“When Nature begins to reveal her open secret to a man, he feels an irresistible longing for her worthiest interpreter, Art” - JW Goethe

In its gently moving convex and concave, and in the rhythmic character of the column, one sees a complete form with its own meaning. Brancusi’s work is often referred to as “reductionist,” which means simplifying or reducing a complex form. Instead of this minimalist framework, his approach may be viewed as purely spiritual in nature, as searching for the essence of form.
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In the Romanian tradition, richly hand-carved gates are highly detailed and ornate, but if you look closely, you'll find that the elements they're made of are simple. He transformed tradition into unique abstract art by finding in his craft the building blocks to embody his inspiration – the archetype of the column.

Pioneer of Modernist Abstraction

Brancusi sought the inner nature of things. The stylized cockerel, for example, is represented by its crest as the essential part of its being, doing away with other natural details. It is a simple form, but more importantly, it reveals the cockerel’s nature even more than a naturalistic copy would. “What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things... it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface.” – Brancusi

Brancusi's work pushed boundaries of what was recognized as art at a time when figurative art was favored. The US customs handling his imported works at the time classified them as “utilitarian objects.” Today we take abstract work for granted, but at his time it had to be defended and distinguished.  

Eventually, it was accepted that visual art doesn't have to resemble the physical world to be classified as art; however, the artist does fashion materials around a real form they conceive in their minds: “Things are not difficult to make; what is difficult is putting ourselves in the state of mind to make them.” – Brancusi
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Brancusi stayed with a limited number of forms and perfected them over time. Brancusi pushed many boundaries of form, representation, culture, and definitions while respecting the limits of the medium and materials with which he worked.

​The Column of Infinity by Brancusi 

Brancusi began experimenting with endless columns in 1918. The Column of Infinity, cast iron modules clad in brass, has a height of 98 feet. The symbolism of infinity and transcendence in Brancusi's work - how the rhythmic, repeating rhomboid modules create a visual sense of endlessness.

The artist himself states: "The Column of the Infinite expresses... the sentiment of infinity, having the vault of the sky above." For Brancusi, the sculpture wasn't merely an object but a metaphysical experience—a ladder between the material and spiritual worlds.

The precisely calculated rhomboid modules—each a perfect geometric form—represent harmony and cosmic order. They create a rhythmic pattern that expands and contracts yet remains proportionally consistent.
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By creating a physical representation of the infinite, Brancusi invites contemplation of our own mortality against the backdrop of cosmic eternity. The Column stands as a meditation on how the finite human experience relates to infinite time and space. 

​Art Observation of Constantin Brâncuși's “Endless Column,” 1918, in 4 Stages

Physical Characteristics 
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The Column is a thin wooden piece, about 2m tall, consisting of eight truncated pyramids, which repeat the right-way round and upside down. Each pyramid is 25cm tall. The sculpture is symmetrical, dark brown, with rounded corners, and a pattern of long and short lines across the rhomboid widths. Four hourglass shapes can be seen in the form, creating a jagged outline. 

​Energy Characteristics
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It starts and ends with an expansion at the top and bottom, zigzagging up and down the form. The intentional detail of leaving above and below open rather than ending in a point reveals infinity. Having expansion lead to expansion represents continuance and makes the limitless real.  / Regular long short rhythm (Dactyl) Unbinding and Binding, endlessly. Steadily flowing downwards, catching itself at regular intervals. Soft angles bring subtle movement.

Feeling Characteristics
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The Column’s seemingly endless upward trajectory invites the viewer's eye and spirit to follow along the journey of ascension. Upright, Timelessness, Lightning/Zeus, Fast, Mercurial. / Containment and subtle flow; Sophisticated, just, and truthful; Exacting, unforgiving, responsible 

Essence and Identity 

​The Column draws inspiration from traditional wooden funerary pillars (known as "stâlpi de pridvor") found in Romanian villages. These funerary pillars, often adorned with rhomboid patterns similar to those on the Column, symbolically connected the earth to the heavens and served as a pathway for the soul's ascension after death.

Looking at a sculpture with receptivity to interpret what it represents

Interview with Flavius Pisapia by Sahya Samson 

How did you look at an artwork before your artistic training? 

There are many ways to view a work of art. I like to think of art observation as meeting a living being and trying to keep as open to the experience as possible. Before my anthroposophical art training, I used to walk into a gallery and look at abstract sculpture as any other object. My mind would automatically start making associations to what it knew, staying within my preconceptions. I would immediately start labelling parts of the sculpture in reference to the human body: “that looks like a head… that looks like a leg…” This is a natural way of looking, because both abstract and figurative art take their building blocks from the same source. 

Why do you feel abstract art observation needs a more layered approach?

Many artworks I admire have their starting point in a higher world than the physical materials that embody them. What may look like a head may be portraying the energy of the head. (1) What enlivens the body is different from the body itself, which we can observe as a flow of energy. In my view, abstract sculpture is best seen as pure form, energy at rest. Holding back associations related to the physical body helps us see the abstract work in its higher reality stripped of preconceived notions derived from figurative art. 

“Beginning with an identification of the formal elements of a work and description of their roles in the overall composition helps us orient ourselves within the bounds of the work of art.” –Virginia Seymour, JSTOR (2)

How do you begin connecting with a sculpture?

I start with a precise observation of what can be weighed, measured, and numbered, to anchor myself in the work. Physical properties like colour, shape, geometry, size, weight, texture give me a framework to grasp its pure forms.

The longer I hold back from making associations and labelling things, the more open I am to meeting the artwork for what it is at this stage.

Though I orient myself to what I'm looking at physically, I do not need to stop there. My art training at Tobias School of Art and Hoathly Hill Sculpture Studio instilled the importance of art observation as an essential part of art practice. 

“In our sense perception we usually do not complete the circle. We look out and we see and feel ourselves (…) The question usually is: how do I feel doing this or that? (…) When training our senses the process is enhanced: from feeling only ourselves we begin to feel “it” the object, the process, the sculpture, etc.” – Gertraud Goodwin (3) 

Should Viewing Artwork Be Transformative?

As I work my way upwards from the physical elements, I open myself to something new to meet me; it may teach or tell me something for which I may not be prepared. I can be startled or even shocked. 

I need the courage to leave my comfort zone and really look at the sculpture as if it were a living being. When I look at a work from the point of view of pure form, I am not looking at it in strict anatomical terms but its qualities in four stages progressing from physical, energy, feeling, and essence or individuality. 

Art Observation of Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, 1951, in 4 Stages​

​Physical Characteristics 

What are some physical characteristics that you can observe?

Looking at the left side of the sculpture, I'm seeing two cone shapes coming sharply out of the base at an angle. The shapes expand to the right, arching gently upwards, becoming bigger and heavier downwards. The left side of the sculpture is rooted, heavy and has a sense of gravity.

The right side of the sculpture has an opposite gesture. The right side, starting from the very top, I see a form that is open to the air and light-filled space above it. From there the whole right side of the sculpture is as if pulled upwards by a sense of levity towards the space above it. The forms on the right side are lighter and push any sense of heaviness upwards with ease. The middle part of the sculpture is a dynamic transition space between these two very different qualities of gravity on the left and levity on the right. 

Texturally, there is also a contrast between the smooth cream colored forms of the sculpture and the engraved thin lines on the surface. The lines are approximately one centimeter in height and their lengths vary depending on where they are engraved on the sculpture. The lines are divided in two categories: main lines engraved along the sculpture and secondary lines mostly perpendicular to the main lines, which emphasize the organic forms. ​