Update: National Sculpture Society

Just found this statue, by David Rosner, on the National Sculpture Society website -- and I guess I should be grateful that it's exhibits, unlike, say, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Competition does not categorically exclude work with positive qualities.

But it's hard to see how it selects and cultivates them either.

Here are my other favorites pulled off their site:



Christopher Smith


Anthony Antonios


Judy Holder


Doris Buehler


Michael Langlais

If I could present one word to describe what all the others are missing -- that word would be (with all due credit to Adolph Von Hildebrand ):

"architectonic"

I.e. - the various positive qualities of spatial design -- that was especially demanded of sculpture when it was incorporated into the architecture of temples and palaces -- but also can live on nothing more than its own pedastal.

It's something like the intense control of temporal space that a jazz singer must develop when performing with a big band -- but can still showcase when accompanied by nothing more than a piano trio or guitar.

And I have to note -- that of the sculptors I selected above -- three of them (Rosner, Holder, and Buehler) have not been selected by the NSS for admission to their higher ranks of membership.

But still -- I am so grateful -- that the National Sculpture Society still exists -- to provide at least some minimal counter-weight to the catastrophe of high-brow anti-art education.

(and where is more work by David Rosner ??? The piece shown above was from a 2002 NSS exhibit -- and I haven't found anything by him anywhere else)