This Biblical relief sculpture, Noah and the Dove, is made of a light-coloured clay (called Yellow Terrazzo), with an inlay of smoked glass. Many of the elements are finished with acrylic paint. (See my post from September, showing how it was made).The design is simple, primitive, direct and, I hope, powerful. The motif of the dove flying off to find the olive-branch – the symbol that God has made His peace with man – is universal. I used colour to enliven the quite rudely-cut forms of the figures. Originally I used only the lightest blues, but gradually added turquoise and indigo, as the greater tonal depth seemed to give more life to the figures. Then, on a whim, I added the orange details, and strengthened the whites. This really seemed to add life and joy.
My Biblical relief sculpture is inspired by the ancient art of the Middle/Near East and Mesopotamia. You can see a few examples on this “World History et cetera” website.
The Significance of the Ancient Art of the Middle East
The Khan Academy, in its introduction to the art of the ancient Near East, describes the significance of this art with the following four points:
- The Ancient Near East is a part of the world where we find all the hallmarks of civilization—a collection of circumstances and practices, typically defined by urban living, craft specialization, a spectrum of wealth, from rich to poor, some form of government and laws or social organization, a written language, and monumental architecture.
- The art of the Ancient Near East illustrates some of the earliest, grandest, and most sweeping military conquests in world history.
- The history of the Ancient Near East is inextricably linked to to the stories and characters of the Bible, as well as their visual representation. Many of these stories have been a near constant subject matter of historians and art historians since the 19th century.
- Many Europeans have linked their cultural heritage to the history of the Ancient Near East for centuries.
https://www.darius-art.com/product/noah-ceramic-wall-art/
