Old Men and Dancing Girls
The Jennmaur Gallery has an exciting batch of new arrivals this month -- including the wonderful dancing girls as follows:
Johann Philipp Ferdinand (Fritz) Preiss (German, 1882 -1943)
Figures above by Josef Lorenzl (Austria) 1892-1950
Figures above by Demetre Chiparus (Roumania) 1888-1947
It seems like such a ideal subject for old men (like myself), I just don't understand why it's not as common in other times/places, as it was in the first fifty years of the 20th Century. I guess it doesn't really fit with too many religious programs (thank God for Hindus !)-- while our own Greco-Roman tradition favors sultry young males. And then we have to consider that in a world where dancing young women are constantly performing (like the Balinese dance festival which Gawain is now attending) -- who needs sculpture?
Coincidentally, the Jennmaur new arrivals also included the following curious piece by the Polish writer, Alfredda Brilliant (1908-1999) , appropriately titled "The Burden of Self"
I guess this is what I'd call a conceptual piece -- since the thoughts associated with the narrative trump the lumpishness of the design. Apparently it was given to W.Clement Stone - and isn't it the perfect gift for the man who wrote "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" ? (meaning: fight your way to the top and don't take prisoners)
Ah -- the poor self -- incrementally burdened with all the failures/compromises/betrayals/and ideals lost on the road to success.
I'm not even a great success and I feel the inevitable decay of spirit -- and what better way to be refreshed -- than to look at young women dancing.
Johann Philipp Ferdinand (Fritz) Preiss (German, 1882 -1943)
Figures above by Josef Lorenzl (Austria) 1892-1950
Figures above by Demetre Chiparus (Roumania) 1888-1947
It seems like such a ideal subject for old men (like myself), I just don't understand why it's not as common in other times/places, as it was in the first fifty years of the 20th Century. I guess it doesn't really fit with too many religious programs (thank God for Hindus !)-- while our own Greco-Roman tradition favors sultry young males. And then we have to consider that in a world where dancing young women are constantly performing (like the Balinese dance festival which Gawain is now attending) -- who needs sculpture?
Coincidentally, the Jennmaur new arrivals also included the following curious piece by the Polish writer, Alfredda Brilliant (1908-1999) , appropriately titled "The Burden of Self"
I guess this is what I'd call a conceptual piece -- since the thoughts associated with the narrative trump the lumpishness of the design. Apparently it was given to W.Clement Stone - and isn't it the perfect gift for the man who wrote "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" ? (meaning: fight your way to the top and don't take prisoners)
Ah -- the poor self -- incrementally burdened with all the failures/compromises/betrayals/and ideals lost on the road to success.
I'm not even a great success and I feel the inevitable decay of spirit -- and what better way to be refreshed -- than to look at young women dancing.
posted by chris miller at 11:15 AM
2 Comments:
There is a connection between dance and culpture here in Bali, too: a lot of dancing consists of transitions between poses (all held for a few seconds) in which the Hindu gods are usually presented. Actually, scratch "usually". Always. All gods are dancers.
Hello,
excellent blog.
I'm intersted in the German painter Fritz Preiss (please see my blog: http://littlequarry.blogspot.com/)
because I own one of his paintings. What I always wanted to know: Are painter and sculpturer the same person ?
Kindest regards,
Werner
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