The Self Portrait Bust

I always begin my introductory sculpture class by teaching the self-portrait.  Now I am not so dull as to believe or even desire that figurative sculpture still have an accepted place in contemporary art.  I teach it for a completely different reason, to allow the student to know there is but one worthy subject in sculpture and that is the human being not the human form.  To purpose imago Dei as a study of form is liken to sculpting 60-watt bulbs as a study of light.  There is no greater mystery or subject ripe with potential than that of God in humans in space and time.  The greater beauty and reality exist behind what our senses allow us to know.