Quote:
Originally Posted by jodl73
I showed the picture and asked if they know who this is. They answer Christopher Reeve. Obviously they would need to know who he is as well.
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I'm not surprised.
I could see Reeve in both versions, but I think he's a little more easily recognizable in the new HS- even if there is still room for improvement.
I keep bringing up the B/P1 Lynda Carter because the parallels to me are funny/sad.
The likeness on that is
not as strong as it could be, and it's also off in the lower quadrant of the face*. The artist in that case steered her chin, jaw, and philtrum to classic feminine standards rather than accentuating how Carter's feature differ from those standards in those areas. She has almost a masculine sized chin and jawline, and her philtrum is quite elongated (relatively).
The artist there deferred to a more classic, feminine standard by making all those elements more petite.
It's subtle, and not unattractive, but it dilutes what could have been a totally spot on likeness from all angles.
The thing is, despite all that, I love it. Even if the likeness could be strengthened, I still recognize it as the actress. The only person I think of when I look at is Carter.
And having a representation of that actress, as that character, at that scale, is something I've wanted for decades.
The finished product may pale in comparison to an imaginary, theoretical ideal statue that hasn't and may never get made- but so what? It's a fifty year old property now. It has zero relevance to the twenty and thirty year olds driving the economy.
What I have in hand right now ain't perfect, but it still makes me happy.
I expect that when/if I ever have this Reeve in hand I will feel pretty much the same. I'll look at the portrait and sigh over what the sculptor failed to see or interpret properly, but I'll take it all in as an overall high quality representation of this actor as this character.
And it will make me happy because, despite the quibbles, it represents something that taps deeply into a highly personal nostalgia.
Perfection would be nice, but being able to focus on something's positives and enjoy what you are fortunate to have is an even more valuable quality, IMO.
* The "T" is also off on the new Reeve HS. His nose should be longer relative to his eye width- those proportions were more correct on the first HS, though the overall head shape on that was erring on too narrow and long, even for younger Reeve.
