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Before I started reading Dianne Durante’s Art History through Innovators, I didn’t give a damn about sculpture. But I’ve always been fascinated by innovators.
We all admire men of genius who create things that drastically improve our lives. Henry Ford built a practical car that enabled the average man to go on a long journey in a short period of time. Anyone can see the value in that.
It’s not so obvious how we benefit from a new kind of statue.
A great artwork is “like a signpost on the highway of life,” Dianne says. “As you’re zooming along at 60 miles per hour, it won’t tell you where you want to go or why you decided to go there. But it can help keep you heading toward your chosen destination.”
She has identified ten turning points in the history of sculpture—critical moments when an innovator emerged to challenge the prevalent ideas of his era. “A major innovation is one that allows a sculptor to make you, his audience, stop, look, and think longer and harder about the artwork he has created.”
Dianne knows her stuff. She’s been studying art ever since high school, when a teacher gave her an art textbook and she made a discovery. “For the first time I saw how science, art, religion, philosophy, politics all fit together”.
In her new series, Dianne demonstrates her ability to weave together ideas from many different fields. And she has plenty of fun with it, taking us on “a frolicsome romp through 5,000 years of sculpture, condensed into a dozen 10-minute segments”. That’s a long journey in a short period of time.
I find myself looking forward to each new episode, wondering what the next great innovation will be. This week: Michelangelo.
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