The Myth in the sculpture of Froso Efthymiadi-Menegaki

The present doctoral thesis attempts to analyze thirty-one sculptures from Froso Efthymiadi-Menegaki’s last creative period from her entire sculptural oeuvre, seeking to project in her works of plaster, terracotta, iron or wrought brass the transformation of universal mythical symbols and her artistic expression through her mainly female mythical figures. This thesis also attempts to raise and explore questions about the placement of her sculptural work in the context of the modern Greek and international sculptural scene and its contribution to its development. The research material for this thesis emerged from a systematic study of a plethora of the archival material bequeathed by the sculptress to the National Gallery Foundation of Greece, as well as from an as far as possible detailed examination of the sources relating to her work. The selected sculptures from the period 1952-1971 were studied in terms of their relationship with ancient Greek and popular tradition and also regarding the way in which the sculptress responded to the demand for "Greekness" and the Hellenism of the modern that emerged strongly in Greece during the period between the two World Wars. The exploration of these particular works primarily aims to highlight the artistic values of her generation and analyze the principles that govern her personal sculptural language, which evolved very dynamically until her very last creation, providing her the passport to open up and conquer a well-respected position in the international world of contemporary art. This research paper does not attempt to study the selected sculptures of Efthymiadi-Menegaki according to the chronological order of their creation, nor according to their chronological division into different periods. For the composition of this thesis, the spiral development was chosen as the most appropriate, because this archetypal symbol expresses in the most masterful way the perpetual multi-turning journey of human life and artistic adventure, since it encapsulates in its architectural arrangement the opposing forces of the centripetal and the centrifugal motion, of the hidden and the obvious, of the familiar and the unfamiliar, of space and time, of life and death –all of them fundamental concepts that prove to be central to the sculptress’s compositions. In the introductory chapter of the thesis, entitled Myth and the stamp of the primordial in the sculptress’s work, scholars who attempt to approach the meaning of myth affirm that it is deeply rooted in nature, thought and the cultural creation of man. The sculptress, with her eyes set on the future, follows the thread of mythical tradition and draws inspiration from this for the composition of her works. The main body of the thesis is structured in four sections. The first one, entitled Labyrinth, includes two chapters in which emphasis is placed on the influence of the universal symbol on human creation and an attempt is made to read the sculptress’s last work by the same name, Labyrinth, with which she returns and closes the cycle of abstract compositions and her artistic journey as a whole, which spans over almost thirty-five years of uninterrupted creative work. The close connection between the symbols of the labyrinth and the spiral led to the creation of the second and longest section of the thesis entitled Spiral, which includes eight chapters. These record the symbol’s imprint on the human body, the flora and marine environment, the universe, on architectural structures and iconic global works of art. Furthermore, here are presented the sculptural figures of Efthymiadi-Menegaki in which the primordial motif is transformed into a dominant element of the structure of her sculptures, in order to convey the sense of flight, the sinuous dance movement and to capture the multiple aspects of the void. The artist is heading towards her personal liberation, exploring like a scientist new techniques and new materials, although she subdues them to her own expressive will, giving form and poetic breath to a new reality that is emerging, as the third section of the thesis entitled Pavilions and Revivals, which comprises four chapters, reveals it. These present the technological and architectural marvels the sculptress encountered in the Pavilions of the Brussels, Seattle and Montreal World Fairs during the 1960s and how they mobilized her creative forces in order to compose spiral metal sculptures that tend to break free from gravity, and also showcases the achievements of contemporary American sculpture and architecture, which served as a fertile occasion for the sculptress to transform her work into a partnership of architecture and sculpture. In the fourth and last section of the thesis, entitled Outside the spiral, inside the myth, it becomes obvious that Efthymiadi-Menegaki, even when she does not give her works the archetypal form of the spiral or the labyrinth, does not step far from the poetic paths of, mainly, ancient Greek but also of religious myth.

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