2001 Male Figure on Base study 1

The first of the small seated male figures was titled Giant Male Figure After Goya. It was made small as a model and then scaled up large to a height of 2.7 meters as an edition of three; ending up in such varied addresses as in Auckland overlooking a view of Governor Grey’s house on Kawarau Island and at a winery in Havelock North. Many people have referred to the work as Paul Dibble’s “thinker” probably because it depicts an isolated man involved in thought like the famous work by Rodin.

The ideas behind the seated male figures are from Paul’s fondness for Goya’s etchings and they drew directly from them. Goya did one series about the Napoleonic wars featuring huge figures sitting quietly on a hillside looking down on the fighting and atrocities taking place. The figures are quiet and meditative in nature rather than judgmental. In a NZ context they reflect the lonely individual pondering the changes in our south antipodean paradise.

Further male seated figures with variations in posture have been make. Some have arms tilted back differently, the legs bent instead of straight and juxtaposition against the base. All of them contain the same sense of isolation and serenity. - August 2001