Antares

Snowden’s newest chapter for bronze, Starscape Unit, brings to life a spectrum of stars sweeping across the universe. Where the Stellar Sphere Group imagines candescent bodies visible to the naked eye from Earth that ranges from the Sun in Solaris to the Moon in Lunas, Snowden’s Starscape Unit is a collection devoted to the evocation of stars, both near and far, both Royal and numerically named, that extend illumination into the reaches of deep space.
In an artistic conceptualization of size, distance, and attributes, the bronzes of the Starscape Unit explore new qualities of liveliness through scientifically analyzed energy patterns that are unique to each star. Snowden’s unrivaled sculptural gift communicates a vivid sense of heightened energetic personality that brings each star’s nucleus to life. When we pause to consider how great distances measured in light years influence our perceptual values of dimension as well as time in relationship to our ability to study the cosmos, we realize that Snowden’s art intuits vast resources that are condensed into an extraordinary personal frame of reference in these bronzes.
In the sculptor’s plan, each star of the Starscape Unit is a star seen at a certain distance across parsecs of space. The sculptor’s conceptual vision has optically reduced star-mass to the scale of the bronze at an optimal viewing scale that also reveals the heart of the star. In these unique works, Snowden builds a sense of new context for the contemplation of our star-based connection with the heavens that reverberates throughout cellular structures and every aspect of our geological planetary relationship. Through the direct application of exquisite techniques inherited from the greatest sculpture studios of the 19th century, Snowden’s bronzes in the Starscape Unit capture rare levels of sensate energy and intensity.
Antares, the first star of the collection, radiates a magnetic, otherworldly sense of personality and vigor. Indeed, Antares is the lively portrait of the star’s candescent nucleus brought into focus through almost magical levels of detail. Scientifically, Antares is a particularly large star, with a mass over 500 times the size of the Sun. It is 520 light years from Earth. As a supergiant, it lies in a colored and luminous cloud 5 light years in diameter that is composed of metallic dust. In the hands of the sculptor, Antares measures just 24 inches that conceptually would require a voyage of many light years to optically bring the star to that dimension in the viewer’s field of vision.
For the sculptor and since the time of the ancients, Antares remains a fascinating star. Evoked in Snowden’s figural synthesis, Antares translates, “Rival of Mars,” and since ancient times has been thought to influence positive changes in the life of humanity and the individual. It symbolizes the heart of aspiration, desire and inspiration underlying the divinity of life. In ancient China, Antares was crucial in the four divisions of ancient astrology. In the sculpture, the reaching intensity of the nucleus reminds us of Antares’ importance in the life of humankind: many ancient Grecian temples received a special blessing by facing their structures toward the rising and setting of Antares at the Vernal Equinox that included Heraeum at Argos along with the temples of Apollo at Delphi. In ancient Babylonia, Antares was considered the Creator of Prosperity and the Egyptians saw Antares as a symbol of Isis and abundance in pyramid ceremonies. Since ancient Persian times, Antares has been considered one of four Royal stars that guard the heavens. As a bronze, Antares exudes an indescribable sense of emotion and outreach that connects humankind to the cosmos through inspiration and art.