The Sorceress 1920

Curator: Up next we have "The Sorceress" created around 1920 by Constantin Brancusi, sculpted in wood. Editor: Wow, she's like a magic trick, isn't she? Or maybe more like a beautiful puzzle, made up of geometric shapes perched on top of each other. Curator: It’s fascinating how Brancusi strips away the conventional imagery associated with a sorceress, reducing it to elemental forms. Editor: Absolutely. I think these simplified shapes are meant to amplify, not reduce, meaning. Cylinders stacked this way always make me think of feminine power and even, fertility symbols going way back in time. The pointed shape on top evokes a certain intensity. It has a definite phallic vibe. Curator: Yes, the convergence of the feminine and masculine is definitely part of it, hinting at the alchemical marriage of opposites, an idea that often accompanies sorceress figures in mythology. I see here a head inclined skyward as if seeking higher power or receiving cosmic downloads. Editor: That’s a wonderful way of putting it! Also the very visible tool markings and raw texture contrast to me. How does the wood and the grain guide our perception? Does this evoke a specific emotionality? I sense primitive ritual almost. Curator: It speaks to Brancusi's fascination with Primitivism, that reverence for raw materials, handcraft. Also, there's an attempt here to touch something more profound and eternal in the human experience. The piece does emanate primordial magic and archaic power. Editor: I get the impression this sorceress has secrets she would not easily divulge. The title offers us an easy entry, but I think Brancusi actually made something deliberately enigmatic. Curator: It seems like a riddle wrapped inside a beautifully carved enigma! Editor: And in that sense, "The Sorceress" becomes something we all get to actively participate in completing the spell! I shall let her conjure magic within us all. Curator: Couldn’t have said it better! Let's proceed, shall we?