Sunday, December 24, 2006

John Ericsson: OMOM Essay 2


Ericsson was one of the first New York sculptures I became familiar with, and remains one of my favorites because of what I've learned about its subject, who was highly intelligent, innovative, and assertive to the point of tactlessness. If you find that you, too, like Ericsson, Forgotten Delights: The Producers incorporates lengthier quotes from him.


This is the first of ten sculptures in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan that also appeared in FDP. "About the Subject" focuses on the Battle of the Ironclads in the context of naval warfare in the 19th c. "About the Sculpture" discusses the purpose of portrait sculpture and introduces the idea of selectivity, one of the key concepts in Ayn Rand's definition of art. Rand's esthetics forms the basis for my understanding of art.

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