Brilliant Ideas Episode #40: Antony Gormley

Artist who stacks layers inside of himself

Exploring into deep layers of the body and mind

Antony Gormley’s works are mostly in a human form. His sculptures, however, do not show off colors or sophisticated techniques. This simplicity reflects the artist’s thoughts that encourage us not to focus on the outside but on the inside and the surrounding environment. Though the works look ordinary on the outside, they are not casual at all since they contain a vast psychological world which knows no depth.

His works start from his own body and proceed into a more macroscopic agenda, which is the human mind. Brilliant Ideas Episode #40, presented by Bloomberg and Hyundai Motor features the sculptor Antony Gormley, who keenly explores into the human body and mind.

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Body, where the condensed mind resides

Antony Gormley’s works represent himself. During the process of casting his own body to create the sculptures, he is trapped inside the setting plaster not being able to move. The time of endurance the artist goes through is fully demonstrated in the works. That is why Gormley presents the sculptures in a natural way without sporting any techniques, inducing the viewers to see the body as where the condensed mind exists instead of as the appearance. Having visited India and Sri Lanka more than 20 times, he is deeply interested in Buddhism, meditation, and the inner world, which makes his works results of spiritual contemplation rather than just ordinary sculptures of the human body.

He believes his own body is the origin of his inspiration, the subject material, and the artwork itself. He caused a stir throughout the British art scene with his works displayed at his first solo exhibition held in Whitechapel Gallery, London, in 1981. The sculptures produced by directly casting Gormley’s body showed every physical feature of him. Some viewers expressed discomfort at the works; Gormley never pleaded his case about it because, to the artist, the body is something he can feel most closely and the only way that enables him to live in the world, while his body represented in artworks is the biological marker that proves the life he has had.
“The subject matter of my works is my body itself. I want to be fully immersed in the actual moments. So my ideas are mostly about capturing this moment right now,” said Gormley, which indicates that, to him, his body is a subject matter, the place where the mind resides, and the artwork itself.

Human, environment, and sculpture

We visit art museums or galleries to see artworks. Gormley’s works are seen in these places as well, except that they create greater synergy when they meet with public environments as Gormley considers the natural and historical features of the place where the works are to be displayed.
Placed in Gateshead, England, ‘Angel of the North (1998)’ is a large steel sculpture of a figure with its both wings spread wide, with the height of 20 meters and the width of 54 meters. Though it is now one of the most representative public art pieces in England, the project didn’t go smooth at the start. At the time, Gateshead was going through difficult times as its coal mine closed, which used to lead the region’s economy, which resulted in the citizens taking the project as a financial burden. Gateshead Council, however, believed in the far-reaching power of culture and put the project through after earnestly persuading the citizens. Thanks to the council’s effort, Gormley’s angel could spread its wings wide. As mentioned before, Gormley considers the environment where the artwork is to be placed. Resolving people’s strong doubts against his project and making Gateshead financially flourish again were the greatest challenges he faced. In the circumstances, he started the project with a question: “Would it be possible to make a work with a certain purpose in this time full of doubts and sufferings?” Soon, ‘Angel of the North’ became the solution to all.

The artist says the angel has three meanings at large; first, it is to remember hundreds and thousands of miners who had worked for the last 300 years at the coal mine buried beneath the sculpture. It also symbolizes the transition from the industrial times to the information age. Furthermore, the wings of the angel are not at a perfect level but inclined forward by 3.5 degrees, which shows the work’s attitude of embracing everything. This means the artist suggests that we focus on hope that grows stronger in hard times, which is the last meaning Gormley attached to the sculpture.
Eventually, ‘Angel of the North’ brought the second heyday to Gateshead. All of these might have been not possible without Gormley’s philosophy of keenly contemplating the historical and natural context of the environment his work was to be placed. ■ with ARTINPOST

Exhibition view of <Fit> at South Galleries, White Cube Bermondsey, London(30 September~6 November, 2016)

ⓒ Antony Gormley. Photo ⓒ White Cube (Ben Westoby)
Exhibition view of <Fit> at South Galleries, White Cube Bermondsey, London(30 September~6 November, 2016)

ⓒ Antony Gormley. Photo ⓒ White Cube (Ben Westoby)
Exhibition view of <Fit> at South Galleries, White Cube Bermondsey, London(30 September~6 November, 2016)

ⓒ Antony Gormley. Photo ⓒ White Cube (Ben Westoby)
Exhibition view of <Fit> at South Galleries, White Cube Bermondsey, London(30 September~6 November, 2016)

ⓒ Antony Gormley. Photo ⓒ White Cube (Ben Westoby)
Exhibition view of <Fit> at South Galleries, White Cube Bermondsey, London(30 September~6 November, 2016)

ⓒ Antony Gormley. Photo ⓒ White Cube (Ben Westoby)

Profile

Antony Gormley explores the relationship among the human body, space, and the world. The artist who has a good command of various media such as sculpture, installation, public art, still experiments with the possibility of the “art space” with continued interest. He believes there is the possibility of new acts, thinking and emotions in the "art space". Gormley is also concerned about the spiritual, the mind enough to have learnt Buddhist meditation. His works have been influenced by the dialogue between arts and the spiritual.
Born in 1950, London, Antony Gormley is acknowledged as an international artist; he participated in the ‘Documenta Kassel’, ‘Venice Biennale’ and was awarded the Turner Prize in 1994. Antony is based in London but had has exhibitions at the Malmö Konsthall, Sweden, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Forte di Belvedere, Florence as well as the Hayward Gallery in London.