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Rating: 
Summary: ...Bronzed...and Beautiful...
Review: The former title for this book when it was
published in 1975 was *R. Tait McKenzie: The
Sculptor of Athletes.* Why the change? I
prefer the first title; it seems truer to
the spirit of what McKenzie was attempting.For McKenzie is celebrating, reverently yet
magnificently, the beauty, strength, and grace
of the male athletic form...in the same
spirit (and even in better fashion one might
say) as the ancient sculptors of athletes in
Greece. The book was published in Knoxville,
Tenn., by the University of Tennessee Press. [facts and quotes from the book...]
Canadian-born physician, physical educator,
and sculptor, McKenzie became the director
of physical education at the University of
Pennsylvania in 1904. Francis S. Grubar points
out in his "Foreword" to Andrew Kozar's book
that this post allowed McKenzie to achieve "an
outlet for his dedication to the physical
education discipline and a _modus operandi_
for continuing his artistic efforts." McKenzie's style and aesthetic were closely
aligned with those of the Classical era in
ancient Greece, not through mere imitation but
because his approach to the study of the athletic
form and the expression of it in art was very
similar. As Grubar says: "Robert Tait McKenzie's sculptural style
was based on _an acutely perceptive fidelity
to nature_[emphasis added], effectively
combined with an idealism strongly influenced
by his love of classical art. His thematic
range was narrower than that of many artists,
concentrating primarily on the depcition of
the trained athlete in action or in a pose
near the climactic moment of the particular
event. Like Michelangelo, McKenzie focused
on the youthful male figure, usually rendered
nude, as the epitome of his human
figure expression." At an important display of sixty of his art
works in London from 1 July to 21 August 1920,
McKenzie's relationship to the classical spirit was clearly seen and pointed out. As Kozar cites: "The editor of *Connoisseur* felt that
these statuettes of athletes were scientifically
true, adding that 'they were ancient Greek
in spirit and style and recalled (the smaller
works especially) -- the best period of
Athenian art more than anything that has
been shown in London during recent years.'
The *Connoisseur*'s review went on to suggest
that McKenzie did not so much imitate the
classic Greek models as _reincarnate the
spirit in which they were produced_[emphasis
added]. In this work he realized the form
and movement of modern athletes possessing
great freedom and vigor with 'the same
discriminating and artistic fidelity
to nature that the Greeks applied to the
athletes of their own day.'"
* * * * * * * * *
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