'Walking Figures' by Polish sculptor now in collection of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The installation of the three sculptures on the terrace was a technical feat. Each "walker," whose individual weight is nearly a ton, was anchored in preparation to be lifted 17 meters (55 feet) in the air with a crane. Once hoisted to the rooftop, a half-dozen workers built a system of pulleys to fasten each sculpture to the others and to make a metal base.
Often censored in the past, Abakanowicz created the headless, asexual humanoid figures to evoke a vision of people queuing for hours to obtain food, to survive. As described by Nathalie Bondil, MMFA's Director General and Chief Curator: "With both legs firmly planted on the urban ground, they follow in the footsteps of ancient Greek sculptures, the kouri, as well as The Walking Man -- the work of Rodin and Giacometti. Each of these monumental figures has its own expressionist texture, resembling wrinkled skin or tree bark. The choice of the raw material -- corroded cast iron -- evokes the fragile human condition…
Often censored in the past, Abakanowicz created the headless, asexual humanoid figures to evoke a vision of people queuing for hours to obtain food, to survive. As described by Nathalie Bondil, MMFA's Director General and Chief Curator: "With both legs firmly planted on the urban ground, they follow in the footsteps of ancient Greek sculptures, the kouri, as well as The Walking Man -- the work of Rodin and Giacometti. Each of these monumental figures has its own expressionist texture, resembling wrinkled skin or tree bark. The choice of the raw material -- corroded cast iron -- evokes the fragile human condition…
