Figure (Archaean)
- Artist:
- Type: Sculpture
- Medium: Bronze
- Production Date: 1959
- Copy Number: 1
- Edition: 7
- Description: Barbara Hepworth worked with a variety of materials - stone, wood and marble - but during the1950s also increasingly worked in bronze, which led to the creation of works on a much larger scale. She was one of the leading practitioners of the avant-garde method of Direct Carving, avoiding the more traditional process of making preparatory models and maquettes from which a craftsman would produce the finished work. This work is cast in bronze and explores in three dimensions one of the main themes within the art created by the St Ives modernists ‘ form and void, and the way in which space around and within an object play a part in giving it form.
Archaean is a standing object representing the human form standing in a landscape.The name relates to the earlier of two divisions of the Precambrian era, a period of time that extends from about 4.6 billion years ago. During this period the earliest forms of life are assumed to have appeared on earth. Hepworth‘s art was primarily about relationships, and in particular the relationship between the human figure and the landscape. She said that she always imagined ‘perfect settings for sculpture‘ mostly envisaged outside and related to the landscape‘.
The acquisition of this work in 1967 - by an internationally significant artist - shows how seriously the establishment of this important collection of contemporary art was taken by the brand new University of Stirling. Writing to the University Principal Tom Cottrell in August of that year, Hepworth expressed delight that Archaean had been chosen for the University. She said she thought it would make a ‘marvellous foil to the beautiful architecture and the wonderful landscape‘.
The landscape is such a central feature of life at Stirling, and this sculpture fits perfectly in its surroundings. It cuts an imposing figure in the first courtyard as you enter the Pathfoot Building.
Figure(Archaean) is now one of over 60 sculptures on display in the Pathfoot and across the wider campus. - Dimensions: 218.5 cm (H) 129cm w x 30cm d. (Plinth 22cm h x 60cm w x 60cm d)
- Acquisition Note: Acquired with money granted by the Scottish Art Council to buy sculpture for the brand new University of Stirling in 1967.
- Digital Copy:A digital copy exists.
- Location: Pathfoot Courtyard 4
- Related Material: AC/AF/H/9
- Related Material: AC/OF/1995/1
- Accession Number: 1995.1
- Contact: University of Stirling Art Collection
