"How Can We Know the Dancer from the Dance:

Glimpses of Principal Dancer of the American Ballet Theater, Misty Copeland and International Sculptor, Robert Holmes”
By: James Ratliff Gallery
 
 
Arched Dancers.Cast Bronze.Robert Holmes
Arched Dancers.Cast Bronze.Robert Holmes
PHOENIX - Sept. 4, 2015 - PRLog -- At first glance, Copeland and Holmes are polar opposites of youth and age; Copeland is 32 and Holmes 92.  Yet the disparity of age suggests a profound reflection on the subject of how each artist has been and is singularly dedicated to ballet:  Copeland through dance and Holmes through exhibition of his bronze sculptures of ballerinas.

Each artist lives on opposite borders of the USA:  Copeland on the East Coast and Holmes on the West Coast.  Neither artist was born in the state in which they reside and neither pursued their life work’s passion in childhood.


It is always interesting to reflect how naturally occurring circumstances and choices made along the way mold and shape one’s talents and interests.  In the case of Copeland, it was pure guts and determination that motivated her then (and now) to pursue her dream of ballet.

In the case of Holmes, he pursued a traditional education at the University of Arizona with a major in civil engineering and architectural training. Copeland did not listen to her doubters who continued to decry how her color, body type and lack of early training would deter her from a career in ballet.  Each artist made choices to pursue their dreams. Those dreams were initially developed in California.  Copeland moved to San Pedro and began studies there; Holmes chose to establish his own foundry at Sebastopol and residence/studio at Sea Ranch. Holmes named his Sebastopol foundry, Bronze + Inc.  He prefers to have control of the quality and precision essential for the casting process.  There, he creates semiabstract cast bronze figures in limited editions of 3 to 12 which range from table size to larger than life.  “My work is my statement,” Holmes says, “I don’t believe that words go very far in describing sculpture.  I would rather let people see my work itself and interact with it in their own way.”

Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in San Pedro, California, Misty Copeland began her ballet studies at the age of 13 at the San Pedro City Ballet.  At the age of fifteen she won first place in the Music Center Spotlight Awards.  She then began her studies at the Lauridsen Ballet Center.  Copeland has studied at the San Francisco Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive on full scholarship..

What did both share?  The commitment to art as a way of life.

On September 6, Copeland completes her debut on Broadway as Miss Turnstiles in On the Town. She wowed the Metropolitan Opera House audience in June with her combined role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.

Holmes has a “New Works” exhibition debuting at the James Ratliff Gallery in Sedona, AZ September 4.  James Ratliff comments:  “Robert chose to push past his previous sculptural works to focus exclusively on dance.  Before he began his dancer series, he attended many ballet performances and studio sessions to familiarize himself with the movements, expressions and gestures of dancers.  It’s amazing he was able to incorporate the fluidity of movement and grace that is so indicative of this art form in the challenging medium of bronze.  I think this is one of the elements that the public finds so collectible.  He also chose to enable potential investors to realize what an installation would actually look like in a private or corporate space by offering a Virtual Placement service.”

“Bronze sculpture for the new millennium cast from the mold of optimism” is Robert Holmes’ mantra.  International sculptural exhibitions over the past 35 years have graced worldwide galleries, corporations and collectors.  Richard Warren, Art Historian commented about the “Robert Holmes Retrospective 1941-1998” at Gualala Arts Center:  “Robert Holmes, although self taught, is intuitively dead center of the development of modern sculpture.  The restless thrusting energy of Rodin, the abstraction of Brancusi, the expressionism of Lachaise, the symbolic power of Moore is all echoed in his work."

Uplifting emotions are a central theme in the work and as Holmes says, “There are no politics, no horror, no shock, and no ugliness.  There’s enough of that in the world!”  Through the human form, Holmes conveys a Zen-like serenity, grace, optimism and strength in alignment with this focus.  UBS Warburg Bank in London and Paine Webber has recently acquired Holmes’ “The Dancers” as the public face on their brochures.  They feel this sculpture which is installed in the UBS Bank, London, is a symbol of their new merger “the art of the possible”.

Besides her August Broadway debut and designation as Principal Dancer of the American Ballet Theater in 2015, She has published a children’s book, Firebird, as a way to introduce youngsters to the joys of movement and for adults has written Life in Motion:  An Unlikely Ballerina.

Copeland received the 2008 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts and was named National Youth of the Year Ambassador for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 2013.  In 2014, President Obama appointed Copeland to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.  She is the winner of a 2014 Dance Magazine Award.

Robert Holmes enjoys international patronage from Berlin and was a recipient of the Premio del Presidente/Citta di Firenze and the Premio Lorenzo il Magnifico medal for an artist’s lifetime achievement at the fourth edition of the International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy.

Holmes’ current passion is the creation of a sculpture garden at Gualala Arts Center in which the concept is to integrate juried pieces of sculpture with the landscape so the garden becomes an outdoor gallery.

Holmes has lived a charmed life as an internationally-recognized, genius sculptor of aesthetic and technical caliber. Copeland is on her way to international acclaim.

Contact
James Ratliff Gallery
***@jamesratliffgallery.com
928-282-1404
End
Source:James Ratliff Gallery
Email:***@jamesratliffgallery.com
Tags:Misty Copeland, Ballet, Robert Holmes
Industry:Arts
Location:Phoenix - Arizona - United States
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Page Updated Last on: Sep 04, 2015
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