Dimensions: object: 1105 x 254 x 273 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Leon Underwood, courtesy The Redfern Gallery, London | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This sculpture, "Totem to the Artist" by Leon Underwood, presents a stack of figures carved from wood. It feels very primal and raw. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, the totem form itself evokes ancient cultural memories, doesn't it? These stacked figures, intertwined, become a powerful symbol. Each figure seems to represent a different stage or aspect, but linked by this shared human experience. Editor: Linked how? Curator: Consider the gesture of embrace, repeated throughout the sculpture. How does that symbol change as you move up the totem? How does the artist speak to past and future through this vocabulary? Editor: That’s interesting. I initially focused on the individual figures, but now I see the whole as a symbol of continuity and the artist's ongoing connection to humanity. Curator: Exactly. And in understanding the symbol, we understand the artist's intention.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/underwood-totem-to-the-artist-t00644
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Like several British artists during the late 1920s and 1930s Underwood made sculptures with subjects drawn from Mexican, Native American and African sources. Underwood argued that his response to non-western art was motivated by a commitment to subject matter rather than style. This woodcarving made from English yew depicts three embracing figures. Its sense of balance and rhythm is enhanced by the polished surface and metal overlay. The sculpture was made at Underwood’s home and studio in Hammersmith, London, where he ran the Brook Green School of Art (1920-39). Gallery label, September 2016
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