Simplicity Through Complexity - Continued

Simplicity through complexity. It is in fact my middle son who first used this phrase, in relation to the second vertical form in the Metamorphosis Seminar series - Stage 8 - as I was frantically removing two horizontal elements in the form that made the whole thing far too complicated and ultimately distracted from what I felt the form was about (cf. post entitled 'Stage 8 in the Metamorphosis Seminar').
I love that phrase; I love the words and I love the concept. No surprises there.

It reminds me of another statement I saw on the dust extractor at a studio space at Fondazione Sem in Pietrasanta. It was the workspace of a sculptor called Armen Agop - http://www.armenagop.com/ (do take a look at this website), a fascinating character, both as an artist and as a person, whose work I admire greatly.

He had written this first in Arabic, followed by the English translation:

This was a highly inspirational encounter, both because of him and the surroundings in which he worked and because of this statement. I have had discussions with artists, who feel that simplicity equals boring; they need more going on in a sculpture (painting, ...) to keep their interest. I wonder whether they might be missing the point ...


Here are a couple more images:

Two other sculptors I discovered whilst in Pietrasanta two years ago: one is the Japanese artist Kan Yasuda:
http://www.kan-yasuda.co.jp/
the other the French sculptor Nicolas Bertoux:
http://www.nicolasbertoux.it/

More on them in another post.