THE MONOLITHS
contemporary public art
in Haggerston
STONE CARVING
a little history
Alistair Sooke, in his documentary Romancing the Stone, calls sculpture “the public mask of our national identity” and talks about how sculpture in the public realm is a public declaration of “who we are or, at least, who we see ourselves as.”
One of the earliest examples of representational art in the world, stone carving has been around since the dawn of human civilisation.
The main things that we have left from the Ancient World are, in fact, stone carvings. Egyptian pharaohs, Mesopotamian emperors and countless gods and nobles from Greece and Rome.
Hammers, chisels, antlers, and abrasives were among the instruments used by early stone carvers. An effective stone-abrading file was made by the Ancient Greeks using bronze to catch carborundum granules from the island of Milos.
To carve the first stone sculptures, people would use harder stones to scratch or smash weaker ones. Before carving in the finer details, carvers would draft out the piece's general outline.
Venus figurines are just a few examples of the ancient art of stone carving: Soft stones such as steatite, limestone, and calcite were used to create these ancient sculptures of women. Berekhat Ram's Venus might be 250,000 years old, at the earliest, while the Venus of Willendorf was carved 30,000 years ago.
Intricate sculptures and reliefs adorned the temples and pyramids of the Mesoamerican civilisations. Sculptures representing gods and pharaohs, as well as obelisks (a type of shaped and carved monolith), were created by the ancient Egyptians. Relief carving (carving pictures on the surface of the stone, as in the example below of Mesopotamian relief) was a popular and effective method of visual storytelling.
Scenes from the Parthian triumph in AD 202 are depicted in the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome and the giant Trajan's Column depicts commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars, 101-106 CE. To give you an idea of the size of some of these structures, Trajan's Column is about 30 metres (98 feet) tall, and its big base makes it 35 metres (115 feet) tall. The shaft is made up of 20 huge drums of Carrara marble, each one weighing about 32 tonnes and being 3.7 metres (12.1 feet) across. The 620-foot (190-meter) border goes 23 times around the shaft. There is a circular staircase inside the shaft with 185 steps that lead to a viewing deck at the top. It took 53.3 tonnes of work to raise the capital block of Trajan's Column to a height of about 34 metres (112 feet).
Dramas in Stone
Some of the best-known examples of 'drama in stone' are the Parthenon Marbles, especially the relief carvings (see bottom picture) which depict scenes from Greek history and mythology. It’s easy to be immediately fascinated by these and by the incredible artistry of the tomb and church carvings of the mediaeval and Renaissance world. Just as astounding is the carvers' imagination - and mastery of the technique. By the Renaissance, we see the emergence of sculptors rather than artisans. However, in Britain, 90% of the mediaeval and Renaissance sculptures of a religious nature were mutilated or destroyed during the English Civil War era (1640s-1660), which is why there are few of them to be seen.
After the Restoration of the Monarchy under Charles II, sculpture largely took on two forms: figurative sculpture of a secular, unheroic type and decorative sculpture for public buildings mostly adhering either to neo-classical or neo-gothic forms. But there were art historical developments in sculpture that did not simply ape classical models. Master sculptors like John Flaxman, for example, created theatrical dramas in stone, which broadened and democratised the place of sculpture, offering sculpture as a more tangible and Humane art form then the Imperial monstrosities in public spaces.
Imperial Secular Power
The 18th and 19th century sculptures depicting Imperial secular power (warriors like Admiral Nelson, various monarchs and politicians) are one reason why stone sculpture sometimes seems to have a bit of a dubious image, as they can seem like propaganda, even if they're not intended that way. Likewise, 19th century public sculpture wears its patronage very obviously. These still dominate Britain’s urban spaces.
Today? Everything Imaginable!
It is only in the 20th century that sculptors have moved away from the Classical or the so-called Gothic styles. Today almost every imaginable form and style, from all kinds of influences, are carved in stone, for public and private spaces. But there’s no denying it, stone sculpture is forceful and vivid, and really makes its mark on the landscape.
