ARTIST’S STATEMENT
TODJI IS SEEKING QUALIFIED ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION. REFERRALS ARE APPRECIATED.
I strive to cultivate myself as a living work of art. I am a multi-faceted artist with many creative practices and passions. Sculpture comes the most naturally to me and my sculptures are created from a lifetime journey of self-discovery.
Todji Kurtzman Sculpture LLC offers my thirty years of award winning fine art sculpting, built upon my previous career as a stop-motion animator for clients such as Disney, MTV, HBO and Saturday Night Live.
My short animated films were official selections of the Cannes, Sundance, Annecy and Smithsonian Institutions film festivals, and my experience in film and television serves as a professional foundation for my adventurous fine art sculpting career.
I encourage audiences to embrace their own experience and interpretation of my sculptures. I have participated in hundreds of sculpture exhibitions, festivals and charity events across the USA and abroad, and the unique perspective of my sculptures invites viewers to expand their perspective.
I sculpt with the intent to create the illusion of great height in a small size, because no matter how small we may be, we can all make a big difference!
A surprising number of people have told me that they’ve had childhood dreams that look like my sculptures. That is astonishing, and my best explanation is that something archetypal is at work. Here are my thoughts on this dreamtime mystery:
During exhibitions, a handful of doctors approached me and asked me if I knew about the “Homunculus” and I did not. I learned that in neuroanatomy the homunculus is a visual representation of the body that shows the proportion of brain tissue devoted to different body parts by showing an enlargement of the more sensitive parts of the body that corresponds to the larger quantity of brain area assigned to those important parts of the body. For example, lips are very sensitive and they have a large area of the brain assigned to them, and therefore the lips appear larger in the mind’s eye.
From this neuroanatomical point of view, my sculptures inadvertently represent the Homunculus in a moment. I never intended to do this. For example, if a person were hanging on by one hand for dear life, that hand becomes enormous in the mind’s eye, just like my sculptures. The focus of the mind on an appendage in the moment enlarges the appendage in the minds eye, and for an athlete, or in an emergency, the appendage of focus can change in an instant. This is interesting, but that doesn’t make for an inspirational work of art. I do my best to express my soul into my sculptures, such that it touches our collective soul, and hopefully you feel it.
In regards to how our vision estimates distances, our eyes and visual cortex of the brain make far away objects look smaller and close object look big. My sculptures compress this ocular phenomenon into proportions that indicate both close and far distances, but there is just one distance, which is unexpected to the eye and brain which does these calculations. What a trip! I didn’t think about any of this until years after. When a child holds onto a parent’s leg and looks up, the head of the parent looks smaller, just as a sky scraper looks narrower at the top when seen from the sidewalk. The mystery of how our eyes and brains make far away objects look smaller and close objects look bigger is how we can estimate distances for driving, hunting food, or putting a hand on a doorknob on the first try. I believe that my sculptures evoke an unconscious understanding of the architecture of our vision. And that still doesn’t make for a compelling work of art. I seek to create a mind, body, soul connection through the expression of my sculptures, and I access that by living it.
I have coined the term “Figurative Forced Perspective” to describe the entirely original technique that I created to sculpt the exaggerated proportions of my sculptures, by accessing the principles that are work in the perspective of our vision. I created this technique from the cinematic principles of the classic “Forced Perspective” technique used to make movie sets that appear to have great depth in a short distance. Similarly, Michelangelo enlarged the head and shoulders of his masterpiece “David” so that it would appear to have correct proportions when viewed from the ground. The Statue of Liberty was also sculpted to be larger at the top so that it would appear properly proportioned when seen from below. I use this age old technique with the opposite intent to create the illusion of great height in a small size!
I created my first “Figurative Forced Perspective” sculpture in 1998, at age 28, when I was working as a stop-motion animator for film and TV. I was working with world class sculptors who worked for Lucasfilm, Pixar and Disney, and I had never seen anyone sculpt an anatomically correct human figure in a forced perspective, and decades later, I still have not seen another artist achieve this. I have seen many sculptors exaggerate proportions in the past two decades, but there is a difference between cartoony exaggerated proportions and accurately scaling anatomy in a forced perspective. I am articulating this because I have seen the influence that my sculptures have had on other sculptors who have begun exploring with exaggerated proportions. I walked into a gallery recently and there were two sculptors whose bronze sculptures featured cartoony long legs. I am probably the only person who can trace that trend back to my own work beginning in 1998. Only Giacometti had explored exaggerated proportions previously that I am aware of. Few, if any art professionals may be familiar with this information, so I am stating my observation.
My broad conclusion is that there is something archetypal going on in the depth of our collective sub-conscious that has expressed itself in people’s dreams and also in my sculptures. I thank God, the muses, and everyone else, when people enjoy my work. My greatest hope is to inspire people to cultivate their creative gifts to share with the world. Few people understand the difficulty of sustaining an artist’s career over a lifetime, which is the reality for the majority of artists who are not 1%ing. Thanks to all artists who gave it a try, and thanks to all artists who stuck with it, and everybody in between! Imagine a world without art, or imagine a world flowering with art!
I’ve studied Brazilian music and practiced the Afro-Brazilian dance and martial art of Capoeira, and other Latin dances for 30 years, and the expression that I put into my sculptures is sourced from that cultural spice from living and marrying in Rio de Janeiro and traveling in South America for three decades, which is the rhythm of the soul that I put into my sculptures.
I create one of a kind site specific designs on a commission basis for private collectors, businesses and public art for cities. My existing limited edition bronze sculpture designs are available in nearly all sizes in bronze, stainless steel and 3D prints. Is there a particular sculpture that speaks to you? Please inquire! I can digitally customize existing designs to make them a unique fit for client’s objectives, or I can create entirely new work representing people, flora, fauna or the elements sculpted in clay or digitally. I design my sculptures to look beautiful from every angle of view, bronze has a potential 4000 year longevity, and I strive to produce timeless works of art that have the potential to inspire countless generations.
The site-specific concepts that I create for commissions are rooted in research, so I can understand the root of the project. I focus on inclusivity, positivity and I celebrate the commonalities of our diversity. I work in a variety of styles, some of which are shown on my website, and many others styles that I work in are not online, so please inquire if you have something in mind, I wish to expand my portfolio. I can tell local stories, or celebrate nature’s majesty with concepts that celebrate the past, involve community participation in the present, and I strive to present simple wisdom to uplift the future.
I have produced the creative concepts, sculpture, drafting, construction documents, fabrication, earthquake engineering, ADA, installation, community participation, and all other aspects of the practice for eighteen bronze monuments since 2006. None of my monuments have been damaged to date. I use traditional hand sculpting techniques combined with state of the art 3D sculpting, 3D drafting, and 3D printing for a smooth digital interface with other design professionals. My sculpting style is iconic, immediately recognizable, and I can create landmark destinations with monumental sculptures that are designed to be cell phone photogenic so the public can have a blast taking photos with the sculptures!
Thank you for your interest in my art. It is patronage that keeps me working as an artist, and for that I am deeply grateful!
Todji
