Salvatore Ala Gallery.
Heartney refers to Globalisation as a “multifaceted phenomenon” and mentions that one of the aspects of it is “proliferation”. [1] Taplin expresses that a feeling of proliferation is the most overpowering visual element that is exhibited in Gormley’s Field artwork, which is a mass of 35,000 terra-cotta figures, with their only facial identifier being two poked in eyes, all facing the entry to the space and only allowing visual intrusion. The coarsely formed, limbless figures resemble miniature men, who are standing to attention, perhaps waiting for direction. [2]
Taplin states that to create Field, Gormley employed “Third World labour” from Mexico who were a family of “brick makers”. These workers produced an awe-inspiring and significant artwork for another affluent culture, which in turn causes the viewer to feel conflict and irony. Gormley forces the viewer to become a commanding dictator, whose responsibility is to impose their culture onto the mass. [2] In relation to globalisation, Heartney describes the representation of the mass of numerous unidentifiable figures as a disintegration of the “individual”. [1]
Gormley’s artwork Field is a negative statement with regards to the effects of Globalisation, in particular to the facet of “classes and cultures”, how the ruling classes rein supreme, and long-established cultures are used for their cheap labour and their traditional ways destroyed. Taplin also mentions that the artwork is an aggressive critique of modern life, with its completely consuming and destructive existence. [2] Vidler observes that Field’s mass takes up the entire wall-to-wall space, which signifies an invasion, which is another negative aspect of Globalisation. [3]
Heartney also argues that technological advances play a significant role in the advent of Globalisation. Technology is assisting modern economies through the profiting from mass production of goods, which are manufactured inexpensively in developing countries. [1] Gormley’s Field is a grand example of mass production that is produced by a developing country, and yet ironically it is produced in a non-technological way.
No matter how the artwork is viewed in relation to globalisation, whether in a positive or negative light, Field is an overpowering artwork that the viewer is compelled to relate to. The sheer number of people being represented in clay, all still and quiet, has powerful capabilities that they perhaps have not come to realise.
Bibliography
[1] Heartney, Eleanor. Art and Today. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2008.
[2] Taplin, Robert. “Antony Gormley at Salvatore Ala (Review of Exhibitions).” Art in America 79, no.11 (1991): 147.
[3] Vidler, Anthony. Antony Gormley: Blind Light. London: Southbank Centre, 2007.
Website: http://www.antonygormley.com (accessed September 7, 2009).
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