AEP Essay

1) Describe on of Han Sai Por’s sculptures

Spring, made by Han Sai Por in 1997, is a brown fountain made out of what seems to be earth-toned stone. It consists of a cylindrical base, with a smaller black holder in the proportion of a mentos in the middle of the base. An upright circular tube bent into a shape of a zero rests on the black holder. Water comes out from several holes along the top of the zero, flows down the sides and forms a miniature waterfall in the middle of the zero.

2)Describe one of Antony Gormley’s installations in relation to the concept of land art.

Time Horizon, made in 2006 by Antony Gormley, comprises of many human figures cast out of iron in what seems to be a park. Thay are placed at varying heights and depths with respect to the ground level, with some elevated on rectangular white pillars while some are buried in the sand, with the deepest as seen up to his neck. One feature of Time Horizon which sets it apart from other sculptures and causes it to be classified as land art is the presence of this varying element of height, and this effect cannot be replicated indoors as it is not practical to drill holes to “bury” some of the sculptures. It faces varying directions. It changes the effect of the environment in a few ways: Firstly, the presence of the statues generates a big difference in the landscape, from what was once flat land. The tones of the statues also blends in well with the environment, with the yellow parts matching the ground, and the grey parts that were worn off matches the slightly muted green tones of the surrounding trees.

3)Compare and Contrast the works by the artists, paying attention to their concerns in art.

Han Sai Por’s piece of art is aesthetically simple and straightforward in meaning. She wants her art to be popular with visitors and hence it is no surprise that her art is more of aesthetically pleasing than thought evoking.
Her art is more varied and each detail is interesting to look at, as seen in Shimmering Pearls. Antony Gormley’s Time Horizon has a strong sense of repetition and the whole artwork would be seen as the whole landscape rather than each individual figure.
Spring is more of a sculpture rather than land art, since it does not interact with the environment. Her specialty is the use of stone in her artworks, so she differs in that way from Antony Gormley who used iron in quite a few of his works.
Lastly, Han Sai Por makes references to elements of nature in her art, such as seeds and water, while Antony Gormley’s main subject is the antithesis of nature: man.

16th July 2008