3-Jan-2019 presented my brief-to-self exploring the pivot / balance point / precipice / knife edge / danger / unbalance idea. I wanted to actively explore what “unbalance” (etc) can look like, and showed the first nine days of experimentation.
In tandem with this I’ve done some more concentrated research:
* a couple of hours at AGNSW, searching for relevant examples;
* some internet searching;
* a review of this blog to find work that has caught my eye in the past.
Art Gallery of NSW
At first it seemed surprisingly difficult to find examples that fit the investigation. But of course most artists want to keep your eyes on the work. Even if dynamic, with lots of movements, diagonals, etc, paintings generally resolve with some form of balance.

Charles Meere
Atalanta’s eclipse
1938

Robert Klippel
Left: No 48 Entities suspended from a detector (1948)
Right: No 35 Madame Sophie Sesostoris (1947-48)
The earlier suspended entities has a very sturdy upright, well able to support the small elements hanging from it.

William Kentridge
Bird catching (2006)
I took a couple more photos of different things, but on review they’re not convincing.
Internet search
This was more successful, especially when I changed the significant search term from “unbalanced” to “precarious”. Results have been collected on a new pinterest board – https://www.pinterest.com.au/fibresofbeing/unbalance/
Blog review
A scan through photos previously shown on this blog produced some more examples.
MoMA at NGV 15-Sep-2018

Umberto Boccioni
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space
1913 (cast 1931)

Aleksandr Rodchenko
Non-Objective Painting
1919
National Gallery of Victoria

François-Raoul Larche
Loïe Fuller, the dancer
c. 1900
This lamp base has movement, with the additional sense that it wouldn’t be possible to hold the pose for any length of time. In a beautiful and elegant way, it is unbalanced. And I note here a resistance in myself – elegance, the controlled movement, lessens the sense of the precarious.
13 Rooms exhibition – 13-Apr-2013

Coexisting Clark and Beaumont

In Just a Blink of an Eye
Xu Zhen
Art History annotation 23-May-2014

The Townley Discobolus
One of several Roman copies made of a lost bronze original made in the 5th century BC by the sculptor Myron.
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Paul Landowski
David combattant
bronze, cire perdu (lost wax)
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/SO1.1961/
Matt Bromhead Longline exhibition at pompom 22-Jul-2018

Matt Bromhead
ARTEXPRESS 2018 exhibition 18-Feb-2018

How Irrigating
Hannah Raeside
Sculpture at Scenic World 2016 exhibition 1-May-2016

Elyssa Sykes-Smith
Her work in Sculpture by the Sea 2013 (3-Nov-2013) shows what appear at first glance more static figures. Quickly the strain of the figures, the weight of stone, give a sense of impending doom.

a shared weight
Elyssa Sykes-Smith
Sculpture by the Sea 2016 6-Nov-2016

Johannes Pannekoek
Change ahead
Tom Bass Annual Studio Exhibition 2-Oct-2016

Margo Hoekstra
Joy

Lisa Reidy
Meme
20th Biennale of Sydney 3-Apr-2016

Nina Beier
Installation view
Art History research – Gillian Lowndes 26-Feb-2016

Gillian Lowndes
Cup on Base
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The mug is broken. There has already been a collapse, and another is moments away.
MMT research at AGNSW 30-Jan-2016

Fiona Hall Slash and Burn
Art History assignment 9-Dec-2013

Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot
Edgar Degas
bronze, cire perdu (lost wax) 1900-1910 cast 1919-1921
Macquarie University Sculpture Garden 26-Jun-2016

Errol B Davis
Springfire
1990
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