Pavel Amromin received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his MFA from the University of Florida, Gainesville. He has the distinction of being the only artist awarded a solo exhibition for the 2008-2009 Exhibition season. Amromin's porcelain sculptures follow a long tradition of table-top sculpture/figurines, but deal with far meatier issues than many historic precedents. Within this body of work, Amromin explores the concept of the boy as soldier and the horrors of war.
The porcelain figurines that comprise my latest body of work explore the concept of the boy-soldier.
Although they are often called “men” in many ways the average 18-year-old soldiers, who make up
most of the civilized world’s armed forces are still boys, especially when it comes to enthusiasm,
naiveté and impressionability.
The complicated nature of the boy-soldier is simultaneously cruel and innocent, shrewd and naïve; he
is both victim and persecutor. This body of work examines the complicated social construct of the
“socialization of war” that forms the existence of such a conflicted character. The use of the
puppy/boy hybrid as the main character speaks of the youth, predisposition to training, and the
potential for violence of the boy-soldier.
The puppy is an appropriate symbol for the youthful soldier. Like a good soldier, a good dog is
readily trainable, disciplined, and follows orders without hesitation. Like a child, a dog constantly
seeks reassurance and approval, eagerly awaiting a chance to prove himself. The character of the
puppy, with its soft, warm belly, sharp claws, big round eyes, and very capable teeth is simultaneously
the embodiment of innocence and the potential for violence.
The intimate scale, precise and fluid modeling technique, and tableau presentation of the sculptures
places them within the realm of the figurine. The figurine genre has a long tradition of portraying an
idyllic, sentimental world. In the context of this work the figurine becomes a microcosm of
monuments erected world-wide to praise and honor the “hero” soldier, who in most cases is a mere
adolescent filled with romantic notions about war that alternate with fear, lust, and aggression. As
figurines, the sculptures, bring the ideals represented by the monument into the home, and lend more
immediacy to the work. The figurine becomes a “personal monument”, important enough for the
owner to seek out, purchase, and proudly display.
As an embellished, sanitized object that represents the romanticized ideals of duty, honor, and
heroism, the figurine becomes a metaphor for the process of the “socialization of war”. It is a
practice through which we mask, transform, and package brutality as gallantry, and that which is
senseless becomes something essential. The process of socialization of war absolves us, as new
generations of unwitting participants join the ranks of the few and the proud, and repeat the cycle.
