Freedom Sculpture by Zenos Frudakis

  This sculpture was created by sculpture Zenos Frudakis. His father was an immigrant from Greece and he grew up one of five. This situation influenced his work because he was drawn to Greek style art. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving multiple degrees and awards in fine arts. Zenos spent a significant amount if time creating this piece instilling grueling details that were quintessential to both the meaning and his purpose. He allowed various aspects of his life to influence the imprints in the base of the sculpture. He made a wax cast of his father’s bust and broke it and used the pieces to cast into the clay. He included some work from his friend who died of AIDS and was unable to complete his own project. He included impressions representing his cat, mother, and father. He also hid many things within his work to express himself. He hid coins that represented the day of his birth. The inclusion of these things served to highlight how, growing up, art was a way to express Frudakis’s identity as well as communicate his appreciation for his loved ones. He’s amazing intellect was also heavily reflected within his works. He received countless awards for the amazing time and detail that set his art apart from others.      

     The author intended the piece to signify the restrictions of mortality and his trouble accepting that. However, he also demanded that the piece be in a public place, accessible to anyone. Through this he highlighted the universality of a desire to free one’s self from suffering. He left the fingerprints of his molding in the piece to show how a person had made this by hand. He wanted the audience to have that firsthand visual of the artist and the work put into the piece. He also put places for people to stand in within the piece to give it an interactive factor that highlighted his theme of this shared perspective of being trapped, whether the restraints be internal, external, social, economical, or tangible. Returning to his personal theme of mortality, he expressed this through the simplicity of this human and using this metaphor of this made literally breaking from the mold. He wanted a form to express this that would be lasting, unlike life itself.

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     This piece is beautiful due to the amount of detail and effort that went into making it a combination of both the authors past as well as a piece that is accessible to all. I also think that, despite the authors intended message, he constructed something that can be interpreted in many different ways. Anyone can be inspired by this piece whether it be so try something new, get out of a bad situation, or make a big life change. In it’s purest form, this piece evokes inspiration within it’s audience. Art should not only serve to highlight the artist but the audience as well and this piece successfully does that. The specific details and processes the artist underwent to include important aspects of his life in such a unique way make the piece memorable and moving. He used his art as a means to communicate the death of a friend, the importance of his family, and his own identity. I thing the simultaneous accessibility and personality of this piece is what strikes the audience. The author sends a very strong message and he also put it in a place where anyone can see it, showing the importance of the message and how it can be applied to humanity. He instills this notion of breaking from the mold and now people can be reminded of this through the viewing of his piece.