The Least Professional Art Critique I've Ever Written

by Maureen Cain

Traditional art criticism has a formal structure. Describe. Analyse. Interpret. Evaluate. Done it a thousand times. This morning I say screw that and head out on a first impressions tour of the contemporary sculpture exhibit in the village.

I start at the far end of the village at one of my favorite sculptures. This is "One Direction" by Vladimir Skoda. I'm drawn to the contrast of its sharp point on top and smooth curves at the base.

Perfect for an upskirt selfie.

Detail of the pointy bit.

Perched on the rampart around the corner is a bronze sculpture by Henk Visch titled "Du livre du matin." The negative spaces of this piece delight me. But it's also a little creepy and leaves me wondering how safe we'll be if an army of these creatures breach the village walls.

On my way to the next scultpure I step aside to watch a herd of Madeline go by.

At the entrance of the village is this shiny piece titled "Rock Shift Giant." I watch tourists engage with its reflective surface. They manuever their cameras so that the tower behind them lines up just right with the edge of the sculpture. The artist who created this piece is the well-known scultpor Arik Levy.

For my next blog post I will need to do more research on Arik Levy. A personal interview perhaps. With some wine. In my bed.

This aluminum sculpture by Vincent Barre is just over 9 feet tall and has an architechtural building block feel to it.

From this angle it reminds me of my favorite corner of the village wall.

Maureen's Favorite Corner

I walk around the outside of the ramparts to get a better view of the sculpture by Vincent Mauger. (It's hiding in this picture at the far end of the wall.) I am fascinated with the massive sculpture hanging from the embrasures 40 feet up.

Embrasure is a defensive military term that means hole in the battlement that you can kill people through. Now there's art hanging there.