Thinker on a Rock 1997

Editor: So, here we have Barry Flanagan's "Thinker on a Rock," cast in bronze in 1997. Immediately, the humor strikes me – this bronze hare, so serious, mimicking Rodin. What is your take on Flanagan’s piece? Curator: Well, isn’t it cheeky? He's put a rabbit – a symbol of fecundity, of leaping impulsiveness – in the pose of deep, ponderous thought. It tickles me to imagine this creature lost in thought about… carrots, maybe? Or perhaps the very nature of existence! The texture, the weight of the bronze too, lends it gravitas. But do you see the subtle way he undermines that seriousness? Editor: You’re right! The rough, almost gestural, modelling keeps it light. But, what's the significance of the rock? Curator: Ah, the rock. A perch, certainly. A foundation for thought. But more than that, I think it is a sort of visual pun, standing in for Rodin’s pedestal…elevating the everyday to the monumental! Does that ring true for you? Editor: It does now! So, Flanagan’s inviting us to find the monumental even in the absurd or the commonplace. Thanks. Curator: Exactly. Perhaps that hare, pondering away, is encouraging us to leap out of our own conventional thinking? Makes you think, eh?