This is an audio description of the
large bronze sculpture Two Forms
(Divided Circle). It was created by British
artist
Dame Barbara Hepworth in 1969
It is displayed in the sculpture garden
of the Barbara Hepworth Museum,
the artist's former home and studio in
St Ives, Cornwall
Two Forms features two tall semicircular
bronze sections
standing side by side to form a circle
Their straight inner edges face one
another
These semicircular sections are
connected to a flat
rectangular base at one pointed end
The base is fixed to a white painted
concrete plinth
at ankle height. An inscription documents
the maker's name
and the London foundry Morris Singer
where it was cast
Each towering segment is over two metres tall
They taper towards the bottom and their
outer edges
and precariously overhang the base. The
two segments are slightly angled
almost pulling apart with a gap between
them
The gap is around 40 centimetres in the
middle
It suggests a passage between the parts
but the gap is too narrow to enter
One segment is positioned a little
behind the other
The overall effect is a sense of
movement
and poise. The gap becomes as
important as the material sculpture
Each section is pierced through the
centre by a large circular hole
These openings allow views through to
the landscape beyond
Both holes are of different sizes and
tunnel through the interior
They create a seamless contact between
the interior
and exterior of the sculpture
The sculpture can be viewed from
different perspectives
However, for this description we will
identify one side as front-facing
This is the side you encounter as you
enter the garden
The front face of the left section is
punctured by a hole
The egg-shaped recess occupies about
two-thirds of the face
and is pierced in the centre by the hole.
From the rear of the sculpture the edges
of the circular hole
emerge as an oval opening
The section on the right has a larger
circular hole
piercing its convex front face
Seen from the reverse this hole appears
embedded into a half moon shaped recess
The surface colour or patina of the
sculpture
is a green grey tone while the sides are
smooth
Their larger slightly convex faces
bear the marks of carving of the
original plaster
from which the bronze cast was made
The surface is marked with evenly
distributed curving lines
scratches and groups of dotted
indentations
created by Hepworth and the tools she
used
In contrast the recessed areas are more
golden
and polished. These interior sections
still display the texture of carving but
shine in the light and draw the viewer in
Sculpture had traditionally been
understood as an object existing in
space. However Hepworth was interested in the
idea of creating space inside an object and opening up
the form. To do this she hollowed out sculptures
from blocks of stone and wood. In the mid-1950s she developed a way of
constructing large plaster forms
that she could carve and then cast into
bronze
It was all about space and inviting us
to imagine ourselves
inside her sculptural forms
Hepworth insisted that a person's whole
body should be engaged with the work
She also talked about her sculptures
being inspired by the moors and
coastline
especially the stones rocks and hollows
of the rugged cliffs around St Ives.
Also in the late 1960s in a new era of
space exploration she was interested in the
night sky. Two Forms contains half moon shapes
and shining circles that change
constantly with the shifting
light. Hepworth wrote: "So much depends in sculpture on what one
wants to see through a hole. Maybe in a big work I want to see the
sun or moon"
Hepworth moved to St Ives at the
beginning of the Second World War.
She lived and worked there until her
death in 1975.
According to her wishes her home and
studio became a museum for her work
Trewyn Studio and much of the artist's
work remaining there
were given to the nation and placed in
Tate's care
in 1980. The museum displays sculptures
in bronze, stone and wood both in the house and
amongst the subtropical foliage of the
garden
This audio description was written by
Vocaleyes describer Lonny Evans
and recorded by Chandrika Chevli
