| Edmonia Lewis’ Carving Wax | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Edmonia Lewis |
|
Type |
Carving Wax |
|
Effects |
Increases viscosity of solids and minerals to be moldable |
|
Downsides |
Makes one outcast from their original contemporary society |
|
Activation |
Coating upon a surface |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 12 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
August 25, 1901 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Mary Edmonia Lewis, also known as "Wildfire" (c. July 4, 1844 – September 17, 1907), was an American sculptor. Born in Upstate New York of mixed African-American and Native American (Mississauga Ojibwe) heritage, she worked for most of her career in Rome, Italy. She was the first African-American and Native American sculptor to achieve national and then international prominence. She began to gain prominence in the United States during the Civil War; at the end of the 19th century, she remained the only Black woman artist who had participated in and been recognized to any extent by the American artistic mainstream. Her work is known for incorporating themes relating to Black people and indigenous peoples of the Americas into Neoclassical-style sculpture.
Lewis was unique in the way she approached sculpting abroad. She insisted on enlarging her clay and wax models in marble herself, rather than hire native Italian sculptors to do it for her – the common practice at the time. Male sculptors were largely skeptical of the talent of female sculptors, and often accused them of not doing their own work. Harriet Hosmer, a fellow sculptor and expatriate, also did this. Lewis also was known to make sculptures before receiving commissions for them, or sent unsolicited works to Boston patrons requesting that they raise funds for materials and shipping.
Popular Works[]
Forever Free is a sculpture by the American artist Edmonia Lewis. Created in 1867, it commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States two years earlier and takes its title from President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The white marble sculpture shows a man standing, staring up, and raising his left arm into the air. Wrapped around his left wrist is a chain; however, this chain is not restraining him. To his right is a woman kneeling with her hands held in a position of prayer, the man's right hand gently placed on her right shoulder. The work differs from many other depictions of abolition from the period by showing the Black man standing and unshackled rather than bound or kneeling.
A major coup in her career was participating in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. For this, she created a monumental 3,015-pound marble sculpture, The Death of Cleopatra, portraying the queen in the throes of death, which was her largest and most significant sculpture. This piece depicts the moment popularized by Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra, in which Cleopatra had allowed herself to be bitten by a poisonous asp following the loss of her crown. Lewis added an innovative flair by portraying the Egyptian queen in a disheveled, inelegant manner, a departure from the refined, composed Victorian approach to representing death.
Effects[]
Increases the viscosity of solids and minerals to be moldable, akin to a colloid gel such as curing cement. Hardens into shape when left alone, can be shaped by hand to new form when touched again with a small sample of the clay. Makes one an outcast from their contemporary starting society, as some issue will be found that makes them unwanted to their initial peers. The same problems do not have an effect on new strangers they befriend apparently, although it may take a couple moves before their unwelcoming dissipates.