In the history of art, representations of wrestling are paradoxically as old (to be found in Antiquity and even in Prehistory) as they are rare in the Modern Era. For artists, such dissymmetry comes with two interesting advantages: on one hand it constitutes a theme that is yet to be explored, with great visual potential; on the other hand, the iconography of the precursors opens up unforeseen perspectives. The more so as it establishes a fascinating formal dialogue with contemporary photographic images, which present flashes from wrestling competitions, MMA, Sumo etc. This dialogue takes place both at a formal level (between the coherence offered by a stylistic / esthetic perspective and the chaotic objectivity of the photo camera) and a thematic level (the overwhelming presence of traditional religious symbolism vs. the pop culture of entertainment wrestling). One can even place the ancestral traditions of Sumo and other types of ritualistic wrestling between these two extremes. When these visions meet, their conjunction becomes intriguing and seductive altogether. The bodies’ clash becomes merging and the conflict becomes means of communication.
The “Jacob’s Wrestle” project starts from this cultural / iconographic confrontation attempting to orient it towards new esthetic directions. It is an exploration of the stylistic variations that are possible following this theme, and it studies the formal analogies offered by the succession of the positions the human body adopts during a wrestle, which evoke a series of knots and signs, an anatomical writing. Rendering these shapes involves complex calligraphy, which is used by Gabriel Marian as part of a more complex ongoing visual project.
It is also, and more so, an allusion of the artist’s wrestle with style, with the pressure of academic art and esthetic conventions of the era, as well as with art in general. It is about the ongoing confrontation with institutional art, becoming even more relevant as we are now celebrating the centenary of the boldest forms of avant-garde art.
The “Jacob’s Wrestle” project starts from this cultural / iconographic confrontation attempting to orient it towards new esthetic directions. It is an exploration of the stylistic variations that are possible following this theme, and it studies the formal analogies offered by the succession of the positions the human body adopts during a wrestle, which evoke a series of knots and signs, an anatomical writing. Rendering these shapes involves complex calligraphy, which is used by Gabriel Marian as part of a more complex ongoing visual project.
It is also, and more so, an allusion of the artist’s wrestle with style, with the pressure of academic art and esthetic conventions of the era, as well as with art in general. It is about the ongoing confrontation with institutional art, becoming even more relevant as we are now celebrating the centenary of the boldest forms of avant-garde art.
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