"The Goddess Within" by Carmen Hicks

As I have taken the time to look at every sculpture in Tyler Gardens at Bucks County Community College, I am struck particularly by the exquisite bronze sculpture entitled “Endless Offerings” because this statue inspired me to think of a ritualistic offering even before I had read the title. While in a slanted backwards stance, a seemingly young woman with waving hair offers a chalice of flame to the unforgiving sky. I imagine this woman to represent the sacred femininity within the human race.

All of the natural elements are embraced in this stunning piece of artwork. While this woman bares herself to her God, she offers her chalice of fire which is arguably the strongest of the natural elements. Her shallow bowl does not proclaim flames from it as she holds it to the heavens but rather an angular point which bends with an imaginative breeze. She stands on a small ridged cliff, which represents earth and solidity. Because of her stance, she is powerful in her physical, spiritual and mental strengths.

She is not afraid of falling. Under her sturdy rock is a pool of free-flowing water. Water is a pure element with no meaning of deceit in its workings. Because the water is underneath her, I find it to represent the purity if her natural groundings. Although the woman appears to be the epitome of femininity, strength and empowerment, she is also on a foundation of truth and purity.

Lastly, the woman offers her chalice to the sky: the element of air that is most knowledgeable of the elements because of its travels. Because air enhances the flame of the fire, it is notably interesting because she is not only offering her flame, which represents her entire self, but requests that it be enhanced by the experience of the sky.

The flame is as endless as her faith.

This statue represents so much more than the simple concept of femininity. It evokes emotions and a sense of comfort to me as I sit here in awe of the beauty that is me as a woman.

"Sunset" by Alyssa McKendrick

In the sculpture created by Stella Tyler titled Sunset a woman is positioned over a rock, hanging off the side of it. She seems depressed and her face is not showing. The positioning of the woman could represent her feelings of lost hope, and reaching out to receive hope. Her hidden face could be representing these same in her feelings, or that she is hiding from everyone, how she truly feels. There maybe more feelings underneath, which could be the reasoning behind her nudity. By stripping away her clothing, and leaving her bare it is stripping away layers of her and brining out her true-self. Many could see Stella Tyler’s artwork as herself. Maybe she is describing her own feelings as a woman in the 20th century trying to get out her artwork. She could be frustrated and depressed, but at the same time powerful and wanting to get women’s art noticed. She also could have wanted to establish herself as Stella Tyler the artist opposed to just another member of the wealthy Tyler family. I feel as though Stella was creating the artwork for not only her own pleasure but for the pleasure of others. She wanted the people viewing her artwork to be able to connect to the artwork, and feel that it had special meaning to them, as it did to Tyler. Spectators can draw connections to this specific sculpture Stella Tyler by examining her artwork and herself.

"The Garden" by Rafae Mahmood

The statues present in Tyler Gardens do not follow the same style as the European passive nude art. Instead of giving off a sexual message, these statues elevate the peaceful atmosphere of the environment. These works of art amplify the peaceful atmosphere of this garden. The women depicted in most of these statues are not gazing at the people in this garden. Their gaze is directed towards the sky, thus symbolizing her longing for freedom. It seems as if they are facing God. This directly differs from the women of the passing European nude art because the women in those artworks usually faced the viewers. The only bronze sculpture overlooking the garden presents a young woman in a pose which seems as if she is trying to cover herself. Looking at this statue as it overlooks the garden truly shows how women are empowered and a prominent essence in society.

“Timeless Offering” by Mark Bamburak

Stella Tyler’s works situated throughout BCCC’s campus all depict women in the nude. The one work of art that feel most refutes the claim that woman are passive is the sculpture titled “Timeless Offering”. The statue depicts a woman standing tall on a stone in water, reaching up towards the heavens while holding what appears to be, a bowl of fire. The elements which are present on the sculpture can be interpreted in many ways. The first is the way in which Stella Tyler positioned the woman’s body. She is standing upright while gazing upward. Second, the woman is standing on a rock surrounded by water. I view both of these elements as a symbol of strength because standing tall and a rock are both representations of strength and power. I feel that Stella Tyler purposefully positioned the rock in the water because water is a universal symbol of serenity and the fact that the rock is above the surrounding water signifies that the woman is overcoming the notion of passivism.

I feel as though the sculpture was placed in the garden behind the Bucks campus because there, the features seen on the sculpture coincide with its surroundings. The woman in the statue is seen in the nude, which represents the natural state of human beings. The surroundings of the sculpture are plants, trees and other various kinds of vegetation. All of the elements surrounding this work of art are all natural and found in nature.

"Stella Tyler and Modern Nude Art" by Kris Bires

When you seek to demonstrate independence or strength in front of an audience, it is common to strike a pose or look off in the distance with a strong pensive gaze. Stella Tyler’s sculptures of nude women give off this air of strength and independence in the same way that we would act to show confidence. None of her sculpted women make eye contact with you showing that they are not looking for your eyes to look at them while they pose nude. This lack of eye contact shows that the women could care less about what the observer thinks about them. Her sculptures are also all depicted in non-sexual poses showing that these women are showing off who they really are by being nude, but they are not consumed with being sexual or pleasing a man who would be looking at her. These women do not draw attention to their being nude like the European paintings. When you observe that their gaze is directed somewhere else, you think less about their nudity and more about what they are thinking while they gaze in that particular direction. The sculpture “Thoughtful Mood” specifically demonstrates this idea of re-directing the eye of the observer. The woman is bent over with her elbow propped on her knee and hand supporting her head underneath her chin, almost like the sculpture “The Thinker” in a standing position. Her pose serves to slightly cover up the fact that she is naked and she stares pensively off in the distance. “Thoughtful Mood” exemplifies this strength and independence of women by showing a nude woman looking off in the distance as an explorer would look upon a new world.

The Feminist Spirit of Stella Tyler's Sculptures

Because Bucks County Community College used to be the estate of the Tyler family, dozens of Stella Tyler's bronze sculptures are scattered throughout campus. The presence of her artwork offers both instructors and students the opportunity to leave the classroom and visit the sculptures, turning Tyler Gardens into a natural outdoor classroom in the process.

My students experienced this hands-on approach to learning writing when we discussed gender this October. A handful of writers spent the sun-drenched fall morning analyzing the sculptures as examples of female nudes that refute John Berger's notion that "women act and men appear" which he discussed in the essay "Ways of Seeing."

THE ASSIGNMENT:
How does Stella Elkins Tyler answer the imperative to rewrite the images of female nudes? Look at her sculptures placed throughout Bucks’ campus, then choose one or two that refute the notion of the passive female nude and embody a feminist spirit. Describe the works in detail, making sure to connect the positions of the bodies, the emotions of both sculpture and spectator, and the small size of the women to your thesis. Could you argue for their nakedness, rather than nudity, because they exist in the natural world, rather than in a museum? Also, consider how Tyler’s background as a 20^th century American woman sculptor differentiates her work from the early modern European paintings by men. How does Tyler’s status as the artist, spectator, and owner impact the kind of art she created? Be sure to reference the sculptures by the names on their plaques.