Anthony Gormley’s “The Field” is an installation which made a lasting impression on me. I saw it many, many years ago in Inverleith house in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
When I first looked into the room and saw all these terracotta creatures I thought, how amazing, look at all these wee guys, all the same! Then I started to look more carefully and realised that they were not all the same. In fact, Gormley hadn’t made all these models himself. He’d invited hundreds of people to each make their own one. So every one of them was unique.
That image stayed with me because I thought this was an essence of the work of a doctor. Every patient would present me with features which they had in common with other patients who had the same diagnosis, but every one them was unique. I had to juggle with the opposites of sameness and difference every day.
Years later I visited Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple on the edge of Kyoto. In the grounds there I found something similar to Anthony Gormley’s “The Field”. Under the direction of an artist dozens of people had created their own stone sculptures. Again, at first glance, they looked the same, but, quickly you can see that every single one of them is unique.
Look at some of them….I bet you find a favourite or two
Hello Bob, My name is Margarida. I’m an artist and I’ve been reading Heroes Not Zombies newsletter since the beginning of 2014. It’s been a very important source of inspiration for my life and my art practice. I’m really grateful for keeping us company and helping us (re)focus on the deepest meaning of life and its connection to nature.
I’m currently doing a phd in sculpture in the Fine Arts University of Lisbon and I would like to know if it would be possible to do a small interview to you related to my artistic research. If possible, i could send you more details via email. Thank you so much.
Kind regards,
Margarida Alves
Hi Margarida, you’ve made my day! I’m so glad to hear your feedback. I’d be delighted to connect by email. My email address is my first and second name as one word “bobleckridge” and it’s at gmail.com (I’m writing it this way so that spam bots don’t find it!)
Thank you so much Bob! Kind Regards, Margarida