I know what you're thinking, you're probably think something along the lines of "what is that?", "why is it so ugly and grotesque?", "Why on earth would anyone make something like that, much less recreate it?". I had similar thoughts when I first saw this image. I was taking AP Art History during my Senior year of High School, and this was the first image that was presented to my class. I distinctly remember my teach saying "[this figurine] is the Venus of Willendorf, isn't she cute!" I could not be more confused as to what was cute and great about this tiny, around 4-inch, old figurine. I didn't understand.
But then I started researching, and I started learning about this tiny little piece. The people who created this piece were Hunter-Gatherers, people who were constantly on the move with little ability to carry more than what was necessary on them. Whoever created this figurine felt that fertility, children, and new life, were important enough, significant enough, to immortalize in a simple figurine. The amount of care and love they must have poured into its creation is simply astounding. It shows that someone loved something, or someone, to the point of creation. They took time to create something beyond themselves, and then carry it with them.
While this figurine is thousands of years old and has seen weathering, it is still clear that this totem was of great value to someone. There is no concrete evidence of what the meaning of the Venus of Willendorf is, and who carried her, there are only hypotheses. These hypotheses consist of the adoration and worshipping of the female figure, fertility, childbearing, etc. It has also been theorized that this was a totem carried by a man for either personal purposes, or as a totem in marriage. There are many theories and ideas of what the Venus meant, who carried it, how it was made, why it was carved, and why it was carried.
While studying at UVU, I decided that I wanted to recreate a 2D rendering of the Venus of Willendorf. The Venus of Willendorf would have been painstakingly hard to carve at such a small scale, and so I chose to use graphite because it will be painstaking to make sure that every detail is correct and accurately described. This then forces me to look at every detail from one angle, allowing me to better understand the piece that was lovingly created and carried for miles by an individual. My goal is to see this totem through their eyes, and through a more social aspect, and understand just how important it was to them, both daily and generationally. If it was important to them, it should be important to me.
I chose to do this project because this is one of my most favorite art pieces that I have studied, and I wanted to get a sense of the time they poured in the figurines making by pouring in my time to render it as accurately as possible, albeit in a different medium. If anything, my love has grown even further for the Venus of Willendorf, and feel that this project was a success in regards to my goals, and increasing my personal understanding of art.
- M
What the actual Venus of Willendorf looks like:
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