Still Standing: Antony Gormley

Thebookismadeupof10classicalsculpturesfromtheHermitageMuseum(mostlyRomanandoneortwoGreek),removedfromtheirplinthsandrepositionedtosharearaisedfloorwiththeviewer;and17highlyabstractedbody-formsbyAntonyGormley.Theideaistojuxtaposeancient,idealizedstatueswithGormleysmoredisinterestedsculpturesandseewhether,inGormleyswork,theabstractlanguageofEuclideangeometrycanmakeashelterforfeeling,andwhether,inthecaseoftheclassicalworks,demountingandputtingthevieweronthesamelevelastheiroriginalmakerscanre-establishthemasmadethings.Theinteractionofthepublic,capturedindocumentaryphotographs,iskeytoaprojectthataimstoshowhowclassicalmarbles,Gormleysownsculpturesandthelivinghumanvisitorsinhabitthesamespaceandcanconversewitheachother.AllGormleysbodyworksaretheresidueofanactionoreventofarealbodythatisabsenttranslatedintoanabstractarchitecturallanguage(whichintheHermitageisinacutecontrasttotheornateinteriors).Hisworktakesthebodyasafoundobject,somethingalreadymade,asareflexiveobjectthatengagestheviewerlessasarepresentationthananacknowledgementofitsopposite:thelostsubject.