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An 'amazing' look at Henry Moore's work
'Celebrating Moore'
by David Mitchinson
University of California Press, $65
Review by Stephanie Bowen
(CNN) -- A true celebration of art is what you’ll find in "Celebrating Moore", a book that commemorates the centenary of sculptor Henry Moore's birth.
This amazing collection of Moore’s art takes us through over 60 years of his life’s work. Much more than your typical coffee table book, this archive starts with an overview of the Henry Moore foundation, which the sculptor organized so his work could be available to the public both at his Perry Green, Hertfordshire, England, studios and through loans and exhibitions.
Perry Green is a unique village located in the countryside between London and Cambridge. It began in 1941 with one purpose: production. Moore, born July 30, 1898, used this beautiful hamlet to create and store his ever-expanding works. By 1976 there were nine studios and the need for more. As Moore’s career came to an end, Perry Green became more of a museum and library.
While the foundation includes about 12,000 items, "Celebrating Moore" -- the official Moore Foundation centennial publication -- provides a detailed look at 278 of the artist's works. Arranged chronologically, and accompanied by over 300 color photographs, it enables the reader to fully understand Moore’s evolution as an artist.
Some of the published works are recognized immediately, others virtually unknown. This allows even the most sophisticated student a fresh look at Moore’s work.
A long list of art critics, historians, artists and friends contribute to the book, taking the reader on their own personal guide through the Moore Foundation, letting each piece be analyzed with a new approach. Thus, the reader understands the work with new insights, personal anecdotes and vigor that sustains the enthusiasm for Moore’s work throughout the book’s 550 pages.
War sketches brought fame
While many know Henry Moore for his large brass sculptures, he also
worked in many different mediums -- clay, marble and brass sculptures, pencil and charcoal sketches, watercolor paintings, to name a few. "Celebrating Moore" does an admirable job of showing Moore’s diversity as an artist.
Considered by some to be his greatest achievements are Moore’s war sketches. In 1940 he drew people cowering from air raids or buried in debris. This was the beginning of Moore’s recognition outside of the art world. One of the most profound images to come from these sketches was "Tube Shelter Perspective" depicting men and women lined against both sides of a Liverpool tunnel that was originally meant for railways, yet used as a shelter during the war. Done mostly in gray with only light touches of dull yellow, Moore shows the hopelessness of the times, coupled by the innate desire to never give up.
After the war, Moore turned to the study of the family unit. With stable community and family being on the forefront of society’s thinking, Moore set out to represent that idea in his art. One contributor, John Read, says of the terracotta sculpture titled Family Group: "It has the direct textural appeal of something made entirely by his own hands. Moore’s family groups exist in profusions in many sizes and forms and editions. Some seem to me to become too complex to suit his usual mastery of mass and solidity, as he fussed over who should hold the child and where it should be put. It could not have been easy to find a satisfactory way of combining father, mother and infant into a single mass that had a perfect visual unity."
While it is impossible to go through the many phases of Moore’s work in a brief review, one of the contributors aptly observes some of Moore’s early sketches as a representation of his desire to make progress without revolution. Moore’s belief that much was to be learned from the art of the past as well as a willingness to break new ground and draw new boundaries comes through strongly in what we see in "Celebrating Moore", as well as a profound connection between art and society.
A complete study of the work of Henry Moore, this book would make a wonderful addition to the consummate collector’s library, or the inspiring start to a beginning student’s pool of information.
Stephanie Bowen has worked for CNN for over seven years in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles. She is currently exploring the world of creative writing at UCLA and participates in a monthly book group.
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