October 28, 2021 / Spotlight on Art
Red Star by
Maudie Brady
The feeling of the elements being free from weight whilst the intensity of her reaction impacts upon them - the foot pushing against the rock underneath, whilst her weight is resting against the floating asteroid. From star dust we came... It’s science fiction but it’s also a domestic tragedy, a Space Opera.
Maudie Brady, "Red Star", Hydro resin, Life size, 2021
It is with great pleasure that we talk about an immensely talented sculptor in this week’s Spotlight on Art: Maudie Brady.
After a successful career sculpting figures for films, Maudie decided to pursue a career in fine arts. After completing the Sculpture Program at FAA, she is now the Director of Anatomy and Ecorché Sculpture.
Her work that we are featuring today, Red Star, received Honorable Mention in Figurativas 2021 and was exhibited at the European Museum of Modern Art, (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain from October 8th, 2021 – December 12th, 2021.
Maudie Brady
at Figurativas 2021
“My initial inspiration for Red Star was the classic pose of a startled bather, as seen interpreted by many sculptors since the Greek antiquity. The idea of a woman being interrupted, possibly threatened, whilst in a private and intimate moment formed the basis of the pose of Red Star.
The thing causing the interruption is not seen but felt through the gaze and expression of the woman. It’s a timeless moment of impending violence, one destined to be repeated over and over. The title Red Star is referring to this threat, it’s a reference to Mars, the God of War, but also to the Red Planet, the potential Salvation of the Human species, the hope of escaping the End of Days. These two references coexist in a strange otherworldly dimension where the rules of gravity felt on Earth are not ruling the environment around her…
The feeling of the elements being free from weight whilst the intensity of her reaction impacts upon them – the foot pushing against the rock underneath, whilst her weight is resting against the floating asteroid. From star dust we came… It’s science fiction but it’s also a domestic tragedy, a Space Opera.”
– Maudie Brady
Side view of “Red Star”
Greek mythology is a great source of stories that lend themselves to interesting visual translations, and Red Star is an exceptional combination of classical world meets Sci-fi. Can you talk further about how you see the two worlds interact?
This pose for Red Star was initially inspired by the classic Bather sculptures of women being interrupted whilst bathing. I extended the drama of this narrative into a new dimension creating almost a Baroque Science Fiction. I love the idea of the combination of the two worlds, I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy books as a teenager and then became obsessed by sci-fi films and TV.
Creating a scenario that was at once realistic but also not entirely ruled by the laws of gravity was one of my aims with this piece. I wanted the viewer to experience a strange disconnect with reality whilst looking at her, a glimpse of what her inner emotional space might feel like. And who knows if what we know as antiquity was not once a futuristic society who engaged with outer space? Perhaps it is we who are in the darkness.
I wanted the viewer to experience a strange disconnect with reality whilst looking at her, a glimpse of what her inner emotional space might feel like. And who knows if what we know as antiquity was not once a futuristic society who engaged with outer space? Perhaps it is we who are in the darkness.
I wanted the viewer to experience a strange disconnect with reality whilst looking at her, a glimpse of what her inner emotional space might feel like. And who knows if what we know as antiquity was not once a futuristic society who engaged with outer space? Perhaps it is we who are in the darkness.
Tell us a bit about your process. Did you start with a complete vision of the finished piece or did the ideas lead to an evolving image as you worked?
I generally start with a pretty loose idea which I develop over the time of sculpting it – many things influence this process of development, including how the model takes to the pose and what they bring to the podium. They can have a massive influence on what ends up happening with the final pose. I interact with them and get inspired along the way, so ideas may change over the process quite a lot. With Red Star, I wanted to have a very dynamic half-seated twist, a feeling of being interrupted and shocked or threatened. The drama needed to be told through her expression and body language, it needed to be dynamic. I wanted the idea of outer space to also feature somehow, but I wasn’t sure how to make it work…and it came and went before I got some inspiration from my colleague Mitch Shea who came to see it one day and suggested she be pushing off from an asteroid under one foot, whilst perching on another… I loved this idea. Interestingly he hadn’t been told about the space theme at that point…(*theremin music*)
The use of color in this sculpture is bold, yet delicately applied. Can you tell us a bit about your color choices for this piece? Did you experiment with something new? The figure’s hand is red as is the mask she is holding. What does the use of red here mean, and what does the mask simbolize? Why is she hiding it?
Color has always seemed a bit taboo for me as a sculptor. Using it the wrong way can be very damaging to the overall impact of the work, and it can quickly become garish. So when I venture away from ‘traditional’ patinas it’s always an experiment. But with Red Star I wanted to bring attention to the drama unfolding ‘off-camera’ as it were, and the red color of her hand is an indication of that. Hands are very expressive and it’s pretty clear in this composition that both hands are deflecting and protecting from some kind of violence.
Detail of “Red Star”
The title Red Star was an open-ended reference to quite different things, one of them being the planet Mars, a planet linked to the God of War, of violence.
The mask she is hiding has an expression of serenity, a dream world, one very far from the present reality of the bearer… There is a tear falling from the closed eye of the mask, something from that quiet place has been violated and lost in this moment.
Do you have an essential philosophy that guides you in your creative expression?
I try to be open to Creative Flow! It takes a strange uncomfortable courage but trying to control things too much tends to just shut creativity down, and then things become heavy and mechanical. Inspiration comes from weird places… I try to keep that initial spark bright through the long process of manifesting it, but also be open to acting on any new sparks along the way.
Digital scanning of “Red Star”
You had Red Star digitally scanned. Can you tell us a bit about it and how does it fall into your workflow? What are the pros and cons from the artist’s point of view?
The scanning of Red Star was done of the original finished clay before I made the silicone mould. I have since received and moulded the 3D resin print (at the smaller scale) with the intention of getting a bronze edition made. Making reductions of larger works in this manner can create a much more accessible and affordable item for art collectors that retains the integrity of the original sculpture – the small version has an incredible amount of detail true to the original. Selling a life size sculpture is difficult because of the cost – it doesn’t happen so often in my experience! Making use of modern technologies to make a smaller, more salable item that is still cast in the traditional lost wax method at the foundry and sold in a limited edition is a way to ensure more income without having to sculpt a new version from scratch.
More about Maudie Brady
After graduating in 1995 from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelors of Art, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Sculpture in 1998, Maudie Brady pursued a career in the Film and Television Industry, and over the course of the next 12 years learnt a wide range of skills within the Art and Construction Departments where she developed a love for sculpting. Realizing there was much more to learn specifically about figurative sculpture she sought out the best training on offer, and in 2013 joined The Florence Academy of Art. In 2016 she completed the Figurative Sculpture Diploma at FAA with a student teaching scholarship, winning Best Drawing of the Sculpture Program. That year Maudie also won Best Figure for her Life Size sculpture ‘Laura’ at the 12th ARC International Salon Competition. She continues to teach in the Sculpture Program at the Academy, and is Director of Anatomy and Ecorché Sculpture, whilst maintaining a personal art practice in the studio the Academy provides.
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A video feature on FAA's Director of the Sculpture Drawing Program
One of the other great things about painting still life is that is humble and forgiving. You can set up a still life anywhere. It can be as simple or complex as you want.
