M.L. SNOWDEN SCULPTURE
GENESIS

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The works of the Terrestrial Forum explore a range of powers that shape Earth’s crust. Reaching across geological phenomena that describe titanic energies that define humankind, the planet and the larger cosmos, Snowden continues to shape a millennial bronze collection that enlarges our perception of the natural world. In a sculpture such as Cataclasis, which describes forces within Earth’s mantle that give rise to fracturing rock, as well as in a work evocative of tectonic continental plate formation such as Tectonics, we are introduced to wholly unique compositions that engage the human spirit. From Rhexodus (Rhexistasy), which charts the disintegration of out-going soils, to Verdura (Organogenesis), that sings a poem to the energies of growing plants that influence the shape of the Earth, Snowden’s dimensional art reaches out to connect to much larger universal phenomena. From the glittering works of the Amethyst Geode Acelleon that mediate states of fracture and energized creation for a geode as well as for a planet and the stars beyond; the works of the Terrestrial Forum form a cohesive, conversant and unique visual language. In the words of an international critic, “The Geological Corieum is that magnificent and lasting statement that unfurls a bronze carpet woven of physical and spiritual insight across time .”

 

Genesis is that particular sculpture whose title is derived from the scientific word, Orogenesis, which means “mountain building.” As an installation sculpture, Genesis sets a precedent in bringing forward Snowden’s concept of mountain structure; a structure that underlies all her bronze. In Genesis, Snowden expresses a sense of dimensional triangulation where the composition forms a linear pyramid that builds in this work as one of the strongest constructs available to bronze architecture. In Genesis, we are able to trace Snowden’s route of creation through two distinct figural energy summaries as the sculptor pits two discrete forces against one another at dramatic angles. The placement of angulated clay and bronze material groups around the very root of Snowden’s sculptural technique.

 

Indeed, in these two smooth yet variegated anatomical evocations of Genesis, translated from the Greek meaning “origin/beginning,” Snowden is able to achieve a duality of intentions that evoke bonding as well as dissolution; two polarities that are essential to basic geological and sculptural formation. In Snowden’s view, the central bonded embrace of the sculpture creates a fused sense of energized calm balance in shaping a portrait of sculpture whose nature is continually revealed through process and involvement. The sculpture pivots on the vivid sense of relationship the composition establishes. The central focal point of the sculpture arises from the fold wherein the two portraits meet. Grace, nobility and a sense of architectural solemnity pervade these interactive and remarkable heads. Concepts of unity and confrontation immediately permeate the work arising from the mortise of the embrace. For Snowden, the sculpture embodies the “lock formation” where the solidification of molten bronze ores and the meeting of the compositional figural elements connect in a flowing alignment that reaches a pinnacle. For Snowden, the message of sculpture is naturally expressed through its medium.

 

Genesis exists as a seminal work of the Geological Coreium, assuming a cental role that connects the sculptural plan to humankind, earth and the cosmos. The sculpture reaches into the bedrock of human legacies, addressing geological, social, and even biblical underlayments that give rise to, and support the relationships of humankind. The work is open to individual interpretation. While some credit themselves to have married over the inspirational unity of the work, others see within Genesis, the human struggle that reaches out to embrace the biblical Cain and Abel. For Snowden, bronze is an ancient substance composed of elements that were established at the time of creation; creation of the Earth and cosmos that came to be recounted more than 3,000 years ago in the Book of Genesis. For the sculptor, bronze and humanity are contiguous books that contain epochal records of cosmic creation that science increasingly plumbs and that sculpture innately celebrates. Through Snowden’s protean eye and vision, the dynamics of anabolic (building) and catabolic (destructive) forces are seen to merge in one harmonious fusion. As Snowden has remarked, “the powers attendant on building and hewing a mountain are not dislocated from our own human resources and legacies.”