Henry Moore One of Artist

Henry Moore

One of artist Henry Moore's greatest pleasures was seeing his sculptures in the open air (Russell 1989), so he would be very pleased to see the bronze figure Upright Motive, No. 9 at the Kansas City Sculpture Park. It stands very regally at 12 feet tall, along with another dozen of his artworks and 30 sculptures in total in a 22-acre park designed by architects Dan Kiley and Jaquelin Robertson in 1989.

Upright Motive No. 9, a massive 1200-pound upright bronze figure depicts a human body rising from the base on the sculpture in an abstract form. Moore said that this form "was inspired by the verticality of trees and Northwest Coast American Indian totem poles" (Kansas City Sculpture Park 2009). Moore joined several other artists of the time who were considerably interested in the artistic creations of indigenous cultures. His upright figure continues a tradition that stems back thousands of years, as well as refers to the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo stone sculptures.

Born in 1898, Moore is considered the most prominent British sculptor of the 20th century (Encarta). He studied at the Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, with his early works being by the huge figures of the Italian Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, the shapely forms of French sculptor Constantin Brancusi and the organic shapes seen in nature and the Egyptian, Sumerian and African sculptures. Later, Pablo Picasso was a major influence, as well as other abstract artists. Moore was an avid collector of art from indigenous cultures, in addition to stones, skulls and bones, which influenced his sculpture. Above all, it was the world of nature that affected him most and its connection to the human body. "The human figure," he stated, "is what interests me most deeply, but I have found principles of form and rhythm from the study of natural objects, such as pebbles, rocks, bones, trees, plants" (Encarta). Surrealism, which tended toward abstract and organic forms, was also a major influence. Moore loved to create moving forms of women sitting or reclining, male and female couples, mother and child, and family units were some of the themes of his works (Encarta).

The setting in Kansas City Sculpture Park is perfect for Moore's works. In his article about the park, Russell (1989) stated on the opening of the park: "It is never dull for a moment, and we can imagine Henry Moore humming and sniffing and conjecturing every inch of the way. Much that has been planted is still far short of maturity, but we are left in no doubt that in the year 1999 this will be a great place for meditation, tree-watching and the discreet plighting of troths." The architects of the Kansas City Sculpture Park made visitors forget that this park is located amidst a large city, surrounded by busy trafficked roads.

Moore's upright forms are usually compared to primitive sources, such as the Celtic crosses or totem poles. Herbert Reed saw these bronze sculptures as "apparitions," or "primordial images projected from the deepest level of the unconscious, and they illustrate the truth that the artist is essentially the instrument of unconscious forces" (Mitchinson 1998, p. 246). Others see the uprights as Moore's reflection of World War I, or bombs cut in half lengthways to show their internal workings, giving a long, smooth and rounded shape at the back and a complex series of mechanical forms at the front. In this case, he is anthropomorphizing the bombs by adding facial parts. Regardless, these sculptures are highly abstract and ambivalent, impacting people in different ways (Mitchinson 1998)

It is most likely more the case that Moore's uprights are not dark and pessimistic recreations of bombs. When he first saw the prehistoric stone monoliths at Stonehenge in the 1930s, he was elated and began to try different types of sculptures: "I started by balancing different forms one above the other -- with results rather like the Northwest totem poles (Mitchinison 1998).

By ambiguously mingling the human form and nature, Moore said he was able to show that man is part of the natural world and not just someone who observes. In Picasso's works, Moore found more ways to reinvent the human figure than he had through anyone else's works. He said in 1937, "There are universal shapes to which everybody is subconsciously conditioned and to which they can respond if their conscious control does not cut them off" (Kosinski 2001, p. 44). Although Moore did not prescribe entirely to Surrealism, often his human forms suggest "the manipulations of Dali" (Bazin 1968, p. 86).

Last year, there was a major event at the Kansas City Sculpture Park: It was necessary to clean the Upright Motive No. 9, because the protective wax needed to be reapplied. It was a major job to be able to lift the 12-foot and 1200 pound figure and bring it inside for repair. Using organic solvents, the Kansas City museum staff removed the wax, thoroughly cleaned the bronze sculpture and once again put on the new coating. The copper tone has oxidized into the dark green, but there were some smaller areas that had begun to turn teal like a tarnished penny. The restorers were able to return it to its natural colors (Nelson Atkins Museum of Art / Kansas City Blog).