Vulnerable Angel

plaster model (for casting into bronze or aluminum) (1995)
height: 49"
not for sale
It seems that the idea of metamorphosis has fascinated people at least as long as they have been creating art. Excavated works in stone or clay show butterflies, snakes, frogs and birds in association with a Goddess figure over 10,000 years ago, in the Goddess Culture of Old Europe. In Greek mythology, gods changed people into beasts, plants or other forms, as either punishment or reward. In fairy tales, maids or youths are transformed into swans by evil sorcerers. In modern day, a winged being is generally viewed as a winner, a triumphant being, and in some religions, wings are a reward in the next life if we have become good in this one.
It is the process of transformation that interests me: the process of change, the tremendous effort involved in trying to become a "better" person. In this piece, I wished to depict a vulnerable stage in this process, the in-between stage during which we really don't know how things will work out. I wanted to create a feeling of awkwardness and uncertainty. Also I hoped to convey that as we go from one phase of being to the next, something of value is usually left behind. In this case it is the arms. In mid-transformation there is often the feeling of doubt. Are we doing the right thing? Are wings better than arms?