Bernini was an heir of a sculptor and got an early start in the art world of Rome, finding a patron in Cardinal Borghese. But these little mundane details can't and won't tell a story of a brilliance beyond modern commitment to transient pleasures and instant rush. I have long been bewitched by marble and marble has been one of three things i can endlessly stare at. As if i can untangle the marble particles into thought fractals where my own thoughts get lost into an endless voyage.. I like the confident silhouettes of marble. One of the greatest jolts of marble I ever got was Galleria Borghese with the Rape of Persephone and several other pieces but the former truly took me several hours to part with.
Here is an album of the works of the great artist which I stole of course this being a Saturday morning..
Bernini
To me the subject of bodies has always been a contentious one as I never understood why certain parts are considered to be displayable but others aren't (as displayable). How are hands and butt and breasts different as to make people instantly get emotional? Perhaps it gets to do with rush of hormones due to evolution where the display of a certain part instantly produces a natural urge - that is my thinking.. So to prevent people from losing their minds while going about building cathedrals or fighting - we invented clothes.
The case with art is a bit different, i don't remember a case where i would get improper thoughts in a gallery or a museum looking at expansive square footage of naked bodies ( or God forbid the Vatican where it seems is housed the greatest variety of flesh ).. The case could be made that art elevates these certain hormone inducing parts to a different level of awareness which doesn't result in hormones but rather results in thoughts. I like this about art.
I am gonna look for some of my own photographs of Bernini pieces later in the day but another thought just crossed my mind - there's a plausible reenactment of what hormonally unbridled smart primates can do - i remember watching Planet of the Apes and don't really long to see it again unless i am stuck in line at Walmart.
This is David from the story of David and Goliath:
Although i much prefer the stillness of Michelangelo's David - can't help but think about the twist in evolution that allowed us to develop awareness and consciousness on this tiny rock in the outskirts of a galaxy.. that allows us to have appreciations and reasonings beyond the mundane and have this ability for abstract thought and cognition. Art is extrapolation from the material to very abstract constructs that only exist in our minds. Can't reconcile the fact of how seemingly wobbly and fleshy we are with certain ideas in art and science that are abstract and removed from the obvious.
The story of David:
More Villa Borghese pics: