LISTENING CLOSELY

A violinist in a quiet moment with her instrument.

Bronze, Spring 2021

 

A companion piece to A Vessel.

My client commissioned me to make a sculpture of a violinist as a gift of love for his wife. The violinist is tuning her instrument in one of the still moments before or after a performance - for example, when the hall is still cold because the audience hasn't warmed it up yet. As she tends to it, she forms her body to it. Any practice is a relationship, and like any relationship, the deepest moments of tenderness and loving ritual happen quietly in privacy. And in keeping with this, devotion girds those moments - so, we can share this moment with her from the outside without interrupting or intruding.

Sculptures don't come to life when they are dynamic or realistic. Conceptually, they come to life if they portray something meaningful that's otherwise hard to grasp or articulate. Technically, they come to life if they present themselves differently to the patient audience at different times from different perspectives. Note the shadows and silhouette.

While making this piece I studied the "Boxer at Rest," a classical bronze of a boxer after a bout.

18 inches tall with base. Bronze. The base is made from cobblestones I stole in Lisbon from an unattentive paver.