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In Florence, Taking Sculpture to a New Level

BY PETER TRIPPI

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Until last year, the Academy operated six small buildings scattered around central Florence, but now it has consolidated two of these into its new Robert and Christine Emmons Center for Sculpture. Allocating more space to this medium than ever before (8,000 square feet), the bright, tidy facility offers large workrooms for students and private studios for Bodem and principal instructors Eran Webber and Sanne van Tongeren, as well as permanent guest artist Hywel Pratley. (Based in Santa Barbara, the Emmonses are longtime supporters of the Academy; after chairing its board for four years, Bob is currently a member-atlarge, while Christine is its secretary.) THE NEXT STEP More good news came this spring, when the National Association of Schools of Art and Design deemed the Florence Academy a U.S. university certificate program, the first institution with a strictly classical curriculum to be so recognized. This, says the Academys executive director, Susan Tintori, is the moment weve all been waiting for: when

ituated in one of the worlds most cultured cities, the Florence Academy of Art was founded in 1991 by the American artist Daniel Graves (b. 1949) to train painters coming from around the world in the time-tested materials and techniques of figurative realism. He also wanted them to absorb the academic priorities of beauty, storytelling, and craftsmanship taught in ateliers and academies throughout the West until the mid-20th century, and passed on to Graves (against all odds) by his own instructors, who included Joseph Sheppard and Richard Lack. Though their greatest heroes are Rembrandt, Titian, and Velzquez, the Academys students also study masterworks in the renowned museums and churches of Florence, where Renaissance humanists prioritization of the human body re-energized Western culture in the 15th century. Among the most thrilling expressions of this legacy are sculptures by the likes of Donatello, Ghiberti, Pisano, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo, not to mention masters from other epochs like Praxiteles, Bernini, Canova, and Carpeaux. It was not until 1998 that Graves was able to introduce a full-time, three-year curriculum in sculpture. He entrusted its creation to Robert Bodem (b. 1971), who had only recently earned from Boston University a B.A. cum laude and an M.F.A. Bodem knew the Academy already, however, having taken a year-long sculpture course there with guest artist Cessna Decosimo. His program was an immediate hit, and enrollment has been at capacity ever since, with 27 students participating today. Across the Academy, Graves and his colleagues have broken the vastly complex task of learning to draw, paint, and sculpt from life into gradual steps. Students draw regularly from classical plaster casts and from the live model, and they also study anatomy and ecorch. In contrast to many of todays art schools, where students drift without meaningful guidance, they are critiqued daily to ensure they are on course, and given personalized suggestions on how to improve.

Lori Shorin (b. 1964) Spiritual Sisters 2010, Bronze, 60 in. high M Gallery of Fine Art, Charleston

FineArtConnoisseur.com | July/August 2013

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Eran Webber (b. 1980) Royalty 2012, Clay, 53 in. high

FineArtConnoisseur.com | July/August 2013

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Lotta Blokker (b. 1980) Being 2011, Wax 44 1/2 in. high

FineArtConnoisseur.com | July/August 2013

Robert Bodem (b. 1971) Petrouska 2007, Bronze, 40 in. high

Eran Webbers private studio

The hall of plaster casts

FineArtConnoisseur.com | July/August 2013

Alicia Ponzio (b. 1974) What Was 2008, Bronze 20 in. high

the classical curriculum of the atelier enters the mainstream. We are also pleased that this status pertains to our operation in Florence and the one we opened in 2006 in Mlndal, Sweden. Achieving this recognition means that incoming students can pursue more loans and grants in the U.S., and that the diploma issued by the Academy upon completion of its three-year course in painting or sculpture is regarded as a universitylevel certificate. The latter can be used by an undergraduate as credit toward a terminal degree, or by a graduate as added proof of expertise. Major challenges lie ahead for figurative sculptors, of course. Making sculpture consumes a lot of time, space, and money, and the commercial market and critical establishment are still not particularly encouraging. Though graduates emerge from the Academy equipped with technical virtuosity and deep historical awareness, they now must focus closely on sculpting imagery that matters to viewers today. Ideally, Graves hopes, they will create a unique body of works ... that, in their truthfulness and beauty, convey ideas of great significance. We wish them well, and are excited to see what happens next. n
Information: Via delle Casine 21/R, 50122 Florence, Italy, 011.39.055.245444, florence academyofart.com. The Academy welcomes visitors to its studios and gallery by appointment. Peter Trippi is editor-in chief of Fine Art Connoisseur and sits on the Florence Academys council of advisors.

Isolde Corts (b. 1976) Sorrows Farewell 2007, Bronze, 31 1/2 in. high

A workroom for intermediate and advanced students

FineArtConnoisseur.com | July/August 2013