Stamford Art Show

Stamford Art Show

Stamford Art Show 1024 683 Tom Beardwell

Stamford College End of Year Art Show June 2018

This exhibition celebrated the end of my Foundation Diploma art course. Including my latest sculpture pieces, the beginnings of my “Pursuit of Perfection” series. this time exploring the human form as my subject matter.

The original intentions for this project was to explore the idea of male beauty, what we perceive as the perfect body and how that has evolved over time from the original vision of the male physique. The concept of the perfect male physique originated in ancient Greece, where athletics and heroism were major themes of their culture. This created an image of a toned, athletic and muscular man that many still aspire to today: a body made for action.

This concept has naturally lead me into the world of bodybuilding, I am interested how it has evolved over time from a male image considered very beautiful, to the extremely muscular bodybuilder today. My aim has been to delve deep into reasons why this supposed pinnacle of male physique has changed and what drives people to obtain the perfect image. There is no better way to explore this theme with than sculpture, working in the same way that ancient Greeks sculpted and cast their own bronze statues depicting the male form.

The three large torsos titled “Gravitas”, modelled from bodybuilder Steve Diggle have been made in bronze resin, plaster and ceramic. For more information on these pieces visit my portfolio.

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