Symbolic moment arrives for sculptor Yiannis Pappas
Some artists have become famous not only for their art but also for their intellectual theorizing on art. Several of the most insightful observations on art have in fact been made by artists themselves, and the writings of painters like Kandinsky, Beuys or Barnett Newmann exist to prove it. Essays by artists can be an insight into an artist’s work and that is part of what makes them interesting. But the fact that many artists feel at ease with developing and publicizing theoretical views on art – and on other issues as well – is also telling of broader societal values: of the artist’s status, what we expect of him and the readiness with which we usually accept what artists have to say simply because they are, by definition, regarded as sentient perceivers of reality. In the minds of most of us, being an artist means much more than being part of a mundane profession, and it is largely from this that the widely held notion of the «myth of the artist» derives. In one way, the large album on the renowned sculptor Yiannis Pappas which includes images of his works and an extensive foreword by the artist himself, recently published by Adam publications, is indicative of the high esteem in which artists are generally held. In another, it comes as a tribute to a lifetime dedicated to art and one of Greece’s most important sculptors, now heading into his 90s. The publication also marks a symbolic moment in the artist’s career, for it coincides with his decision to donate the entirety of the works that he still owns to the Benaki Museum. In the book’s presentation at the Benaki recently, Pappas’s son also announced his intention to donate his father’s studio in Zografou (which belongs to him) to the museum. Both decisions reflect on the ways that museums and cultural institutions operate; more specifically, it serves to remind us of both the Benaki’s gradual expansion and its power as an institution. Other than that, the book can be enjoyed for its abundance of images, all in black-and-white, that, in chronological order, document the work of Pappas, following the life of the artist from his early student years in Paris to Athens, Egypt (in the mid-1940s he served at a post in the Royal Navy in Alexandria) and back to Athens, where in the mid-1950s he became a professor at the School of Fine Arts. For the reader unfamiliar with Pappas’s work, it is also fun to finally recognize some of the best-known works of public sculpture, including the bronze sculpture of Eleftherios Venizelos in Eleftherias Park and the marble standing effigy of Harilaos Trikoupis at the Greek Parliament building. Indeed, throughout his career, Pappas was commissioned for some of the most important public sculptures, many of which he mentions in the book’s foreword, the only text included in the album. It is also in this piece that Pappas elaborates on his views on art and touches on issues ranging from artistic innovation and originality to the state of contemporary art and the meaning of artistic talent. The prevalent mood, however, is that of an artist feeling the urge to communicate the huge responsibility he feels as an artist, both to himself and to the public. The text takes the reader through the artist’s mind, into his studio and through the stages of an elaborate artistic process, a significant part of which is the careful observation of reality (he always worked from a live model). Pappas talks extensively about proportion, harmony, volume and the properties of sculpture. He also speaks of the relationship between an artist and his works and of constantly striving for perfection. Through Pappas’s narration emerges the traditional model of the artist-idealist obsessed with attaining his vision. The extent to which such a notion enriches our understanding of art, especially in times when art history and criticism emphasize social context and ideology rather than visual experience, is, of course, debatable. If not of broader interest, the book helps shed light on the artistic personality of one of the country’s most esteemed sculptors.
