Nude Sculpture: 5,000 Years
Once Finn realized that the camera exposed "qualities in a work of art" not readily seen otherwise, he devoted himself to photographing figurative sculptures for almost forty years, resulting in this consummate photographic essay on the human figure as idealized by artists for five millennium. Art and photography expert Goldberg fluently summarizes the history of nude sculpture and analyzes Finn's use of these works to create his own art, thus setting in motion a provocative loop of responses. Viewers focus first on the sculptures, marveling at how supple and alive stone and bronze become under the hands of the nameless geniuses of ancient Greece and Egypt, and of such masters as Michelangelo and Rodin. Then the compositional perfection and exquisite detail of Finn's magnificent photographs emerge, along with the realization that nude sculptures are so ubiquitous, they've become almost invisible. Finn brings them back into our field of vision, and what marvels are here to behold.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved