Thanos for some. The character of Teal’c from the Stargate SG-1 series for others. Or the actor Laurence Fishburne, aka Morpheus in The Matrix. But not really Dwyane Wade.
Here is a quick anthology of the reactions provoked by the statue of Dwyane Wade, presented in front of the Kaseya Center in Miami on October 27. The “Who is this guy?” » incredulous from the former Heat star on the microphone in the face of the impressive list of his career accomplishments has become the symbol of taunts on the bronze which represents him. In question, his loyalty, it must be said, is uncertain to say the least with the Hall of Famer.
Real “anatomical investigative work”
Represented in “This is my House” version, a celebration made during a buzzer-beating shot against the Bulls in March 2009, the statue especially brought smiles. This is not a first for Omri Amrany, one of its two sculptors. The artist had already been criticized for “The Spirit”, the statue of Michael Jordan which has stood in front of the Bulls’ United Center since 1994.
« I saw the photos of this artist’s creation, the expression is very, very strange and it doesn’t go with the hands, with the legs, nothing » analysis for Basket USA Juan Carlos Carrillo, renowned sculptor based in Châlons-en Champagne.
“Everything is from the front, there is no movement. If the facial expression is not connected with the position of the arms and legs, it becomes nonsense. This is the case, there is no coordination”
Author in particular of the statue in honor of the French football legend Just Fontaine commissioned by the Stade de Reims, Juan Carlos Carrillo is surprised like many by the final rendering of the statue of Dwyane Wade. “ When you create a monument like that, you don’t just have to learn about the face, even if that’s very important, but about the physical characteristics: the way he plays, jumps, approaches the ball… We all have the same muscles, but some players are stronger in the legs and less in the torso for example. So the movement will not be the same. There is precise anatomical investigation work in relation to the morphology of the person that must be done. »
This posture, index fingers pointed towards the ground, mouth wide open in a cry of rage, was Dwyane Wade himself who chose it. “ I wanted to make sure that every fan when they saw it remembered my career, and I think this moment sums it up. » he explained during a press conference on the sidelines of the presentation. Dwyane Wade was involved in the entire creative process, visiting the artists’ studio on four occasions. “ It was during his last visit with the last little adjustments that he was able to see it with his own eyes. » said Oscar Léon, co-author of the work, more than 2m40 high. “ After that, we really trust our whole process. »
When artistic vision confronts the eternal
Dwyane Wade thus defended the work a few days after it was made public, following the flood of mockery, showing a little irony, while believing that the “artistic version of a moment” took precedence.
« This is what can happen when we give the artist the choice to make his work » rhetoric Juan Carlos Carrillo. « If we bring a Basketball player to Picasso, we know what it will give, it will be a Picasso-style work. On the other hand, when we have to create a work that will be in a stadium or in front of a room, it must be recognized by people. We cannot afford to give our touch. But there are people who are not technically capable, who are not at the level. It is to Dwyane Wade’s credit to defend the artist’s version. The public, even if they don’t know art, they always have a feeling, and they are rarely wrong. »
After the effect of the discovery and the mockery, it is no longer really possible to correct it anyway, explains Juan Carlos Carrillo in detail. The process of making a statue is as meticulous as it is complex. It all starts from drawings “ to see the position, the full expression of the body“, then a model for ” to specify » expression and proportions in 3D. Once this preliminary phase has been completed, a metal frame is mounted, on which the clay will then be placed and which will therefore have to support its weight. The earth is positioned “ and this is where we begin the modeling, where we work the line with fresh clay » specifies Juan Carlos Carrillo, a step which can take up to two months for large-scale works.
A silicone mold is then made around the earthen structure to form a skin, around which plaster is placed. like a puzzle » to hold the silicone in place. It is this silicone which is then essential to the second phase in the foundry, a know-how for which France remains a world reference for works of art. These silicone parts, consolidated by a thin layer of wax, will form the final parts of the mold.
A bronze guaranteed for a thousand years… but impossible to take back
After retouching the wax on the last features of the work, an internal mold then an external mold of the sculpture is made. “ The whole thing forms like a large cylinder. » image Juan Carlos Carrillo. « You have to imagine that for my statue of Just Fontaine, the torso was a cylinder two meters high by one meter in circumference, of between one and two tonnes« .
The liquid bronze – heated to around 1,150 degrees – is then incorporated into the molds which form the raw bronze statue, at least its shell, barely five millimeters thick. “ And I guarantee it for a thousand years, a bronze is eternal » assures Juan Carlos Carrillo, who takes ancient Greek statues as an example.
Even at this stage, the work is not final, however, in the event of small errors or parts damaged during cooling. “ We are going to finish the quality of the skin, the retouching, what we call the chiseling technique. You can retouch things, but not everything, the bronze is the exact replica of the wax except for possible small holes in the material. But if the wax wasn’t done well and caused problems upstream, there’s no point trying to redo the bronze, it won’t work. »
Too late to hope for a facelift of the statue of Dwyane Wade. And the alternatives are not legion. Sometimes, as with the statue of Kobe Bryant, it is necessary to redo an entire part of the work, although several errors in names were noted after its installation by… Julie Rotblatt Amrany, Omri Amrany’s wife.
Even remake it from A to Z like the bust of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo installed in 2018 at Madeira airport which so amused the Internet. “ Above all, the player is alive… The problem is the choice of artists, it all starts there »concluded Juan Carlos Carrillo.
