Juggler No. 2 1991

Curator: I'm fascinated by this piece, David Hare's "Juggler No. 2" from 1991. It's crafted from bronze and metal. What catches your eye? Editor: Initially, its stance gives me a sensation of defiance, or is it balance? This towering figure, so seemingly unstable, reminds me of watching someone walk a tightrope, balancing competing ideas perhaps. Curator: David Hare, even with the abstracted human form here, explored states of mind. Those "balls" or shapes that the figure appears to be juggling, have meaning. Hare suggests the juggler must hold onto "the sun, moon, stars, memory, and the horrors of his time." Editor: Heavens! Talk about pressure! Is the sun represented by the circular form atop the figure? What is he balancing on the opposite side, an anvil? Visually, I appreciate Hare's material use, contrasting the weighty rock supporting it, with the wirey character he's shaped. There's such a kinetic tension between the earthy, primordial base, and the figure almost floating above. Curator: Absolutely. I interpret the seemingly precarious stance and wire frame as Hare’s response to political turmoil of his day. Notice how deliberately fragmented the forms are. It suggests, to me, our ability to be resilient in face of such upheaval, we might wobble, but will not shatter. Editor: Indeed! A fractured mirror reflecting turbulent times. That single foot as its anchor makes me contemplate what a strong, even defiant image he presents of humans in the modern world. Do you think he succeeded in catching something elemental about what sustains the soul during crisis? Curator: Absolutely. As the artist intended. I'm intrigued by how art speaks differently through time. Originally seen in a political context, here we are now seeing, or perhaps projecting onto it our own emotional responses to instability in our current day and age. Editor: How fantastic—sculpture capturing an experience and then re-presenting that moment through new viewers! It seems this Juggler's act never really ends!