WP3 prewrite 5

My sculpture, Pieta, is by a sculptor by the name of Bruno Lucchesi. Lucchesi was born in 1926 in Lucca, Itally. He would later study at the Art Institute of Lucca and afterward worked as an assistant professor at Florence University. He moved to New York in 1958 and since held several teaching jobs and currently travels the nation giving workshops.

His sculpture Pieta was completed in 1970. The title "Pieta," is also the title of a sculpture by the famous artist Michelangelo, located in Vatican City. This statue depicts the body of Jesus Christ on the lap of his mother Mary after the crucifixion.

I was unable to find too much information on the background behind Lucchesi's Pieta, but I do believe that Lucchesi's piece is directly influenced by the classic work of Michelangelo due to several key similarities. Both pieces include a man who appears to be dead. Both pieces also include a young woman in grief of this loss and in some way in body contact with the lost one. Both women also have their heads in a down position and both men appear unresponsive. Because of the fact that Lucchesi named his sculpture identically to this very famous piece, I am guessing he wanted the audience to draw conclusions about his work based on the similarities and differences between the two pieces. If Michelangelo's work reflects the death of Jesus Christ, then we should look at the relationship between Jesus and Mary to determine the possible relationship between the man and the woman in Lucchesi's sculpture. For example we can infer that since Jesus and Mary were family and that Mary loved Jesus very much, that perhaps the man and the woman in Lucchesi's sculpture are also family and loved ones. The fact that Jesus died due to the pain of a crucifixion could also mean that the man in Luccesi's sculpture in some way died in an agonizing way or had been suffering. If we look at who Jesus was as a person, one could say that he gave himself for the world, so Lucchesi could also have intended this man to appear in the same light, that he was a selfless and giving person till the end.

WP3 prewrite 4

My sculpture, Pieta, seems to have a very high focus on reprresenting another object. The sculpture creates a scene, that in high detail depicts one person, mourning the recent loss of a loved one, likely due to age. It is important to note that almost anyone can take this message from the piece without any in depth analysis. This means that the artist wanted to place a higher emphasis on the message this piece sends rather than the artistic values it possesses. Lucchesi uses several mechanics to accomplish this. First, he uses a high level of detail on both people, so the audience is not just able to tell they are people, but also that one is an old man, one is a young woman, that the old man is dead or dying, and that the woman is crying. Next, Lucchesi chooses to limit the number of elements included. There is only the old man, the woman, and the bed. which almost appear to be floating in space. This acts to isolate the scene and eliminate all destractions in the audience's mind. Finnaly, he chooses to use a solid, neutral colored material which does not draw much attention. This puts the focus on the items it forms rather than the material itself.

Pieta is succesful as an art object too as it manages to incorporate several artistic values. Firstly, the piece includes a high sense of balance as the man is located on one edge of the bed and the woman is located on the other. Contrast is another element and is accomplished between the old man, and the young woman. Thirdly, visual heiarchy is used as Pieta tells a story, bringing the audience's eye from one object to the next. Lastly, we can also see that there is a tension present, as the womans hand is frozen in an akward position, reaching towards the man.

The location of this piece is of particular interest. Prior to this project, I personally had never even seen this piece of artwork, as it is located on the side of the art museum, surrounded on three sides by six foot high shrubs. It is likely that this sculpture was placed here for several reaasons. The first thing is that Pieta does convey a quite depressing message and it is likely the University did not just want to stick it out in the middle of a courtyard. Next, the sculpture has a very unique shape and the shrubs surrounding it on three sides act to limit the viewing opportunity to only one side. This possibly is to ensure that the audience see in the sculpture what the artist had intended. Lastly, the shrubs surrounding the sculpture almost always keep it in the shade, possibly playing furture on the already "dark" mood of the piece.