"St.John Bosco with Birds"

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on March 24, 2013 at 11:17am

Curator’s Comments:

 

(I had difficulty viewing the complexity of these works because of the small scale image that comes up on the site. ) St. John Bosco with Birds is a fascinating piece, part assemblage/relief, part sculptural object.   Viewing the piece in person no doubt enhances the relationship to human scale, making the piece a totem or figurative sentry of sorts. The crowning top section offers an understanding of the work as reliquary, while the decorative embellishments bestow an ornamental fetish quality to the saint. Seemingly an amalgamation of Catholic/Christian iconography, the interior landscape in the center cavity provides a solid ground for the spiritual ascension of the birds. The enclosed structure as a whole imparts a feeling of preciousness, or entombment. Much like sacred relics, the encapsulated imagery and objects confer greater importance to the subject.  Viewing it simultaneously as image and object makes for an enjoyable reading of the work.