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A few days ago I had a post about the Citygarden sculpture featuring the carpenter Geppetto and his puppet, Pinocchio. The toy didn't look anything like the Pinocchio of my childhood, which was defined by Walt Disney. Jim Dine's Big White Glove is a near-copy of the Disney cartoon character. Dine created a number of paintings and sculptures on the Pinocchio theme. Indeed, he once said that "the idea of a talking stick becoming a boy [is] like a metaphor for art, and it’s the ultimate alchemical transformation."
I really like this work for its ambiguity. Yes, it looks almost exactly like the cartoon but it has no face. The boy, even the puppet, is still in the process of coming-to-be. The pose could represent so many things: an Olympic athlete on the prize medal platform; a preacher or charismatic worshiper; an entertainer receiving the accolades of the audience. What do you see in it?
A few days ago I had a post about the Citygarden sculpture featuring the carpenter Geppetto and his puppet, Pinocchio. The toy didn't look anything like the Pinocchio of my childhood, which was defined by Walt Disney. Jim Dine's Big White Glove is a near-copy of the Disney cartoon character. Dine created a number of paintings and sculptures on the Pinocchio theme. Indeed, he once said that "the idea of a talking stick becoming a boy [is] like a metaphor for art, and it’s the ultimate alchemical transformation."I really like this work for its ambiguity. Yes, it looks almost exactly like the cartoon but it has no face. The boy, even the puppet, is still in the process of coming-to-be. The pose could represent so many things: an Olympic athlete on the prize medal platform; a preacher or charismatic worshiper; an entertainer receiving the accolades of the audience. What do you see in it?
Not sure what I see. For whatever reason there is a nine meter high Pinocchio sculpture made by Jim Dine in a small Swedish town, Borås. Here is a photo:
ReplyDeletehttp://iloveboras.se/2008/04/08/pinocchio/
I see a clown asking the kids to stand up and clap! Great sculpture - nice snap Mr. Legal St. Louis!
ReplyDeleteHe reminds me of a orchestra conductor with his rigid posture.
ReplyDeleteNice shot with the water in back, were all these sculptures revealed at different times?
Hmmm, I'm not sure what I think of this. I kind of think it's asking "please help me, whoever's out there, I can't see" - it's kind of bleak. But if I saw it in the flesh, so to speak, I might see something totally different.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that he's unfinished here. He reminds me of a little child asking his mother to "Carry me!" I think the sculpture's kind of sad too.
ReplyDeleteI see myself singing "I Love Paris"!
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It does seem somewhat bleak, indeed. I really don't like things without eyes! :) But, it also certainly gives the idea of a work in progress ... maybe of art, of man, perhaps?
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