Have you ever taken the time to observe people around you? Normally, I'm pretty oblivious. But sometimes, I like to sit in my camp chair at the park and do some people watching. If you're an artist, being observant is essential. Mike is an extremely observant person. He can see details in humans; the differences in their expressions, the way they hold themselves, the tone of their voices.
I have another question. Have you ever been outside the circle? The inflections of this statement are many. This could mean feeling left out of a group. It could mean watching a group who is excluding someone as someone on the outside looking in. Who is outside the circle? You as the viewer? Or the girl who is being used as a pedestal for the other girls?
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| Outside the Circle, by Michael Aaron Hall |
Mike's response to the inspiration and reasoning of the statue is this:
I created Outside the Circle because I wanted to examine the topic of exclusion. At some point in our lives we have all felt excluded, and at some point in our lives we have all been guilty of excluding someone. As you look at this piece you will note the three figures in the front. The two figures on the sides are transfixed by something that the third figure holds; all three of these figures are either unaware or do not care about the fourth figure. At the back of the piece we find the fourth figure, which is the focal point of this work. It is the excluded individual. As you can see she is making it possible for the other three figures to sit upright comfortably while she is being crushed and struggling to remain relevant.
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| Outside the Circle, rear view |
This piece cannot be viewed from one side alone. The viewer needs to see it from several angles to understand it. The view above, for example, shows the girl that is being "crushed," the girl that makes it possible for the other three girls to be elevated.
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| Outside the Circle, new angle |
Now for the backstory. While Mike was being observant one day when we were at the park, he noticed a group of girls waiting for a ride. The four girls looked so much alike that they could have been sisters. They were sitting on a wall, and while three of them talked and laughed, they completely ignored the fourth, despite her efforts to join the conversation. One of the girls even deigned to lean on the less fortunate girl, who was then physically supporting her for what seemed like an hour. This situation struck him so hard that he wanted to turn it into a work of art. Sculpture is meant to be relevant, and this subject has been and will be relevant years into the future.
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| Outside the Circle getting ready for patina |
The process for creating this piece was intensely arduous. I posed for every figure so that all the girls would look similar in form and in dress, which means I posed for at least an hour every day for months. I had to take breaks. Lots of them. Mike was meticulous about certain details, that the three girls were so focused on something else that they don't notice the girl behind them. What's interesting to me is that most viewers don't notice the other girl at first either, until someone else points it out. Then the purpose of the piece becomes clear.
Outside the Circle examines the topic of exclusion. As all great pieces of art do, this piece reaches out to pull on emotional strings and on thoughts that make us better, more observant people.
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