Sculpting in the Footsteps of Giants

By Jonathan Farrell

Art, with its ability to inspire, reaches beyond barriers. Georgianna Krieger knows exactly what that means.

"A universal timeless truth," Krieger said from her studio and home, a 1911 cottage near Fulton Street. The quaint locale with a backyard of wild flowers is an ideal place for Krieger, husband Michael and their new baby boy, Philo, who was born in February.

The responsibilities of motherhood have been incorporated into Krieger's work as an artist. A stone path leads through flowers to a small brick shed, which has been made into an extension of her studio.

"I try to work during the day at the times when Philo is asleep," she said.

Michael, who composes music, helps watch Philo when Krieger is working.

Among the pieces in progress is one of a pregnant woman.

Krieger finds a universal, timeless truth in sculpture - which, for Krieger, is the human form.

"I look to the ancients," she said. The ancients, such as the Greeks, manifest the ideal of form. It is no surprise to Krieger that artists down through the ages have discovered the same inspiration. Bernini, whose work is inspired by ancient sources and is "very animated and never static," she said. For more contemporary examples, Krieger mentioned the work of Manuel Neri. "His (works) are more abstract."

Because she was "always drawn to art," Krieger made sculpture her medium while studying in college.

Her admiration and inspiration for the ideal human form comes from her teacher, Walter Erlebacher, at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Erlebacher's approach to sculpture was the way the Greeks did it - emphasizing anatomy and idealized proportions," she said.

The difference between realism and idealism is a subtle distinction, but (such distinctions) are important, I think," she added. The unique aspect to all her figures is the idea of motion or experiences through time. "Woman Moving Forward," "Lateral Move" and "Bliss" all have a displayed sense of movement. She admits she got the idea of motion to her figures from "exploration of commercial venues."

Her work as a sculptor and animator for clay animation television commercials is where she studied human locomotion.

Finding clay animation "tedious and very time consuming," Krieger left to pursue design. She worked as a designer at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, which led to her work as an independent toy designer.

Over time she discovered she was an artist.

"There is a different mind set between a designer and an artist," she explained.

No matter what she had been doing to make a living, she "always continued with art," she said. "And I stayed with the Greek proportions of the ideal."

Krieger's most affirming experience was when she took off for Pietra Santa, Italy.

"This is the place in central Italy where most of the marble comes from."

Michelangelo selected marble for his most famous pieces near there, in Carrara.

"The master craftsmen work with the marble as if it were butter," Krieger exclaimed.

She is pleased with San Francisco venues, such as "Open Studios" and "Art in the Avenues" and she spoke highly of the Sunset Artist's Society.

Krieger is optimistic that she will achieve her goal of "doing something big outdoors." One of her obstacles has been the attitude that persists toward the human form.

"American culture is so Puritanical!" she exclaimed.

"There is a bias in the culture. It's against nudity," Krieger said. "The nude figure is universal and timeless. Clothes talk about culture, time, status, etc. Art is a form of communication, so it needs to be shared."

For more information about the works of Georgianna Krieger and upcoming events, visit her website at www.shesculpts.com.