IKAROS

IKAROS (PAUL VAN GYSEGEM)

The artist was happy to have ‘Ikaros’ located in these historic surroundings, the adjacent building dating from the Late Renaissance, a time when art was strongly inspired by Greek and Roman antiquity.

The statue is a representation of the well-known Greek myth. Ikaros crashes into the Aegean Sea. Because Ikaros and his father Daidalos are held captive on Crete by king Minos, Daidalos devises a way to escape. He makes wings out of wood, feathers and wax. He urges his son not to fly too high and too close to the sun, to prevent the wax from melting, nor too low, to prevent the wings getting too heavy with seawater. In his recklessness Ikaros becomes imprudent and flies too high, causing the wax to melt, with fatal consequences.

The story of Ikaros is typical of the ‘hubris’, ‘overconfidence’ theme, often dealt with in Greek Mythology. It illustrates how man, to this day, causes his own doom by haughtiness or excessive self-confidence.

However, this moralistic background does not get in the way of the visual language. The artist suggests motion, a fall which cannot be checked. By its virtually abstract shapes, with flashes of recognisable elements, by its strong geometric interplay of lines and by the use of recycled materials this is still very up-to-date.

For Paul Van Gysegem lots of materials are suitable to bring about the expressiveness of his creation. Clay, wood, metal, were all used to create this uncomplicated yet complex construction. To guarantee the stability of this falling Ikaros the bronze casting was reinforced by stainless steel elements.

VAN GYSEGEM Paul (1935)

Paul Van Gysegem is sculptor, etcher, artist designer, painter and jazz musician. He studied painting at the Academy of Gent and sculpture at the National Higher Institute of fine Arts in Antwerpen. He admires innovators like Henry Moore and his pupil Kenneth Armitage; he also admires the work of Giacomo Manzù and Marino Marini. The Flemish Parliament houses two of his etchings and two sculptures: ‘Kwintet (Quintet)’ and ‘De eeuwige terugkeer ( Eternal return)’.

Kunst in de Stad – October 4^th 2008