Sculpture: A Journey to the Circumference of the Earth

Allison Sivak is a librarian in the Science and Technology Library at
the University of Alberta.

In a book that is part art history essay and part travelogue, Robin Peck
strives to foreground the sculptural aspects of the physical world
around us, both past and present. Moving from New York City to Romania,
through Central Europe to England, and finally Iceland, Peck undergoes a
rolling narrative, taking great leaps of the imagination. He contrasts
the presentation of sculptural objects found in the Dia Center to those
in the American Museum of Natural History, and then moves beyond both to
talk about fossils found in their “natural” environments, such as
the Badlands of Alberta.

At his best, the author imbues his travel writings with an intense
physicality, and makes connections that are both surprising and
resonant. He is an imaginative writer, referring to world myths,
political and art histories, and literature in passing, as he explores
his subject matter. As a practising artist, he is also clearly
knowledgeable about the process of sculpting, discussing materials and
their workability in a clear manner.

At times, however, Peck’s tone is somewhat precious, as is his method
of referring to his various travel companions at different times as
“the Sculptor,” without naming them. As well, the use of footnotes
for adding dimensions and/or information to the essays can be
distracting, and could easily have been integrated more fully into the
text. The book itself could have benefited from a greater attention to
typography and design; since Peck returns continually to the object as a
conveyor of meaning and as a site of experience, a more carefully
designed book would have added another layer to the reading experience.

Criticisms aside, Sculpture stands as an example of how art history and
criticism can take on the vitality of lived experience, and is an
accessible and innovative work.