Blog Post 21

When trying to analyze my sculpture, I was mostly just thinking “a man made from aluminum”. But when you know the title and really start to put the pieces together, it is much more than that. The sculpture I was assigned is called Story. Yes, this sculpture does look like just a man made from metal, but the real point is the actual story behind it. Hence the name Story. This sculpture is a resemblance of the maker himself, William King. As King described this piece he says, “Smoking my last cigarette and yakking away. I'm talking about giving up smoking.” This could very well be the story of his life.

The sculpture was made in 1970 when King was 45 years of age. Possibly a smoker for many upon many years, he finally decides it’s time to quit. By including a symbolic cigarette into his sculpture, views may take this as something that was very important to him. Personally, I view this piece as a memorial to a life changing event. King stopped smoking, cigarettes at least, which shows strength. Not everybody who smokes can quit easily, not saying that he did, but it is definitely something to take pride in and show off.

This sculpture has a strong sense of pathos, by it relating to many people who smoke cigarettes, or those who have in the past. I think that people who are addicted to cigarettes would have a stronger connection to this sculpture just because they might be able to understand the story a little bit better. I also find that King pays well attention to the detail in specific body parts such as legs and arms, but not the face, hands, or feet. Looking at the arms and legs of this sculpture, you can notice the curves and place of joints of the body. The hands and feet do not really show specific detail, but more like a clump. The only detail in the hands are the two fingers which are holding the cigarette being smoked. The face does not have eyes, a nose, a mouth, etc. but the face does posess ears. Which may be because he emphasizes that he is yakking away, so he would also need to be listening as well. I do find it strange that the sculpture does not have any facial features though, because this takes such a strong part in what his sculpture stands for. He mentions smoking and talking which would be using the head with the lack of features.

Works Cited

Sculpture Brochure. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. http://www.sheldonartgallery.org/photos/graphics/sculpturebrochure.pdf