Concentration Sculpture #3

ARTIST STATEMENT:

The subject of my creation is the statue of the Bear and the Bull in Frankfurt. The statue is located right outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the city centre. As the home of the European Central Bank (ECB), but also of the the German stock exchange (Deutsche Börse AG), the German central bank (Bundesbank) and other branches of foreign central banks; Frankfurt is the financial capital of Europe. In a town where the market and the finances are in the centre of everybody's attention, a statue representing a bull and a bear has a significative meaning behind it. The two symbolic beasts of finance. The bull in its upright stance is meant to suggest initiative and optimism, the bear stands for the opposite. In its crouching position it is clearly set apart from the bull and symbolizes recession on the stock market. The bronze to create the composition was donated by the stock exchange on the occasion of the celebration of its 400th anniversary and the statue was erected shortly before the renovation of the stock exchange was completed in October 1988. To create the bull of my art project I used clay meanwhile I used wire for the bear and paper and foam board for the base. I decided to create this specific artwork because earlier this year during one of my classes we talked about the figure of the bear and the bull in finances and that knowledge instantly brought me back to my stay in Frankfurt.

To create this artwork I started by making the clay bull. I began making the clay bull from the hollow body, I then added the legs, the head, the tail and lastly the horns and the eyes. Once I was done sculpting the creation, I smoothened it and I fired it in the kiln. Once I was done with the bull I started making the bear. To create the bull I took some wire and I started to tangle it all around I wire structure that I initially created. When both the sculptures were done I started creating the base. To make it I, first of all, printed some euros on some paper and I then cut and glued them, like a collage, on the base. After gluing the paper on the base I covered it with a glossy coat, in order to give a little bit more of brilliance to the piece. I decided to make a colored base to balance the color input in the art piece but also to somewhat frame the two sculptures and join them together. At first I wanted to color the clay sculpture but I decided not to, because I ended up liking the contrast between the darkness of the black bear and the brightness of the white bull.

This artwork reminds me of my stay in Frankfurt, one of the most important journeys in my life so far, after the one here in the United States. Two summers ago I spent three weeks in Frankfurt to study German; this journey was really important for me because I made so many friends and memories that I will never forget. During those three weeks I learned so many new things and I lived unforgettable experiences. If I had the chance to change something in my artwork, I think that I would try to reduce the size of the bear by a little bit. Despite that little detail though I am really proud of my artwork, and the fact that it looks mostly as I was planning on it to look.