Janus Proposal
 Abstract
The name Janus, In Roman mythology, refers to the god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings. The sculpture proposal of the same name and for the Northwest corner of Fourth and Market Streets is conceptually a synthesis of both this gatekeeper symbolism and the scientific nature of a bottleneck transformation. Formally, the sculpture represents a life size cast bronze figurative arrangement of culturally “found” artifacts and symbols. The nature of these symbols is rooted in human history, psychology, behavior and the fundamental culture of human identity as found evident of therein represented objects and their interrelationships. Those objects are a mannequin, a human brain, a spear, a Roman theatrical mask, a chimpanzee mask and a mythological “putto” child figure. The mannequin is modeled after a Greco-Roman sculpture called the “Spear Bearer.”
Janus Proposal
Formally, this sculpture work is comprised a cast bronze polychrome figurative compilation which sits on top of a of an Indiana Limestone base. Within the compilation exists one life size mannequin figure holding a human brain, a spear, and wearing a mask. Beside this main figure is a “putto” child wearing a chimpanzee mask. The name of this proposed sculpture is “Janus.”
 Fundamentally, the structure of the sculpture owes its balance, proportions, and pose to the Greecian sculptor Polykleitos and his sculpture “Doryphoros,” referentially known as the ‘Spear Bearer.’ Ancient Grecian sculptures, primarily bronzes, were studied and copied by the Romans as epitomes of ideal body proportions and beauty. Polykleitos was one of the early Greek masters and theoreticians of idealism in figurative sculpture. “The Kanon” was his thesis and bible text for mathematical scale, composition, and perfection. The Spear Bearer was one of the earliest statues to be shown in the fully developed contrapposto position, a careful balance of shifted weight, and ease. Ultimately, Polykleitos and “The Kanon” began some of the earliest known discourse on the beheld nature of ideal beauty and its physical creation. Two other Grecian works pulled from the Riace Sea and so named the “Riace Warriors” are also known to have been inspired by “The Kanon.” Furthermore, Augustus of Prima Porta, a Roman sculpture, likewise pays homage to the contrapposto pose and further expands the divine emphasis of perfection and beauty by representing the cupid and Augustus Caesar barefoot. Janus is a direct reference of Doryphoros, The Riace Warriors, and Augustus of Prima Porta, all ultimately coalescing in a spear bearer composition. Thus, the content, contrapposto and competitive human nature of these works will again be rehearsed in my design with their cumulative sum and now found object, the epitomized mannequin.
 Janus is dressed in symbolism and meaning. However, if I were choose one aspect of the design in which to blanket the entire arrangement, in the mannequin’s right hand is a casting made from a human brain, the brain may best be understood as a translator for this work. There is a quote by a famous geneticist and evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky that states, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” The brain’s inclusion in this design shares that very same suggestion and significance; it diagrams the work and functions as a sieve for any understanding of the whole. Conceivably, one may graph lines from the brain to any defining aspect of the sculpture work and draw relevant conclusions from the contribution of each archetype. For example, both the mannequin and the child putto figure are respectively wearing masks. Through this I am engaging our cultural understanding of the notion of identity corresponding to both the theatrical and scientific sense of human nature. Herein, the mannequin, composed of its “parts” offers the potential context of genetic determinism, a scientific perspective of reducing human behavior, even thought, to the command of our genetics. Within this context, the mannequin body may be seen as representative of a human archetype on which identity is projected, or like a mask, worn. The mannequin’s face is also stylized, but the mask it wears is cast from the mold of a human person with every personal detail. Likewise, the chimpanzee mask on the winged putto child ushers another fundamental identity crisis between our origins as hominids or creations of a higher power.
 Further developments of our brain as guide speaks to the context of the spear. It would not suffice to say that the spear is present as a product of the Grecian ‘Spear bearer’ foundation of this work, for this is not entirely the case. The nature of the spear is related to the “ratchet effect” relationship offered between the brain symbol and the intentional origins of the sculpture. Here an idea builds through the process of suggestion and input back and forth from the two perspectives. Thus, the Grecian subject matter of the competitor, warrior or ruler, symbolizes a conversation about the prestige of honor and strength through, per se, a battle. On the other hand, the brain and science suggests not simply the mental concept of such popular aggression and competition evident today, but furthermore the psychology and nature behind it as evidenced by behavioral studies from countless other species.
 Lastly, we are left with the brain itself and the overall reason for this sculpture. I have been working with the brain as an object in my sculpture work for the last five years. I find myself in periods of waxing and waning over this object as a symbol. My use and presentation of it is intended to reveal its biology, its purpose as an organ, and especially its most phenomenal and imaginative capabilities of consciousness. The brain is the ephemeral ghost in the machine, an almost supernatural walking experience capable and responsible for the conjuring of the idea of everything including its own explanation. My efforts in lodging the brain into public discourse are in order to begin to visually attach our brain within our bodies to the replica of it on the street while recognizing and inspiring the nature in between. In total, I believe the strength and capacity of this mental and physical connection is the root of the exchange and the meanings of this sculpture work. Janus is a reflection on human nature, behavior, psychology and culture presented as an overall symbol between the past and the future at a moment in time. Within Janus I am striving to present and intentionally create a sculptural artifact like a time capsule of symbolism cast in bronze for centuries to come, a collage of evidence descriptive of our ongoing conversation and realization of what it is to be human.
Works Cited:
Riace Warriors. 460–430 BCE. Bronze. Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Augustus of Prima Porta. 1st century. Marble. Vatican Museums, Rome.
Polykleitos. Doryphoros. 450-40 BCE. Bronze. Lost.
Dobzhansky, Th. 1973. "Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution" The American Biology Teacher 35: (March): 125-129. |
