WP3 Pre-Writing 2

"Birth of Venus" is a bronze sculpture created by Reuben Nakian from 1963 to 1966, and was cast in 1969. It was based off a painting by the same name by Sandro Botticelli that was done circa 1486. The painting shows a woman, the goddess Venus, standing in an open shell. According to Roman mythology, Venus was born when she emerged from the sea as a grown woman. The Botticelli painting and the Nakian sculpture both incorporate this story, although the sculpture is much more abstract.

This sculpture is pretty interesting to look at because there are a lot of details. At first, it doesn't look like much is going on--it appears to be depicting just a pile of rocks or something. It is a really abstract sculpture, so it's hard to tell what it is exactly, but after looking at it for a while, it's easy to notice a lot of different things.

One of the first things I noticed was the color of the sculpture. It is made of bronze, so it is mostly brownish, but looking at it closer, there are a lot of greenish hues. These green hues stand out a lot more and are more noticeable later in the day when it is getting dark. In the afternoon when it is sunny, the sun reflects off the sculpture, making it look bright and shiny.

Another unique aspect of the sculpture is that it is made of several different sections and pieces that are all different. There are many levels and depths to the sculpture, but everything is connected. You can even see the bars that provide the framework for the sculpture at the bottom and behind it, almost like scaffolding. At first I wasn't sure if the bars were part of the sculpture or if they were just help to support it, but when looking at the back of the sculpture, I think they are mostly for framework. From the back of the sculpture, you can see that all the pieces are open and hollow, not enclosed and all the bars are clearly visible.

Among the different levels, there is a piece that is clearly above the rest of the sculpture. Because of this break in the alignment, there is a visual hierarchy in the sculpture. The viewer notices this part first, and this emphasizes the importance of this part. It appears to be "rising" out of the bottom part of the sculpture, and if compared to the painting, this part represents Venus that is coming from the water.

The texture of the sculpture is another important aspect of the art. It is very rough, and at first glance, it looks like it's made of bronze rocks. There are holes in the bronze all over the sculpture, and some of them look almost accidental, as if they're there as a result of the sculpture being outside for a long time. This gives "Birth of Venus" the appearance of being old and worn. It is not flawless art, but appears to be weathered and imperfect.