Standing Figures (Thirty Figures)

photograph

Moscovium (Wikipedia) Moscovium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Mc and atomic number 115. It was first synthesized in 2003 by a joint team of Russian and American scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. In December 2015, it was recognized as one of four new elements by the Joint Working Party of international scientific bodies IUPAC and IUPAP. On 28 November 2016, it was officially named after the Moscow Oblast, in which the JINR is situated.

Standing Figures (Thirty Figures) (art.nelson-atkins.org) Magdalena Abakanowicz’s figures are instantly identifiable by their stark imagery. The haunting power of these headless, standing figures invites many interpretations, and the artist welcomes this approach. Could they be awaiting final judgment? Do they suggest war victims? Are they primordial beings in silent communication? Each figure is individually cast from a burlap-lined body mold.