Author: Kyle Vanderhoof

 

In a literal sense, the sculpture is a self-portrait of François Willème. He is standing in a relaxed pose with his arms crossed, weight shifted atop his right leg. He is wearing a jacket of some sort, giving the appearance of an old professor. The pockets of the coat are full. I think that this sculpture denotes observation of something. The ‘man’ appears to be observing and pondering something. I can definitely see this piece being a reenactment of Willème inspecting one of his pieces. It connotes intellect, creativity, and deep thinking. This reminds me of a Renaissance thinker. Based on the pose, clothing, and underlying implications of the piece, I think of new ideas, progression in creative medias and society, and a time of advancement. I would like to stretch the concept of being a ‘thinker.’ I intend to achieve this by distorting the sculpture in a manner that depicts phrases such as ‘backwards thinker, upside down thinker, twisted mind, roundabout thinker, big thinker.’

The distortion that I will use will combine rotation of the sculpture’s head 180 degrees, as well as bending it so that the feet curl and touch the head. This will signify backwards thinking as well as thinking in a roundabout way.

 

I am using the hat as a ‘lid’, which a word some people use to refer to a hat.  Also when inverted the hat appears to be a bowl of some sort to hold an object.  Finally, when oriented on its side, the combination of objects resembles a hair dryer.