The End of Modernism and the Reflection of Human Condition in Figurative Sculpture

Abstract

This descriptive-analytical paper aimed at analyzing contemporary human condition in figurative sculpture during the end of modernism. It aims at identifying the origins of major and recurrent patterns in the works of contemporary figurative sculptors. The major patterns stem from feeling of being lost and the gap in personal identity, which in turn, stem from the unrepeatable events during the decades of late 20th century; challenges, such as the hasty life in the age of technology, forests and expeditions, illness, poverty, and so on. Unlike bygone artists, contemporary artists no longer see human beings as a beautiful, powerful, and different creature. Rather they consider him as a product of pain, suffering, and personal and social wounds. Since works of art reflect the zeitgeist and dominant thoughts of an era, this paper briefly reviews the elements affecting earlier figurative works of art, such as mythology and religion, which also appeared in the humanism of modernity. Then, it analyzes and criticizes the founding concepts of contemporary figurative sculpture as one of the various expressions of modern art