Page 306 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Studies: human

intentions of, say, a German Expressionist, but rather the result
of letting his imagination determine proportions in works
whose small scale necessitated eschewing representational
accuracy for dramatic emphasis.

13 Upraised arm
Wood
28.5” x 5”

AR carved this perfectly straight, vertically-thrusting human
limb from a long laminated block; had the material been a
natural tree limb, the resultant form might be less stiff and
symmetrical. Rooted in a shallow square base, the evenly-
tapered arm is smooth and polished, adding to its geometric
quality. Although the piece has the look of an anatomical
study—like the series of hands—the arm is longer than that of
most men, including AR. This slightly heroic scale, the
abstracted physiology, and the unbroken upward line ending in
a fist suggest the work is also a political statement in the
language of social realism: the physical force of mass man
rising up in protest against institutional oppression.

1 Head of a man
Coconut husk
6” x 5”

This unpainted, lightly lacquered head is one of two extant
coconut heads (see no. 161). It is likely that some of AR’s
earliest attempts at figurative carving were executed on
coconuts, perhaps in idle moments on his produce delivery
route. The face is that of a young man, alert and smiling,
sporting a modern haircut and no facial hair; it does not,
however, appear to represent any specific person. Such an
innocent appearance is in complete contrast to the grotesque
coconut heads AR displayed atop his living room bookcases:
perhaps that very blandness enabled this piece to escape the
fate of the others when AR left Figueroa Street.

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