PETER voulkos. soleares.
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Peter Voulkos
(American, b. 1924–d. 2002) -
Soleares
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1959
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Terracotta
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63 in.
(106.2 cm) -
MONUMENTAL CERAMICS BY AN ARTIST WHO WAS A MENTOR TO MANY.
Legendary ceramic artist Peter Voulkos was a mentor to many young artists working with clay and ceramic sculpture, including one artist who is also in our Access! Guide in Century City. Voulkos pushed the limits of working with clay, from making wheel-thrown pots and vases to building monumental sculptures. Two of his earthenware clay sculptures are found in the sculpture garden. Locate these 2 powerful pieces along the main walkway of the garden: one is in plain view, and the other is camouflaged, nestled among tree trunks.
SOLEARES.
Find Soleares, placed near the brick buildings that border the walkway. Soleares is a rusty brown, lumpy sculpture, standing just over 5 feet tall (1.52 m). Move your hand from top to bottom over the textured, rounded forms. You can feel the grain of the clay. Each form was thrown on a potter’s wheel, and then the bowl-shaped forms were connected to the forms near it, bulging out from a central, vertical core.
SPARK A CONVERSATION.
The artist titled the sculpture Soleares, one of the oldest, most traditional forms of Flamenco music, which accompanies Flamenco dancing, characterized by passion, solemnity, mournfulness, and majesty. The stalwart or sturdy, bulky forms of the sculpture recall the slow, sweeping movements of a soleá dancer. Watch a video of Soleá Flamenco dancing below.
Does the dancer's body move smoothly through space, or stop and start abruptly through space?
How does the sculpture describe a Flamenco dancer’s movement?
Can you describe the sound of Flamenco music?
Does the form of the sculpture correspond to the sound of Flamenco music?