The Gypsies - Gold and Mud Sculpture

More pictures here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/27475815/The-Gypsies-Gold-and-Mud-Sculpture-Degree „The Gypsies – Gold and Mud” was my degree project for the final year of my Bachelors in Sculpture. By taking on this subject, I tried to show a bit of the culture and the creative spirit of the gypsies, despite of the dark image of thiefs and murderers, that they’ve got in the european space. I consider that they are underrated people, of whom authentic creative spirit is in a constant evolution, change and adaptation. For centuries, but especially now, the gypsies and other nomads brought enormous contributions to the art world. Despite that, they are considered to be only some clerks, guardians and receptors of different cultures, but not like true creators. I’ve always been fascinated by the mentality and the culture of these people, but probably the most important thing that I like is the idea of migration and the exploration of the new. It’s something to which I feel that I have a bond. I’ve realised a metamorphosed bust of the gypsy fiddler Tamango. The work is made with unconventional materials like resin, plaster, spray, pigments and steel, arranged in a figurative traditional way. I didn’t choose the materials randomly. I tried to transpose the subject into unconventional materials, speciffic to the age that we live in. The contemporary environment and the contemporary cultural influences affects even the Roma people. The age of consumerism and pop culture is leaving its mark on every culture. The purpose of the bright, strong colors is to get the attention, to amaze. Of course, the past hasn’t been completely replaced. By using the traditional figurative form and the old, artistic rodinian way of modeling and putting it in opposition with the intense saturated colors or the unnatural and repeated forms, I tried to get a balance between the two directions, between the traditional and the modern-contemporary.The absence of the left emisphere of the brain, here full of golden ears, indicates in a direct way, the idea of improvisation, the lack of scientific knowledge and theory, and the development to perfection of the product made by heart. (in Romanian, the expression “working by heart” is equivalent with “working by the ear”) The text on the hands - "Tamango is taking revenge" and "I swear revenge" are the tattoos that he himself made when he was younger. I chose Tamango as a symbol of the Roma culture because of his history and his achievements, but especially because of his original character and his way of being, that includes many of the gypsies social features. By having genuine gypsy origins, being a “țigan ursar” as he declares, Tamango managed to evolve and be seen in a different way, becoming one of the most important romanian gypsy music stars. He collaborated with the bands Hara and Shukar Collective and was able to push the gypsy music to another level, on a different scale. He made a different package to the product that he propelled to the level of a contemporary music genre. “In the world of gypsies it was never a man like Tamango. With two spoons and a thick-tongue like it wasn’t unprecedentedly, he won he’s fame in the village, the country and all over the world.” Link to the Degree document (in Romanian) and extra photos from the making here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6R32fzZZBNLflpMVENJVlpzM2xoeTMyc0xLTXdWOTFOYzc1V211dVhNTjVOTFRSWU5iNGs&usp=sharing

Sculpture:Resin on Carbon Fibre

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:23.6 W x 86.6 H x 23.6 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.