us a sensible sequence, then the chances of violating the basic rights of existence in already tested situations is minimal. We can devote ourselves to further development and not have to keep on repeating already-completed lessons.

• The higher the pyramid is built the greater the effort required to build it higher. The stones have to be carried further and further upwards. However the stones also become smaller all the time.
• Through the building of the upper layers the lower layers are subjected to greater and greater loads. Weak points are therefore automatically shown up and can be repaired. Through the pressure of the upper layers the lower layers also become solidified and therefore become stronger and can be loaded with more and more weight.
• A pyramid does not build itself. Whoever wants to build a pyramid must really want to do it and of course he must also do it. Just to speak about it or to draw plans is not sufficient!

If a person wants to develop further he must want this for himself and then actually carry it out for himself. It does not happen automatically.

• The building of a pyramid requires a lot of time and patience. Often the building can take several generations depending on the size of the structure.

Human development also requires time and can be spread over many incarnations.

Hence, we can see that the pyramid symbolizes many things and even some of the most important human values that humans like ourselves need to learn to cultivate. In this sense, the Pyramids of Egypt are definitely more influential as compared to the Sculptural Ensemble at Targu Jiu by Constantin Brancusi. However, the Sculptural Ensemble also holds sculptures that display extremely strong symbolism like The Endless Column, although it might not be as influential as compared tot he pyramids, it also allows people to rethink the importance of their lives and start treasuring their own lives and learning to appreciate things around them.

Secondly, the similarity in both sculptures is that both sculptures have an element of futurism and modernism in the design of the sculpture. Although, the pyramids are built long time ago, the structure of the pyramids and the shape is geometrical and strongly suggests futurism through its simplicity. It feels as if the sculpture does not belong to that era, but rather, in the future. Similarly, the sculptures in the Sculptural Ensemble at Targu Jiu also looks abstract and similar to modern art, with a little element of futurism in them as they are very unconventional. The structures in itself is simple and not overly complicated, contributing to the abstract sense of it.

The Pyramids of Egypt awe people just by its sheer size and the seemingly complexity of its structure, but it really isn’t very complex, but rather, built very smartly, and thus, from this, people would see the ideas and symbolism conveyed by the giant structures almost immediately, which is mainly the huge development of humans and even see the many characteristics of tough human nature shown. One the other hand, the sculptures in the Sculptural Ensemble at Targu jiu might require people to know a little of its background before being able to grasp the message that is to be conveyed.

In conclusion, I feel that the Pyramids of Egypt is much more effective in communicating something important such as human development and human nature as compared to the sculptures in the Sculptural Ensemble in at Targu Jiu which mainly portrays a more abstract message.

 

 

 

Replacing a Landmark

Above: Original Photo 

Above: Edited Photo

Inspired by Claes Oldenburg’s Lipsticks in Piccadilly Circus London, 1966, I have come up with my very own version of the artwork. The original photo is of the Louvre Museum at night and it gives off a high class feeling and makes people feel very calm and serene with the warm lights and the amazingly beautiful structures. The place itself is like an exhibition and has an air of classiness; however, in my edited photo, I had replaced the classic Louvre building with the famous MacDonald’s Fries and this gives people a whole new feeling. It makes the scene comical and seemingly a hoax, as if the fries themselves are the focus of everyone’s attention instead of the building, but this is also symbolic in a way that people often go for the yummy yet unhealthy things and are often blinded by them and hence, they fail to see the more beautiful and beneficial things in life. Using the fries seem to make the scene a joke but actually it aims to convey this message that everyone is aware of but not doing anything to change.