The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Analysis & Response 107 humans are all the same. Beyond just the faces, the bodies are all ambiguous as well. There are no defining characteristics about any of the figures other than height. Even in that respect, the ages of the children can only be guessed in reference to each other, except the infant being held by the shortest child. Another striking detail the people are missing is gender defining qualities. There is no hair, no physical features to suggest male or female to the audience. The viewer cannot truly make any conclusions on gender or age of any of the members of the family. Again, all members of the audience are able to place their family in context with this sculpture, no matter how atypical. Despite being cast out of the same material and being interconnected, the parents are differentiated in this sculpture by height, but also by texture. The adults each have textured clothing with a pattern different type of plaid particular to them. One of the tallest figures has a plaid made of long, flowing horizontal and vertical lines, while the other’s is made with short lines, resembling a parquet floor. Even though the parents are clearly distinguishable from one another, there is no clear definition of husband or wife. They are a merely a team, huddled in a loving embrace with their kids. The children, on the other hand, have no texture. This is one main reason, other than height, that they are distinguishable as kids; they have not yet defined themselves as individuals. The children are still dependent on their parents. Even further, life has not dug the grooves of its patterns on them yet. They are still smooth, innocent, unblemished. In fact, the baby is hardly distinguishable at all, blending in to the second smallest member of the family. The largest two children are the most distinguished, symbolizing their desire to break free and become “patterned.” The tallest child is arching his back away from the embrace of the parents, indicating a desire to pull away from the family, yet he is still very much in the middle of the family. This shows some of the teenage tension of wanting to be independent yet still being very involved in the family. His lack of pattern shows that he is still a dependent, despite being almost as tall as the parents. The arrangementlayout of this piece comments onexhibits the way the sculptor views the family unit. They are all connected, none of them separate from each other. The parents stand tall in the back, embracing each other and looking down at the children.

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