Dare to Do Differently!

My love for Rodin's work was love at first sight! When I first encountered his sculptures, I didn't know much about him, yet something deeply touched me. I slowly walked around the sculpture, admiring its beauty, vitality, and purity. It spoke volumes through its silence, allowing me to find my own meaning within the depths of my emotions.

Later, as I learned more about his work, I understood why I loved it so much. It was like the gradual unfolding of the deep love I felt in my heart during that first encounter.

I admire Rodin because he was a brave soul, daring to do things differently! In doing so, he paved the way for modern sculpture.

At a time when sculpture was associated with artificial beauty and exaggerated fantasies tied to dignified personalities with status and power, Rodin focused on real beauty — the beauty in mundane everyday life, the beauty in the simplicity of human dignity.

His first work, 'The Age of Bronze: A young Belgian soldier,' exhibited in the Salon in Paris, created a scandal due to this radical approach. He dared to focus on a soldier, stripped away all historical mythological references of his day, and simply showed him naked in all of his vitality. His sculpture was so lifelike that many accused him of trickery, blaming him for life-casting his model. It took Rodin years to prove that he did not copy his model, and after this scandal, apparently, he never used a real-sized sculpture of his models again to avoid such false claims.

Another thing he dared to do differently was to eliminate commentary and stories, relying on his mastery of visual communication to reveal his artistic genius. He linked human emotion and spirit into marble so skillfully that the purity of his work touched the hearts of its viewers. He let his art speak for itself, resonating with the humanity of its viewers.

He was also not afraid of showing the authenticity of his work as an artist, leaving his fingerprints on the art — a rebellious act at his time when all sculptures were expected to be polished perfectly, without revealing anything of their creations.

Lastly, how he treated negative spaces as important as the positive was another way he dared to do things differently. He brought a sense of movement around the spaces he created, capturing the innate changing nature of life, love, and everything that makes humanity beautiful.

I was inspired by his work, values, and principles, and I wanted to share this love with you as another way for us to connect to a different definition of beauty.

A beauty that unites all of humanity in our hearts — that makes us fall in love with what it reflects when we see it.

A beauty that honors all of our differences and dares to do things differently, expanding our definition of what is possible and acceptable.

To me, this is the real power of beauty I would like to invite us to awaken within ourselves more. It is the beauty of our authentic, diverse reflections in the unity of all life we share as humanity.

Now, I invite you to join me in this contemplation. Let's draw inspiration from Rodin's work to explore our personal understanding of beauty and how we can awaken it within ourselves, bringing more of it to the world.

• Think about the concept of beauty in your own life. How much of it is influenced by societal norms, and how much comes from your personal experiences and values?

• Consider instances in your life when you've dared to do things differently, breaking away from conventions or societal expectations. How did it feel, and what did you discover about yourself in those moments?

• Consider the role of authenticity in your life. In what areas do you feel the need to be more authentic, leaving your own 'fingerprints' on your work or interactions?

• Imagine a world where everyone dared to do things differently, embracing their authentic selves. How might this contribute to a more beautiful and harmonious existence?

As usual, I would like to end with a poem that inspired Rodin to create its 'I am beautiful' piece, made from 'Crouching Woman' and 'The Falling Man' from Gates of Hell — showing a man holding the woman who is crouched in a rounded shape like a closed ball, lifting her into the air like Atlas.

If you want to explore more of my creations, you can also follow me on Instagram, YouTube , Linkedin and, Medium, where I frequently share.

From my heart to yours with love,

Doruk