Tiffany and Jeremy

Call me uneducated, unappreciative, or boorish, but I think most classical sculpture is just plain boring.

You’ve seen them too, the neutral face, carved in marble, staring straight ahead, lips closed, all long neck and flowey linnen. I get it, I do, they are technical masterpieces, the pose is perfect, the face is constructed using the golden ratio, this was so and so’s mistress and oh my I’ve just put myself to sleep.

Then I discovered Bernini. His sculptures are alive, they look like they’re ready to jump off the display and brush past your shoulder, walking away. Oh, of course his pieces pushed the envelope of what was even possible with marble, and still do; they’re technical marvels. But it’s the way he tells a story with his art, it’s the way he echos perfectly what you have felt in the eyes of his creations that catches you, and won’t let you go.

Exciting art, be it in sculpture, photos, writing, or whatever, isn’t content to be technically  beautiful. Just like the pretty girl in high school that was utterly void of personality, you’ll get tired of looking at it after you realize there’s nothing deeper. Good art is like love, it hooks you and glitters with unending nuance, it’s intangible and hard to describe its appeal, and its beauty is its depth.

I’ve got Bernini on the brain because Tiffany and Jeremy are going to Rome for their honeymoon, and they’ll inevitably run across a few of his sculptures. I joined them for their rehearsal dinner and for their wedding day, and I was taken in, right away, by the charisma of their family.

I only have so many weekends to work in a year, and I can only accept so many weddings. So to be able to work for people like Tiffany and Jeremy and spend time with their interesting and engaging friends and family means so much to me.