Figur

David Lauer's sculpture consists of two parts, the figurative six feet tall bronze body and a cylindrical base of basaltic lava on which it stands. The yellow-greenish bronze sculpture is glimmering through its patina, and not only does its colour form a contrast to the grey pedestal, it is also tapering towards a stylized foot zone, the small base of which connects it with the pedestal. lt is the upper part of the body together with the stylized formation of the arms which give the sculpture its weight. lt also permits different interpretations of the corporeal substance of the sculpture: Apart from the silhouette effect which has already been described, that part of the figure which points at the terrace of the "Forum" has got a strongly vertical structure which appears to be divided, however, into two sharp-edged ascending lines which end at the height of about two thirds of the figure and then merge into the soft formation of the arms and broad shoulders. The front view of the sculpture suggests a vigorous guard leaning on his sword; the artist, however, has not modelled any details but has integrated them into the form of the body, incorporating them, so to speak, into a stylized unity. The "body" of the guard and the objects that one is free to associate with it seem to be wrapped up in a tightly fitting coat. Looking at the back of the sculpture from the steps leading up to the terrace you get quite a different view. Buttocks, shoulders, and head of the figure seem to be assuming symmetrically arranged vegetal shaped.

David Lauer's sculpture consists of two parts, the figurative six feet tall bronze body and a cylindrical base of basaltic lava on which it stands. The yellow-greenish bronze sculpture is glimmering through its patina, and not only does its colour form a contrast to the grey pedestal, it is also tapering towards a stylized foot zone, the small base of which connects it with the pedestal. lt is the upper part of the body together with the stylized formation of the arms which give the sculpture its weight.

lt also permits different interpretations of the corporeal substance of the sculpture: Apart from the silhouette effect which has already been described, that part of the figure which points at the terrace of the "Forum" has got a strongly vertical structure which appears to be divided, however, into two sharp-edged ascending lines which end at the height of about two thirds of the figure and then merge into the soft formation of the arms and broad shoulders. The front view of the sculpture suggests a vigorous guard leaning on his sword; the artist, however, has not modelled any details but has integrated them into the form of the body, incorporating them, so to speak, into a stylized unity. The "body" of the guard and the objects that one is free to associate with it seem to be wrapped up in a tightly fitting coat. Looking at the back of the sculpture from the steps leading up to the terrace you get quite a different view. Buttocks, shoulders, and head of the figure seem to be assuming symmetrically arranged vegetal shaped. The figure as a whole is lacking the stabilizing central axis which the front and rear view do in fact suggest. The side view in particular gives the impression that the two parts of the figure are expanding autonomously, showing an austere, hard, and technical form on the front side (the "guard") and at the back the tree layers of a mushroom-like plant, the extension of which seems to endanger the balance in the sculpture. The mass of this sculptural "plant" stands in danger of moving backwards into the space behind it.

This eccentric form of a human body is held together by the cylindrical pedestal which seems to make the bronze figure rotate. Considering its artistic concept as a whole one may recognize the vegetative motive of a blossom in it, closed in a bud that will soon unfold the glory of its strength. David Lauer's figurative work is well-balanced between organic corporeality and inorganic technical structures. In varying the artistic concept of his sculpture he is exploring the ins and outs of sculptural form which settles his work in the neighbourhood of objective realism.

The Italian futurists once demanded programmatically that there should be an amalgamation of corporeal organisms and technology, manifested in excessive, dynamic, and immensely powerful works of art. The maxim of futurism seems to be living on in Lauer's sculptures in a more lyrical than polemic way.