The Sculpture Diaries
Waldemar Januszczak's account of his all-time favourite art-form - sculpture.
"Sculpture has never had a dark age," says Januszczak. "It's always been there, in every society, in every corner of the world. Because it's the most critical art. The one we can't do without."
Stressing the global primacy of sculpture, Januszczak travels to the most spectacular sculptural locations in the world - from Peru to Nigeria, from Easter Island to Japan - and visits some of the most revered contemporary sculptors, including Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, James Turrell and the Chapman Brothers.
In three epic journeys, Januszczak uses sculpture to explore attitudes to sex, power and the cosmos, to demonstrate why sculpture has been, and will continue to be, at the heart of our cultural lives.
Following the series, starting on October 4, the iconic works of five internationally-renowned artists will be exhibited at the British Museum, in a series of installations titled 'Statuephilia: Contemporary Sculptors at the British Museum', selected by Januszczak in association with the museum.
Programme one traces the representation of women in sculpture from the prehistoric Venus of Willendorf, via the Venus de Milo, to Marc Quinn's representation of Alison Lapper Pregnant. Waldemar visits a plastic surgeon in California who believes he has pinpointed the exact mathematical formula for beauty and who shows us how 'perfection' can be achieved by 'improving' the image of Victoria Beckham. And he meets notorious 'body sculptress' Orlan who has undergone numerous operations to turn her body into an artwork.
The second programme looks at how leaders aim to leave a lasting legacy through impressive sculptures of themselves. Lenin, in reality an inconspicuous figure, was recreated in sculptures after his death as a dominant presence. Meanwhile at Mount Rushmore, four US presidents are depicted in giant sculptures carved out of a mountain.
The site is controversial for many Native Americans who regard it as their land. A group once protested by urinating down the noses of the Presidents - and a Crazy Horse Memorial is under construction as a riposte. Waldemar also visits Florence to look at Michelangelo's sculpture of David, and points out some of the many apparent inconsistencies with this most iconic of figures.
The final film takes a road trip across North and South America to look at sculpture in the landscape. Waldemar visits the stunning outdoor sculptures of the Spiral Jetty and the Sun Tunnels in the USA and the ancient Inca settlement on Machu Pichu in Peru.
He also looks at the wonder of Stonehenge and ends up in the amazing Roden Crater - a 30-year sculptural project in a volcano in Arizona, created by James Turrell, that is not due to open until 2012.
See more sculpture at the British Museum and get info on the new exhibition, Statuephilia.
