Antony Gormley Analysis

Antony Gormley is a British sculptor best known for his work the Angel of the North, and Another Place. In the majority of his work he uses his own body as the basis for metal casts. Gormley describes his work as ' an attempt to materialise the place at the other side of appearance where we all live'. He aims to treat the body as a place, not an object, and so his work is not symbolic but indexical- a trace of a real event of a real body in time.

I am particularly interested in Gormley's 'Another place' work, made up of cast iron sculptures of the artists own body facing towards the sea. This has been displayed in Germany, Norway, Belgium, and finally at Crosby Beach in Liverpool.


I like how the work is very ambiguous, which has caused a lot of controversy. Some people feel it is pornographic, whilst others argue it is a hazard , however it has become a great tourist attraction with a real beauty for anyone to enjoy and explore.
I particularly like the colonisation of the statues by sea life such as barnacles. I find it intriguing how Gormley's body (which could be thought of as his home- the home of his mind/soul etc.) has now become the home of these organisms.

The sculptures were created from 17 body casts taken from Gormley's body, which was protected by a thin layer of cling film. Each sculpture is standing in a very similar way with the lungs inflated to different degrees and their postures carrying varying amounts of tension or relaxation


I find it very interesting how the sculptures are forced to engage with the daily life of the beach, experiencing the varying weather and tides throughout the day and night, whilst looking out upon the busy estuary filled with up to 500 ships a day. According to Gormley, another place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature. Architecture is tested by the elements and 'the prevalence of the sky seems to question the earths substance'. The work is made all the more interesting by the fact that the body is no stereotype or ideal, just an industrially reproduced body of a regular middle aged man attempting to remain standing and breathing, whilst being tested against planetary time. In his struggle he is faced with a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured goods around the planet, perhaps suggesting the world that is still moving on around him.
Despite Gormley's aims and motives, the figures are very open to interpretation, however to me they appear to be staring out towards the horizon in silent expectation, perhaps pondering their life and their dreams.



Gormley-




“Each person is making it again… for some it might be about human evolution, for others it will be about death and where we go, where our bodies finally belong, do they belong to the earth and the elements? And I think that’s what’s amazing about in a way the work of now - contemporary art, it’s no longer representing the ideology of a dominant class it’s actually an open space that people can make their own.”


This quote sparked me to think about how the figures could be looking out to sea reflecting on our evolution, due to the theory of us evolving from fish. However the link with death that Gormley has suggested then turns this into a cycle. Maybe the sea connotes the cycle of our lives, and these figures are looking out to where they came from, and will one day return to.
Leading on from this thought, I like how the figures appear almost ghostly, especially at night. When darkness falls they are lit only by the moon, creating eerie and perhaps slightly sinister silhouettes. They appear like lost ghosts looking out to sea, maybe looking back on their lives in reflection, struggling to move on.

I feel the amount of detail included on the figures is perfect, as it is just enough to give them a sense of life and power, without giving them too much of an individual identity which could make it hard for viewers to connect and relate to them. The figures have a sense of thoughtfulness, serenity, and tranquillity, which is quickly diminished by the crashing waves of high tide.
When viewing the figures in a photo like this-

...the scene appears like an ancient ritual in which they are fully immersed in. This eerie atmosphere is accentuated when viewer's stand next to the figures, perhaps searching for whatever the figures are staring towards, expecting to discover what they're looking for.

There are also theories that the work is a response to sentiments associated with emigration. The figures portray the sadness of leaving, but the hope of a new future in another place. I feel the enigmatic forms portray these deep feelings well through their posture and positioning.

A particular aspect of the composition of this work that interests me is how each viewer will see a different piece of art. Depending on the time of day/month/year the piece is visited, the figures will be immersed in different levels of sand and water, completely changing the aesthetic and atmosphere of the work.

I feel the flood victim figure that I made is similar to Gormley's Another Place figures. I am going to make another figure where I focus on the level of detail and emotion shown through the figure, trying to reach an effective balance like Gormley has. I am unable to make a cast like Gormley has, however I could achieve my aim by using clay onto wire instead of paper mache as this may be an easier way of moulding a face to how I want it.