Figure on Trunk with Wheels - Big

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Figure on Trunk with Wheels - Big

Artist Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, 1930-2017)

Place of OriginBologna, Italy

Date2000

DimensionsH: 91 3/4 in. (233 cm); W: 123 in. (312.4 cm); Depth: 26 1/4 in. (66.7 cm)

MediumBronze.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Marshall Field's, by exchange

Object number

2000.26

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Sculpture Garden

Label TextMagdalena Abakanowicz used organic materials to form her sculptures, which she then casts in bronze. If you look closely you can see under the heavy modeling that she used burlap to create the hollow human form and wood to create the trunk and wheels. Abakanowicz was born in a village outside Warsaw and lived in Poland her whole life. She experienced the political and economic hardships that plagued her country during her lifetime—including Nazi occupation in the 1930s and 40s and the subsequent Soviet rule. This sculpture can be seen as a statement about what it is like to live under a despotic political system. The headless figure emphasizes the way living under oppression robs a citizen of his or her individuality. However, the figure stands tall and straight—a stance that suggests defiant dignity. Despite anguish and injustice, the sculpture seems to say: Hope remains.