(Paris, France, 1946 - )
1983-1984
Charcoal on paper
12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, a joint initiative of the Trustees of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection and the National Gallery of Art, with generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts an
2009.30.17
Influenced by ancient art and artifacts from Africa, India, Nepal and the Americas, Kirili’s sculptures reflect his interest in the relationship between masculine and feminine creative energies as represented in the form of the Hindu yoni (female vessel) and lingam (male phallus) symbols. Kirili traveled to India in 1980, where he photographed the yoni-lingam rituals in the temple at Taniore in the state of Tamil Nadu. This drawing is likely a study for hammered and forged iron sculptures that relate to the yoni-lingam forms.