Created By: UGA Introduction to Museum Studies
Mel Chin, John Watts, and Joe Girandola
Creationism, 1997
Marble
Upon first glance, what do you see in this sculpture? Does it confuse or disorient you? Do you feel more strongly connected to one side versus the other? Does it seem controversial?
This thought-provoking piece was created by Mel Chin, Lamar Dodd Professorial Chair of Fine Arts (1994-1997) and two of Chin’s students from the University of Georgia’s MFA Sculpture program, John Watts and Joe Girandola (both class of 1996) using stone donated from a local quarry in Jasper, GA. Widely known by its nickname “Godwin,” the left side of the statue is the face of 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin while the right side is based on Michelangelo’s depiction of God on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The result is a surprising combination that prompts the viewer to question what they see: Is this a human being, or is it something else?
Darwin’s theory of evolution, which asserts that all species evolved from a common ancestor, has attracted fierce resistance from religious groups since it was first introduced in Darwin’s seminal work On the Origin of Species in 1859. The theory challenges creationism, based on the teachings of the Bible, which says that God created all animals in their current form during a period of six days. At the time when this sculpture was created in 1996, Darwin’s theory was still the source of much-heated debate as Georgia and other states were in the midst of ongoing legal and moral debates around the rightfulness of incorporating creationist and evolutionist materials into the public school curriculum.
The three-member team behind the artwork wasn’t afraid to fan the flames of this controversy. According to Girandola, the very process of carving the sculpture was used to create a “live” debate by inviting other participants to help carve the side of the statue that didn’t coincide with their personal beliefs. (For example, believers in creationism would help to carve the side of the head resembling Darwin.) As a result of this performative element, the process of carving the statue opened up broader questions between religious beliefs and scientific inquiry using the campus of a public university as a stage for this debate.
Today, “Godwin” continues to watch over students entering the UGA Science Library, leaving the question of the origins of life up to the viewer while encouraging them to keep an open mind to both sides of any debate.
Discussion Questions
Do you think this statue depicts God and Darwin as opposing forces, representing the historically heated debate between creationism and evolution, or do you see this as a more neutral piece of art, allowing the two belief systems to be blended together peacefully?
How can artwork help to bring attention to important debates, such as that between creationism and evolution? Is it possible for the artist(s) to remove their own beliefs in such cases?
Activity
When "Godwin" was first placed in front of the science library in 1997, the artists behind the work fabricated additions to the nearby benches to represent a church pew on one side of the sculpture and a school desk on the other in order to represent the ongoing debate over religious beliefs in public education. Using this as inspiration, choose a different piece of artwork or other object that could be used to represent both sides of a popular debate or controversial subject. How does the object help to represent both sides? Does it help to bring the opposing ideas together in some way?
To Learn More…
Read:
“Controversial Sculpture Finds Home at Library,” The Red and Black, October 14th, 1997
““Godwin” is Monument to Creation-Evolution Debate,” UGA Research Magazine, Winter 2008
“UGA: Stuck in 18th Century Science Milieu,” The Red and Black, February 26th, 1998
Larson, E. J. (2008). The creation-evolution debate: historical perspectives. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Larson, E. J. (2006). Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s continuing debate over science and religion. New York: Basic Books.
Watch:
Mel Chin: SculptureX Keynote Speech at the Toledo Museum of Art
Listen:
This point of interest is part of the tour: Group 3
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