Three-Legged+Buddha--Zhang+Huan



Title: Three-Legged Buddha Artist: Zhang Huan Date: 2007 Dimension: 339 x 504 x 272 inches Medium: Steel First Displayed: Royal Academy of Arts, London
 * Artwork Identification**

Zhang Huan is a Chinese artist who became well known in the 1990’s for incredibly bold performance art (Holmes, 2007) He is primarily a performance artist but also does photography and sculpture, like the Three-Legged Buddha shown here. Zhang Huan received his BA at the He Nan University in Kai Feng in 1988, and his MA at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1993. He worked for years in New York, and Shanghai, and often finds work in London. His work often created conflict with the government due to their strong messages ability to draw a lot of attention.
 * Introduction**

This large-scale sculpture is made of welded copper with a steel inner structure, and is partially made of Tibetan remnant sculpture. Zhang Huan often uses the body form in all aspects of his art. With no head or upper torso of its own, the three-legged monstrous torso stands high over the heads of viewers like a tripod, standing at 8.6 meters. The large feet and ankles are jeweled and each rests on an object. Two of the feet stand on columns that raise them up to the appropriate height. The the third foot is resting on top of Buddha's head. This head faces inward, as if emerging from the ground but stopped by the Buddha's third foot. We only see this face from just below the nose to to the top of the head. The copper creates a beehive effect on across the sculpture, giving it a geometrical feel despite the large curves the piece includes.
 * Descriptive Analysis**



After converting to Buddhism, Zhang Huan began to tone down his art, foregoing the shocking performance art that made him famous in the 1990’s for more spiritually inclined sculpture. Huan’s return to China led him through Tibet and other parts of Southeast Asia where he discovered ruins of Buddhist monasteries and sculptures. Intrigued and inspired, Huan brought abandoned pieces of the copper statues of Tibet home with him (Holmes, 2008). The artist was commissioned in 2007 to create a work for the Royal Academy of the Arts in London (Holmes, 2008). Huan’s //Three-Legged Buddha// was created using one of the Tibetan remnants. A found copper torso served as his base, upon which to place an additional leg and suppressed face. Because of the sculpture giant size, patrons can literally walk underneath and around the behemoth. This involves the public as part of the artwork. Not only at they looking at the art, but they no become encompassed by this creature, overcome by Buddhism and the tension that lies within the religion and freedom.
 * Formal & Contextual Analysis**

According to the artist, the third leg is a mythical symbol that represents the beginning of life, and the Buddha represents man (Holmes, 2008). Both life and death bring meaning to each other for Buddhists; the head is like someone coming up from hell. It shows a struggle for power, a battle of dominance. The work demonstrates the confrontation between these two kinds of powers, and a relationship between the dominant and the dominated (Holmes, 2008). This reflects his experiences under Mao, the struggle in Tibet, the destruction of Buddhist monuments, and perhaps even the struggle within each man. He choose to work in copper medium because it resembles the rawness of real skin after being opened up and exposed. Surprisingly, or not, the head that appears from the ground resembles Huan himself. Perhaps he has felt the struggles associated with his own artwork in relation to his involvement in Buddhism.

Huan states //"According to the world of Samsara, Buddha is human, human is Buddha. Causality produces effects. I hope that this "Three Legged Buddha" from the East will bring harmony to London and the world.//"



Huan was commissioned in 2008 by The San Fransisco Art Commission to bring a piece of artwork to San Fransisco. They choose Huan in hopes of promoting their public art program and distinguishing Shanghai as their 'sister city'. Huan constructed another sculpture similar the the Three Legged Buddha. This sculpture is titled "Three Heads, Six Arms". Historically, Buddhas were shown with many heads and may arms. Buddha could see in all directions, see everyone and everything, and he could also reach anywhere he needed to be. This is found in many historical representations of Buddha, something that Huan has been experimenting in his later works. He also choose to use copper again in this artwork because he feels that is holds spiritual properties.
 * Other Artwork**


 * References**

Holmes, Pamela. B//eyond Buddha, A Conversation with Zhang Huan//. Zhang Huan Studio. ZhangHuan.com. 2008. http://www.zhanghuan.com/ShowText.asp?id=36&sClassID=3. -interview with the artist, primarily discussing the sculpture the Three-Legged Buddha

Holmes, Pamela. //Zhang Huan: They Thought I was Insane//. Telegraph Media Group. September 21, 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3668049/Zhang-Huan-They-thought-I-was-insane.html. -article about the artist’s time spent in different parts of the world and the influence on his art //Three Legged Buddha by Zhang Huan//. Royal Academy of the Arts. October 8, 2007. http://royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/sculpture-in-the-annenberg-courtyard/?preference=user-size-large&action=com.othermedia.webkit.site.UserPreferenceAction&actionToken=axEirJay5Dk63. -article about the sculpture from the commissioning school, the Royal Academy of the Arts

www.zhanghuan.com -Public Art Instillation. Brief article about piece.

www.latimes.com -Article on "Three Heads, Six Arms" by Jori Finkel

//Observing Gothenburg: The Blog//. "The Hallow Women and The Three Legged Buddha". http://observingothenburg.blogspot.com/2008/07/hollow-woman-and-three-legged-buddha.html -Tourist encounter with piece in new resting grounds.