N7962

In the mid 1960s, the sculptor Bernard Meadows (1915-2005) began to use abstract shapes in his sculpture to express human fear and anxiety. The crushed sphere in this work appears to cry for help. Meadows was interested in the philosophy of Existentialism and this work reflects some of the themes in the work of Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80) and Albert Camus (1913-60), such as the individual's fundamental isolation and the belief that human life has no purpose.

N7962[a] (image/tiff)
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Summary

: N7962

: Fine Art

: sculpture

: Help (opus 81)

: MEADOWS, Bernard

: a polished and lacquered bronze sculpture, modelled in 1966 and cast in 1968, showing: two hard and solid shapes 'squashing' a softer rounded shape; the artist polished the bronze to maximise the metal's natural, golden colour, and used different textures to emphasise the forms; Meadows began to use abstract shapes in his sculpture to express human fear and anxiety during the mid-1960s; in this work, the 'squashed' rounded shape appears to cry for help

Help (opus 81)

N7962

What it Means to be Human

Current Location

On Display at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Temporary Exhibition Gallery 3 [formerly Balcony Gallery]

: 1968

: 1966

: 1968

: Given by the Friends of Bristol Art Gallery with the assistance of the Gulbenkian Foundation, 1968.

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