At the ripe age of 11, Henry Moore discovered Michelangelo's tremendous success and declared he would become a sculptor. True to his word, he became one of the most influential English sculptors of the 20th century.
Born on July 30, 1898, Moore, one of eight children, grew up in poverty. Against the odds, his passion and dedication to becoming an artist brought him to the Leeds School of Art and later the Royal College of Art. There, he was given the opportunity to study at museums like the British Museum, where he became enthralled by the “primitive” or archaic sculptures like that of the Egyptians and Etruscans and inspired by abstract artists like Pablo Picasso.
He developed a modernist style and became known for his abstract bronze sculptures of the human figure, specifically the female body or of mother and child. Studying the form of pebbles, shells, and bones, Moore liked to incorporate what he called “nature’s principles of form and rhythm” into his work. He also gained a reputation for his straightforward titles for his pieces.
“All art should have a certain mystery and should make demands on the spectator. Giving a sculpture or a drawing too explicit of a title takes away part of that mystery so that the spectator moves on to the next object, making no effort to ponder the meaning of that he has just seen. Everyone thinks that he or she looks but they don’t really, you know.” - Henry Moore
Moore became renowned internationally during the 1940s and 50s, gaining many commissions and exhibiting his work at institutions like UNESCO. He passed away on August 31, 1986, at age 88, leaving a legacy that would overshadow and influence sculptors after him.
I first encountered one of Moore’s sculptures, Oval with Points (1969-70), in Princeton, New Jersey. The giant oxidizing figure 8 was hard to miss. It appeared again in a museum I visited (the Art Gallery of Ontario) in Toronto, Canada. This one is a working model, notably much smaller and white.
I unintentionally came across it a third time in Hong Kong. They say the third time's the charm, so I decided to thoroughly look into the sculpture and the artist behind it.
Oval with Points is a series of bronze sculptures varying in size created by Henry Moore from 1968-1970. They are related to his other pieces Spindle Piece and Two Piece Points: Skull. As the name plainly states, this sculpture has a modulating ovular shape with two sharp protruding points that almost touch in the center, creating an “8”. Supposedly, he was inspired by spark plugs and an elephant skill gifted to him from East Africa. As Moore stated, he intended his art to be not easily understood so that it is not bound to one perspective. In this piece in particular, the scale of it invites viewers to touch, sit, and interact with it, facilitating the formation of their interpretations.
I like the “bone-iness” of this piece. The two points that almost touch protrude like limbs and create tension offset by the soft round curves. Similar to Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, there is this sense of anticipation of action without aggression. Its organic shape and 3-dimensional depth play with concave and convex forms. In my mind, it resembles a Möbius strip, providing a sense of movement, continuity, and connectivity in every environment it is found in.
I wonder how many Ovals you would find around the world. :)