|
The Energy and the Ecstasy
by Sara Vincent
Like the dynamic figures she sculpts, Esther Wertheimer
appears to be in a state of perpetual motion. "I love
movement. I love anything that involves motion and action...
I need to dance, I need to feel the music, I just go wild on
the dance floor."
Inspired by her lifetime study of dance, Wertheimer
deliberately transforms her sculptures into expressions of
unrestrained energy. "Whatever work I do, whatever subject,
I always ask 'how much can I elongate? How much can I
stretch?'" Using her hands to circumscribe sculptural forms
in the air, she explains why she considers this an important
aspect of her work. "I studied anatomy and I always start
with my figures anatomically correct, then I 'swish' them,
making them into clean lines because I want you to really
get the impact of the mother swinging the child, the dancer
dancing, the children reaching for perfection. I want you to
feel the strength of what's happening, that they're not just
static." Using the Italian expression contrapposto to
describe poses in which one part of a figure is twisted in
the opposite direction to the rest, Wertheimer says she
takes this term "to its zenith degree. I use it to create a
greater intensity of emotion in my work-that's my
signature".
The highly-charged atmosphere surrounding Wertheimer is
difficult to ignore. She is not oblivious to this and notes
that "I respond to people and they to me". Understanding the
kind of advantages this can afford a person, she has used
her charm on several occasions. "I am a true believer in the
word 'mesmerising' - that if you approach someone with a
very positive intent, then you have already mesmerised them.
I always say 'I want to do' and 'I will do'; I always go
with the attitude 'you need me more than I need you' and
an inner voice which is like a dare - 'I dare someone to say
no to you.' I think that anyone who wants to succeed has to
have that attitude."
Already accepted as a critically acclaimed
sculptor in the West, she recalls how she sought to generate
a positive reponse to her work in Japan when she visited the
country for the first time in 1989. "I took my portfolio to
about six galleries and took an approach that was firm, but
kind, telling them how wonderful I was, that I was
international, that I was involved in all these great
things, and that, although I didn't know if I was going to
choose them, it would really be their honour and privilege
to have me." Of course, all six galleries wanted to
represent, her, and, once on show, the works caused quite a
sensation.
Since her initial visit in 1989, Wertheimer has
returned to Japan to meet with Prince Takamado (who has
written an introduction to her present catalogue) and to
oversee the installation of some of the numerous public
sculptures she has been commissioned for, one of the most
important of which is the figure of Primavera which was
selected by the Fukuoka municipal government to commemorate
its 100th anniversary in 1992.
Originally entitled Democracy, the 4m high bronze was
actually inspired by the Tiananmen Square atrocities
Wertheimer was witness to in l989, and renamed Primavera
(Spring) to symbolise the new hopes and aspirations
associated with Fukuoka's centenary.
Wertheimer's power of positive thinking has also been
responsible for other successes in her life. Originally
trained as a painter, she turned to teaching fine art very
early in her career, and within four years at Loyola College
in Montreal, had watched her class of 30 students grow to
number 1,000. She attributes this to the "unfashionable",
more traditional methods of teaching she employed. "Many art
teachers tell their students to be sensational, that
'anything goes', and I think it's wrong. It's unfortunate
that teachers aren't taught to teach now, and that they are
actually antagonised by anyone who is capable of doing
realism because it's a threat to them. If you look back at
Picasso, Hockney or even Henry Moore, they all began with
realism, they are all trained. That's my premise, that only
once you have learned everything can You move on. If, after
you've studied you want to experiment, that's fine, but not
before."
Wertheimer's own background reflects this concern for
education. "In order to create as an artist," she says, "you
need to know what happened before. History is all-important,
it gives you food for thought." Having been a student at the
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, she decided she would like to
further her own studies and determined that Italy would be
the logical place to go. Bold as ever, she describes how she
achieved this. "I walked into the Italian Cultural Institute
and said I wanted a scholarship to study in Italy. They
looked at me and said, 'You dare come into our office and
tell us what you want! Who are you to be so forward?' So I
told them that I thought I was as good as the other people I
knew who had scholarships, if not better, and I went on to
prove to them my work was of merit."
Once installed at the Academia di Belle Arte in
Florence, Wertheimer was able to begin sculpting in earnest.
She says she knew that having got her hands "dirty with
clay," she could never turn back to painting. Eager to
experiment with the "lost wax" technique of bronze casting,
she became increasingly confident with this challenging
method of sculpting. She discovered that by smoothing and
polishing the metal she could create different effects.
These have become her personal trademark. Wertheimer also
became friendly with other practising artists while she was
in Florence and practised her art by producing portraits of
some of the city's most influential citizens. Choosing first
the mayor, Wertheimer wrote to ask whether he would like to
come to the studio she had acquired and allow her to create
a sculpted likeness of him. Bv selecting prominent local
personalities, "rather than just hire models", she
established several important relationships with people who
were able to introduce her to the art and culture which make
up the richly woven tapestry of Italy's history. Today her
love for the country remains so strong that she regularly
returns to the artists' colony at Pietrasanta.
After her return from Italy, Wertheimer proceeded to
work towards the completion of a bachelor's, and later, a
master's degree. During this time she had to balance her
working life with her role as a mother of young children.
She also began to concentrate on specific themes, gaining
particular inspiration from her lifelong love of dance and
the common experience of familial strength and bonds. By
giving expression to her own maternal instincts Wertheimer
touched upon a subject with universal understanding and
appeal, and these works have been popular across the
globe.
Although Wertheimer was born in Poland, she has lived
most of her life in Montreal, and now divides her time
between there and Florida. Referring to her age as a factor
some might presumptuously assume would slow her down, she
says she is constantly beginning new projects and looking
for new avenues to try, both in her own art and the business
related to it. "I truly feel you can discipline yourself to
do almost anything you want to do. The problem with a lot of
artists is that they are too willing to stay at home doing
what they're happiest doing, but I know that if I stay at
home, nothing is going to happen. I don't like the business
world, but I have to be in it-I've Learned to wear different
hats when I need to."
The exciting act of "creating and giving life" to her
sculptures involves a complicated emotional process which
alternates between extremes of "positive to negative and
happiness to fear, all of which act and react". Wertheimer
describes how she is greatly affected by the forces
governing movement, line and music: "The rhythm seems to
come through and I feel myself inundated with a whole
different being. I'm in a very content state then, when my
hand appears to be working ahead of my thinking, it's a very
euphoric sense of being. Maybe it's also from working within
this capsule of 'life is wonderful', that I also feel a need
for contrast, a need for active release which comes out when
I need to concentrate on business."
It was after the world trip she embarked on in 1987
that Wertheimer first visited Singapore. Initially
interested in the potential market for her work, she quickly
discovered how keen Singaporeans are to learn about art, and
willing to experiment themselves. After joining forces with
the La Salle School's Brother Joseph McNally, a man she
describes as a "shaker and a doer, genuinely devoted to
helping artists in Singapore", she taught some courses on
painting and sculpture, and relishes the opportunity to
return. Having been chosen from 1,300 applicants to make a
bid for space at the recently opened Suntec City, this is
something she looks forward to doing soon. In the meantime,
Wertheimer will continue to add to the number of
international exhibitions she has held, and work on projects
she has pending for public installations in other countries.
"I've never been afraid of anything, I've always been daring
and I've always wanted to keep on developing artistically. I
haven't reached my peak, and I want people to see my work,
that's why I keep on creating."
|
|
