Weekend Programming: Moore Movie Gets Thumbs Up
Posted in Exhibitions, Moore in America, Programs and Events on July 25 2008, by Kate
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Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University, is an intern working in the Communications Department this summer. |
If the 20 monumental pieces in the largest outdoor exhibition of Henry Moore’s sculpture ever seen in a single venue in the United States isn’t enough for you, there is more Moore to be seen at NYBG. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through November 2, you can catch The Art of Henry Moore, a documentary film focusing on his work.
As anyone living in or visiting New York City in the past few weeks-scratch that, during the summertime in general-will understand, the heat can get pretty intense. So I decided to escape to the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall and check out The Art of Henry Moore for some air-conditioned relief.
Narrated by Moore himself, the film features footage from around the world, showcasing a variety of backdrops for his magnificent sculpture, many of which can be seen in real life at NYBG during the Moore in America exhibit.
The Art of Henry Moore opens with Moore telling about his life and the defining moments that led him to become one of the most widely known and highly regarded sculptors of all time. He drew inspiration from a range of objects: from a bleak rock in the landscape of Adel woods, outside of Leeds, to ancient Mexican art found in the British Museum. He explains the themes in his works such as the mother and child and the reclining figure and considers the benefits of working in various media using different techniques.
Before seeing the movie, I didn’t know much about Moore’s creative thought process. I gained an appreciation for how artists, and Moore in particular, use particular methods for generating ideas. Moore talks of walking in nature every day and how a sculpture begins—by finding an object such as a bone or a pebble and drawing and studying it. Moore took these “found objects” and translated the beauty of imperfection into his abstract sculpture.
I would definitely recommend seeing The Art of Henry Moore when you visit the Garden for the Moore exhibition. It puts all of the work in perspective and puts a human face on the man behind the extraordinary sculpture.
