WP3 blog post 2

Stairway Balusters is a cast iron sculpture with the semblance of a fence, but in the area in which it is placed it does not serve as anything in particular other than an ornamental piece. The post on the left represents one of the six that are apart of the sculpture. The difference is that the posts are all elevated and attached with two slender bars, one below and one above. These bars appear to be welded to the posts and the wear of the years because some of the blackish color covering the screws has been scraped away. There is grime filling the cracks and dirt covering the entirety of the sculpture, further showing the use through the decades. The structure was confusing because if it served as either a fence or gate, which initially that's what I thought balusters were, the spacing between the six posts were too wide to serve either purpose. Someone could easily slip through and hurt themselves, therefore the piece must have served a completely different purpose such as decoration. Even if the piece did not function as a repellant or protector against such incidents, the edges are extremely soft (due to centuries of weather damage or intentional) the sculpture appears to be more of a decorational piece than anything else.

The posts reminded me a great deal of the Viking and Celtic art that I studied in art history. The lines within the reliefs framed by the fence looking background are very organic and encircle themselves a few times. The Celtic people were known for using organic line and natural motifs in their art, showing the nature of their culture. Stairway Balusters contains many branchy or leafy looking motifs, used to accentuate the orbs and simply beatify the background gateway. The orbs resemble a coat of arms, giving the balusters a British or royal feeling such as the balusters were created for a member of higher class society. A majority of the aspects of the sculpture invite the audience toward it, rather than repel a person. The softer edges are easier on the eyes, both from the motif and the cast itself, and interesting motifs invite the viewer to examine the piece closer suggesting the domestic nature of this piece.

Contradicting the nature of the piece, the motif found on the background resembling an actual gate has a repeating image that is mirrored vertically from the center of the gate piece. On the other hand, the pieces jetting out from the false fence to support the balusters on the framed bars definitely are not proportional in size to one another. The asymmetry and symmetry contradict each other, providing an interesting perspective of the sculpture. I decided to pursue the contradictions in the sculpture and noticed that the sculpture was supposed to be an indoor piece but it was outside, it serves more as a two dimensional piece rather than a three dimensional piece,and it appears to be viewed more as painting.