Kate Chapman
Kirrawee High School
THE PILLARS OF MAN
Drawing
Pen
My body of work, The Pillars of Man, started with a question: What makes a face ‘classic’? To answer this question I combined the modern and the classical in my work to represent contemporary models and historic sculptures. While there was no single answer to my question, I found myself contemplating the concepts of structure, strength and perfection. Structure came through my medium, with the permanence of each pen mark. Strength was expressed through the subjects, whether in stature or physical form. Perfection, naturally, is what I strive for in my work.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, Bust of Neptune; Myron of Eleutherai, Discobolus; Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Saint Longinus.
Marker's Commentary
The Pillars of Man is a deftly arranged series of five pen on paper drawings, drawing upon relationships between historical and modern day worlds. The series confidently explores notions of masculinity and classical ideas of beauty, perfection and strength in a contemporary context. The portraits are delicately rendered in a traditional drawing approach through the sophisticated use of hatching to model form. The depth of chiaroscuro evokes hand hewn marble and references classical Greek and Roman sculpture, also seen in the subject of the three central drawings. Present day depictions of youthful masculinity begin and end the series while the interaction between each drawing creates awareness and interconnectedness but also tension, as a sense of expectation and anticipation is pushed and pulled between them.