Table of contents:
- 1. The world's largest wooden sculpture
- 2. Spiral staircase made of a solid tree trunk
- 3. The largest wooden Buddha statue
- 4. Totems at the Royal Ontario Museum
- 5. Possibly the world's largest wooden sculpture
- 6.511 interconnected pliers cut from one tree trunk
- 7. God of War is the largest wooden statue in Japan
- 8. "Chopstick", swing and kiosk
- 9. Large canoe
Video: 9 impressive wood sculptures made from solid tree trunks
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
What materials are not used by contemporary artists and designers for their works! Sometimes it turns out not just creatively, but rather unexpectedly. Nevertheless, wood as a figurative material does not lose its relevance today. This review contains the most incredible wooden sculptures that amaze not only with the skill of their execution, but also with their size.
1. The world's largest wooden sculpture
The breathtaking 12.2-meter creation by Chinese artist Zheng Chunhu is a contemporary masterpiece of sculpture. First presented to the public in 2013, it entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest continuous wooden sculpture in the world (it was carved from a solid tree trunk).
Considering the gigantic size of the 1000-year-old sculpture depicting the 1000-year-old scene from Along the River on the Day of Commemoration of the Dead, and its incredible detail, it is not surprising that the artist took four years to create it.
The sculpture features many hand-carved buildings, trees, mountains, rivers, boats, bridges, clouds and even 550 people.
2. Spiral staircase made of a solid tree trunk
The Lednice castle and its extensive garden are one of the most beautiful places in the Czech Republic. Not only is it gorgeous in appearance, but it also boasts stunning interiors: original ceiling panels, historic wood furnishings, and an impressive 360-degree, nailless spiral staircase that connects the library to the stately bedroom.
3. The largest wooden Buddha statue
The Lama Temple in Beijing houses the world's largest Buddha statue, carved from a single tree trunk. The 18-meter statue of Maitreya, which was carved by hand during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qin Dynasty, stands in the main hall. Although the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s caused massive and irreparable damage to thousands of architectural and cultural treasures throughout China, this statue and temple miraculously survived the disaster.
4. Totems at the Royal Ontario Museum
The Nisga'a and Haida Totem Poles at the Royal Ontario Museum are four large pillars that were carved from solid Western Red Cedar trees by the Nisga'a and Haida people of British Columbia. Each of these pillars tells a story of a particular family, describing its origins, achievements and life experiences. It is noteworthy that the largest of the four totem poles, "Sagavin", rises by as much as 24.5 meters.
5. Possibly the world's largest wooden sculpture
Sculptor Dengding Rui Yao carved this incredible wooden lion from a solid tree trunk. It took the artist and his 20 assistants three whole years to do this. The sculpture was originally made in Myanmar and then moved to its current "permanent residence" in Wuhan, China. The lion, which was carved from rosewood, measures 14.5 m in length, 5 m in height and 4 m in width. If such measurements turn out to be correct (they have not yet been verified by experts from the Guinness Book of Records), then the wooden sculpture will be recognized as the largest in the world. READ MORE …
6.511 interconnected pliers cut from one tree trunk
As the story goes, when Ernest "Mooney" Worter was a teenager from Ohio, he ran into a man who taught him how to carve a pair of working pliers from a single piece of wood using just ten cuts.
Worter went on to become one of the most prolific woodcarvers in America. His most significant work (before Worter switched to carving almost exclusively locomotives) was a wooden sculpture made from 511 interlocking pliers, which took 31,000 cuts from a single tree trunk.
7. God of War is the largest wooden statue in Japan
At Kumano Bishamondo Temple, you can see the largest wooden statue in Japan - the statue of the god of war Bishamonteng. This amazing creation, which is more than 10,000 years old, was carved from a solid cypress tree.
8. "Chopstick", swing and kiosk
The Swedish firm Visiondivision, commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, created a swing and a kiosk from a single 30.5-meter tree. And the "chopstick" was created for the Virginia Art and Nature Park from tulip liriodendron, which was felled in a nearby forest.
The bark of the tree was used as a "shingle" for a diner kiosk.
9. Large canoe
The fully sailable 19-meter Big Canoe is one of the most famous exhibits at the Museum of Natural History in New York. The boat was carved in the 1870s from a solid cedar trunk and features design elements from various Native American peoples of the Northwest Coast, especially the Haida and Heizluk.
The large killer whales depicted on either side of the nose of the Great Canoe were most likely painted by Charles Edenshaw (1839-1924), one of the most influential Hyde painters of his time.
Of great interest is also sculpture with a sense of humor Peter Lenk. The question immediately arises as to why the artist has a section of politicians.
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