The Burghers of Calais
Ray Giroux
Hello, I have been considering a very interesting tattoo which will
require the efforts of a top notch tattoo artist, particularly in the
realm of portraits. The Burghers of Calais is a sculpture created by
Auguste Rodin (the guy who made The Thinker), and depicts a historical
event from the Hundred Years War when 6 respected members of the town of
Calais, France volunteered to sacrifice themselves to the King of
England along with the keys to the city, so that the town would be freed
from a seige which had lasted a year and placed them on the brink of
famine. The six men are portrayed leaving their home and each is shown
to be facing their approaching death in a unique way. It is truly an
incredible work and my idea has been to take the faces of the men and
arrange them together along the better part of one leg (although the
choice in location is still not yet final). I have spent the last few
months deliberating as to just how this may all come together and am
taking the matter of selecting an artist fairly seriously, as this work,
if possible, should be no small feat. Therefore I would like to ask for
help or recommendations of artists who are exceptional in their portrait
work, particularly if you have seen this sculpture and realize the
challenge involved. I have a small amount of experience with tattooing
and understand it's inherent limitations, but would simply like the best
work possible. The east coast of the US would be ideal, but I'll
consider going anywhere. Any and all comments would be greatly
appreciated and I am completely open to discussing the matter in more
depth via email or posting. Sorry for the length of this, but at least
the details are here.
RAYMOND PEARSON
Ray Giroux <rgi...@ti.com> wrote in article <34FC5429...@ti.com>...
>
> require the efforts of a top notch tattoo artist, particularly in the
> realm of portraits.
Ray sounds like a neat piece. There are many portrait artist available,
notably amoung these are brian everet and jack rudy, If you want a " NAME"
to do it. Both will likely be at atlanta and richmond conventions. However
as i said many artists are developing really good portrait styles. As
always look through the artists books to see what they have done. Ideally
with a copy of the photo they worked from.
Good luck
Ray
bi...@eviltron.com
>The Burghers of Calais is a sculpture created by
> Auguste Rodin (the guy who made The Thinker), and depicts a historical
> event from the Hundred Years War when 6 respected members of the town of
> Calais, France volunteered to sacrifice themselves to the King of
> England along with the keys to the city, so that the town would be freed
> from a seige which had lasted a year and placed them on the brink of
> famine. The six men are portrayed leaving their home and each is shown
> to be facing their approaching death in a unique way.
Intense!
I was an art history major at UCBerkeley and took an entire semester on
Rodin and my favoite museum in Paris is the Rodin Museum
so I am quite familiar with The Burghers of Calais. But I was curious what
the piece means to you? What is it about the burghers of calais that makes
you want to put it on your body?
--
noelle
Ray Giroux
I suppose it has a lot to do with my interest in the human condition. The
idea of martyrdom never fails to send me into some sort of philosophical
daydream. The sculpture always seems to move me whenever I look at it in any
of the books I have searched through. Unfortunately my experience has been
limited to just pictures for now, although I do hope to visit a reproduction
in Philadelphia soon. Ideally, I suppose I would be most happy if I were to
be capable of producing such a piece with my own hands, but since my talents
lie elsewhere I think that Rodin's work is a perfect surrogate for some of my
feelings. And of course, I think the piece would be a beautiful alternative to
the rather boring blank canvas which runs down my leg :) Perhaps this doesn't
quite answer your questions but I thought I should be somewhat brief.
Ray
Aarron
I wouldn't exactly call creating a two dimensional rendering of a
sculpture "portrait work" As every artist knows - two create a
believable 2D version of a 3D person things must be changed from what
really is . IE: tweeking perspective. A sculptor does this even more.
They have totally different reasons for this, but nonetheless what
appears to mimic reality is usually filled with exaggeration and
illusion.
My point - A person who is skilled in portraiture and not well versed in
sculpture may not be the best person for the job.
An artist who has an intrest in sculpture and is skillful in tattooing
in a realistic manner is what you want.
It is my opinion that a lot of "portrait specialists" when called upon
to tackle other projects use the same skills they so expertly use for
portraits and end up creating something that lacks true depth. It quite
often has a flat and out of shape appearance.
I don't know, that's just how I have taken what I have seen.
~A~
Paul MacDonald
Jim's Tattoo, Rt 1 Seabrook NH,, make an appointment with Al.
Best would be Dai Wei Zhang in San Jose CA
--
Regards,
PMAC
--
Regards,
PMAC
Paul D. MacDonald Tel. (978) 262 - 6213 Corp
Cadence Design Systems Tel. (978) 374 - 9194 Home
Technical Services Engineer Fax. (978) 446 - 6007
E-Mail: pm...@cadence.com