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Rodin: The EY Exhibition
Week 31/05/2021
Truthfully, when I first bought tickets to the Tate Modern exhibition of ‘The EY Exhibition: The Making of Rodin’ I didn’t know what it was gonna be about or who Rodin was. It was only until I was crossing the Millennium Bridge walking up towards the grand Tate modern, that my mum informed me that I had seen some of his work around London and in the Mussee O’dsay in Paris. Like always I entered the Tate through the turbine Hall. It’s a grand entrance where normally there is a feature from an artist at the end of the hall or the whole room is completely transformed by an artist/designer. I travelled from the turbine Hall to the 2nd floor to where ‘The Making of Rodin’ exhibition was.
Rodin was born in 1840 in a working-class district of Paris. He was originally rejected from a well-known art school in France and due to this started working for many years as a studio assistant. It wasn’t until his mid-30s when he became much more well-known.
In the first room was the only bronze sculpture in the exhibition. It showed the outline and design of a nude man. This is said to be Rodin's first piece that was critically acclaimed. When I say critically acclaimed I mean that everyone thought he was a fake and that he had cast the man’s body by creating a mould. As we now know this was not the case and due to Rodins accurate and impressive detailing, people mistook his talent for fraud. I found the sculpture to be simplistic yet beautiful, there was nothing abstract or crazy about it; just a beautifully sculpted body showing details and realism from tone, muscles and skin details; through undercuts, scoring and impressions.
The bronze sculpture was sand cast. Rodin used this technique, it involved the plaster model been cut into sections, each part pressed into a mixture of clay and silica sand. This would create a negative imprint. Then molten bronze was poured into this design. The bronze pieces would be assembled and a thin layer of chemicals would be applied to the surface to mimic the green or brown film which gives ‘sand cast’ that distinct decay and oxidised look. The original sculpture of the man was created in 1877.
The exhibition is advertised as a unique focus on Rodin's work in plaster. Exploring his repetition, enlargement and assembly. He primarily works in clay and manipulates material while keeping it wet/damp in order to remain soft and pliable. He is an original prop maker in my eyes. Creating a cast of things enlarging them, blowing them up, and problem-solving.
Like with all good sculptors he drew a lot studying the dynamics of the body. I believe this is what gives him an edge. Creating such wonderful and accurate sculptures.
One thing I find curious is Rodin experimented with removing parts of his sculptures to create modern-day “ancient Greek or Roman structures and statues” Such that you would see at the British Museum where over time due to degrading or damage the sculptures have been destroyed. Quite honestly if I was to see his work in the British Museum I would believe it was centuries old. I think this is a very curious and odd but great technique he sampled. He wasn’t afraid to experiment.
I really like when exhibitions show the artists thinking process and development through sketch pads. I think it’s really helpful for the viewer to see thought processes or how the original design looked compared to how the finished product looked. I really like Rodin's small maquette/sculptures. Each kept in a glass box, along with QR codes (linking videos) the exhibition was really well directed and produced - showing the making process, details through video making the experience interactive.
In one of the middle rooms of ‘The EY Exhibition,’ there was an abundance of clothes created from plaster. These were like plaster jacket.
In prop making, the term “plaster jacket” is made from a mixture of plaster and scrim which is designed to reinforce the mould. This surrounds a mould such as silicon or clay. It helps hold structure it’s a really great tool if you want to create a material that is fairly lightweight, inexpensive but you also want to have a very strong structure. Creating a plaster mould with a scrim wall matting is an efficient way of casting something quickly which will hold its shape and be able to be moulded.
A section of the exhibition showed Rodin's development through a collection of plaster hands. It was a fairly large cabinet that was filled with different versions of hands clasping, holding or tensing in different ways. Some were painted white, some skin tones; it is really interesting looking at the levels of detail and experimentation. One thing about Rodin's work is that it is very detailed and realistic. There is a huge presence of realism through the way he shapes and casts. I will show an image of the above.
A piece that I will definitely insert a photo of which I really really like was the burglars of Calais. This piece was in its own room and it showed six men sculpted with ropes and chains around them. It is a white sculpture that is fairly large; I’d say the sculptures of the men are slightly larger in scale. The story goes the French port was besieged by the English. King Edward III of England agreed to spare the townspeople if six of their leaders surrendered with ropes around their necks. One leader and five citizens volunteered for the task; in the end, they were spared. Rodin created the piece showing the men unclothed, fabric draped in plaster being dragged around their backs and feet. The sculpture is so realistic and moving that it really emphasises the hopelessness and the sorrow felt as these men awaited their death. When I look at the piece I don’t think that it is joyful, no heroism is visible. I think it is tragic, that it came to these men volunteering their lives, Rodin has truly expressed these people’s emotions through his sculpting technique. The bronze version of this piece stands in Victoria Tower Gardens which is right next to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster so hopefully next few weeks I will go have a look at it. I really enjoyed there not been bronze statues everywhere. Personally, I think metal statues are absolutely fine but almost quite intimidating due to the dark colour; it can become unsettling or just a bit over the top. There is something about plaster that is special, the whiteness which creates shadows, that creates curves, bends and a smooth texture.
It showed that it was all about development.
There was a small room full of graphite and watercolour on paper paintings/drawings that Rodin had completed, I really liked these pieces (I will insert photos above of my favourites.) They are very simple showing upper torsos, the moon or a single dove. Framed nicely.
In the 20th century, Rodin was a well-known name and a star in any sense of the word. He had a workshop full of multiple production teams. He never rested on his success and kept revisiting works expanding the designs changing them and experimenting. He died in 1916 and is buried with his long-time partner Rose Beuret in the garden. A bronze cast of one of saw called the thinker six over the grave.
Overall I really enjoyed the exhibition I thought there was something special about the work through the developments The exhibition presented a different dimension to his work, not just the final product. I’d really recommend if any of you can get to the Tate modern soon to go on, try to get a ticket. It was very enjoyable and now from not knowing about Rodin, I have come to love his style and work. I’m intrigued to more I’m the future.
@gracecumminsart