Sculptural wall relief
A sculptural wall relief hangs on a wall but has enough depth to cast shadows. Look at a piece from 1969 by the Dutch artist Jan Schoonhoven. That piece was sold at auction around 2015 for 457,000 euros. A piece similar to that one, but with six cells, can be seen in the Tate Modern museum in London which is free and also has a fine website.
The Tate piece has the appearance of plaster or limestone. But Schoonhoven made these wall reliefs from cardboard and paper mache ‒ which starts as a flour based paste. That is the humble yet versatile material used for crafts and piñatas.
Schoonhoven who had a regular job and made art in his free time influenced European professional artists. Notice there are four little inclined planes in each of the 16 cells. The uppermost edge throws a shadow on the lowermost edge of the adjacent inclined plane. The shadow play depends on the direction and intensity of the light and the number of light sources.
Would the piece look better in a color or in multiple colors? I think the shadows are more noticeable for a piece in a single light color. For this piece the shadow play is of prime importance.
Perhaps you know that there is evidence that the ancient Greek temples and statues that we see now as plain off-white were once painted in polychromatic paints that have worn off. So the classic look we see was not as originally intended. How do you feel about polychrome versus off-white? Should we paint those Greek statues? Why do I feel shame even asking that question?
Reflect on the phrase ‒ taste of the times. Polychrome, in ancient times must have been a great wonder, but not to us who are saturated with viewing colored objects and advertisements.
Should there be more or less cells in Shoonhoven’s work and should they rise further from the plane or not? Look at that edge treatment around the entire piece. Is it successful?
Aesthetics deals with the overly complex, the interestingly complex, the boringly simple, and the elegantly simple.