humanities assignment: sculpture

8/13/2019 Humanities Assignment: Sculpture

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Name: Tehanie Christy G. Molarto Assignment No. 5

Section: 25N Date: July 18, 2013

SCULPTURE

Sculptures are also among the different art forms that falls under visualart. Sculptures can be defined as a three-dimensional art form that usesmaterials like clay, stone or wood for its execution. Sculptures are essentiallymade in two ways. Either they are formed bit by bit into a particular shape andstructure as it is in the case of a clay sculpture or it is chiseled and carved from ablock of wood or a piece of stone. There are many clay sculpture ideas that anamateur can take inspiration from while attempting to make a sculpture.

Sculpture is a process of transferring your creative idea into somethingtangible, creating an object from something that you cannot yet hold in yourhands. There are no short cuts; no modern devices will transform those ideas

into your subject. If left to themselves, even the most modern sculpting tools willnot produce a good sculpture. A sincere desire to create your own sculpt,combined with immense gratification and pleasure of the process, practice anddetermination result in a creation that belongs to absolutely no one else - youridea brought to life becomes the sculptors reward. Realizing the desire andcreating the ideas are the first part.

The Mediums of Sculpture

Sculptural artists use many mediums, from some of the most simple andancient forms such as clay, stone, and wood to industrial forms such as metal

and plastic and to electronic forms such as three-dimensional light displays, 3Deffects, and other electronic displays.

Sculptural art is defined, in fact, by its three-dimensional quality. It isdifferent from painting and drawing in that they are art forms that exist in two-dimensional form, whereas sculpture always has three dimensions. Sometimesthe third dimension may be very slight, as in "bas-relief" rock carvings of objectsthat are raised a few centimeters or more above the flat surface of a rock(because the rock around the object has been carved away). At other times, thethird dimension may be so fully developedas in early Greek and Romansculptures of people and animalsthat the sculptured object may look like it isalive with motion or even quivering with feeling.

So important in much of sculpture is this idea of movement or feeling thatone can argue that sculpture often is like frozen dance: people, animals, andobjects caught for an instant in their flight of motion through an instant in time.Sometimes sculpture is, in this way, like an instant snapshot by a camera,freezing the "dance" of its subject as it moves. Often the instant of "frozendance" time in a sculpture is a moment of great beauty, tension, ugliness, orother extreme feeling.

In fact, the history of sculpture often is a history of feeling. The veryearliest sculptures we have of people and animals from early civilizations oftenhad less feeling to them and were more like a snapshot of an average or typicalperson, animal, or object at that time. If, for example, the sculpture was of a kingor queen, it was of a typical king in his typical activities, even if his face waspersonalized to show a specific individual. However, as "sculptors"those whomake sculpturesbecame increasingly more talented in ancient times, theydeveloped the ability to show movement and, more important, emotion in theirsubjects. The result was something like the difference between a poor class


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photos for a yearbook vs. a dynamic sports page picture of someone arching inthe air while hitting a ball. Good sculpture tells a storythe story of the event,the feelings of the subject, and the feelings of those who may be viewing thesubject. Great sculpture often goes one step further. It shows conflict: aproblem, tension with need and a hope for a resolution. This storytelling capacity

that often existsor is subtly impliedin well done sculpture is much like that ofthe art of storytelling in literature.

Some type of medium affects this story, this tension, differently. Here, forexample, are some of the emotional affects of different sculptural mediums:

Wood.Wood often is known for being a warmer, softer medium, especially whencompared to stone.

Stone.A harder, often cooler or even cold medium, emotions in stone partlydepend on its color.

Clay. This earth-based material is a more flowingthus emotionally smootherand variedmedium with medium to high warmth.

Metal.Metals have very different properties: copper, for example, is muchwarmer than steel; aluminum is very shiny / reflective.

Glass.Brittle by nature, it conveys more delicacy and brittleness emotionally.Clear glass conveys an airy tone; other tones depend on color.

Light.Alive with energy, sparkling and attractive in tone, its colors and

movements (circling, pulsing, darting, etc.) convey a wide range of emotionaltones and tensions.

Water.Fountains are forms of water sculpture. Water suggests slippery,transparent, bubbly emotions, but its color can change this dramatically.

Flower garden / Design. Flowers in sculptural form often convey bright, joyfulemotions because of their strong colors.

Wood, brick, clay, stone, metal, and glass as building material.When usedin architecture, these sculptural mediums usually convey solidity and protection

(in part because this is what people expect of substantial buildings), with otherqualities depending especially on color and shape.

The mediumor type of materialoften is the most easily noticed part ofa sculpture. This may be why medium also is the first method of categorizingand analyzing it.

Sculptures can be designed for outdoor usage in a garden or publicdisplay or exclusively for indoors. Artists can make sculptures from anything at

hand, including sand, food and recyclables.


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Clay. Clay is a versatile medium in sculpting. Itcan be the medium to build a finished product, orto make molds for other media. Clay sculpturesinclude small objects that need to be fired in akiln.

Steel.Steel welded together can create largeor small sculptures. Sculptors create public artform steel as well as artistic candle holdersand table top displays.

Stone.People have carved stone for centuries tocreate sculptures. Italian artist Michelangelo chiseled apiece of marble into the 17-foot statue of David.

Wax.Wax museums feature realistic models offamous people created from wax. Beeswax can becarved with the same tools as clay or wood.

Glass.Artists can blow heated glass to createsculptures. Broken shards of glass can also beused to build sculptures, with or without theaddition of other sculpture media.

Ice.Ice carvings can be elaborate piecesof functional art as seen in the ice hotels ofSweden or Quebec. Smaller blocks of icealso become decorative centerpiecesculptures for weddings or other events.


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Wood.Artists carve wood into sculptures.Some artists carve exclusively with achain saw to create elaborate wooden

sculptures while others use more precisetools to carve and shape the wood. Woodalso often serves as a base for othersculpted material.

Recycled Material.Artists can createassemblage art from discardedmaterials. Artists have used automobileparts, broken clocks, household itemsand tools to build sculptures of all sizes.

Food.Chocolate sculptures are temporarypieces of art that can serve ascenterpieces for special events. Foodsculptor Jim Victor has used butter,pepperoni, peanut brittle and cheese tocreate statues.

Sculpture Ways and Methods

(Including the Masters and their Masterpiece)

There are many different materials used in the creation of sculpture, bothnatural and man-made.

Sculpture can also transform physicalspaces into art. Tending, (Blue) by JamesTurrell is an example of a sculpture that

transforms physical space, combiningarchitecture and the use of light. The use oflight, a non-tangible material, is important in thissculpture by Turrell. (View of exterior door)


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There are many ways to create sculpture, including assembling, carving,modeling, and casting.

Assembling

Creating a composition made of various materials such as found objects, paper,wood, and/or textiles.

In Caress of a Bird, Joan Mir (pronounced Jwan Me-ro) transforms commonobjects found around his studio in the Catalan countryside. The artist assembledan ironing board, an outhouse seat, a donkeys straw hat, a tortoise shell, andtwo miniature soccer balls to create this sculpture. Mir was known to arrangefound objects on his studio floor when planning a sculpture. In this instance, theartist had casts made in bronze of the found objects and painted the bronzecasts with bright colors, adding to the whimsical nature of the sculpture.

Caress of a Bird being assembled.Photograph Casa Planas, retouched by Joan Mir

Joan Mir, Caress of

a Bird,1967, painted bronze


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Carving

A subtractive sculpture technique in which material is removed, revealing thefinal form. Carving tools might include a chisel, adze, drove, gouge, and graver.

Adze Chisels

Poet and critic Ezra Pound commissioned the artist Henri Gaudier-Brzeska(Pronounced On-ree Go-deeay Bresh-ka) to create this portrait. Gaudier-Brzeskaworked on this sculpture for two months, creating one of his largest stonecarvings.

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska carving theHieratic Head of Ezra Pound, 1914

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, HieraticHead of Ezra Pound, 1914, marble


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Modeling

An additive sculpture process in which material is built up into the final form,often over an armature. The material must be pliable, such as clay, wax, or

plaster, and the sculptor uses his/her hands to build up the form.

Alberto Giacometti (pronounced Ja-co-met-ee) was a prolific painter andsculptor, even sometimes painting directly on bronze sculptures. He spent manyyears creating portrait busts of his brother, Diego, his long-time studio assistant.The sculpture Bust of Diego was first created by modeling the form in clay. Onecan see how the sculptor modeled the clay with his hands in the indentions lefton the surface. The composition was then cast in bronze, and the artist paintedthe surface of this version.

Casting

The act of making a work of art from a hollow mold by pouring molten metal,liquid plaster, or other material into the mold to let it harden.

Alberto Giacomettimodeling a figurein his studio

Alberto Giacometti,Bust of Diego, 1954


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This is one of six known plaster casts thatBrancusi made at an early date from thefirst version of The Kiss, his first true

masterpiece. The first version of The Kisswas carved in stone. Casting multipleversions allowed him to make moreworks available for public exhibition.

There are different casting methods.

Bronze sculpture is often created through the lost-wax method of casting. Bronzeis composed of various alloys of copper and tin, sometimes with other metals. Awork cast in bronze is sometimes referred to as a bronze.

Using the sculpture Night by Auguste Maillol(pronounced My-yol) as a silhouette, thedifferent steps of lost-wax casting areillustrated. Please note that this is asimplified illustration of a very complexprocess.

Artists first sculpt a model in clay or plaster. The surface of the model is coatedwith a protective coating, such as lacquer.

Constantin Brancusi, The Kiss,1907-08, cast before 1914

Aristide Maillol, Night,ca.1902-07, (cast 1960)


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The model is then placed within a

plaster retainer mold into whichliquid elastic gelatin or latex ispoured. (Figure 1)

The flexible gelatin mold gives themost accurate representation of thedetails of the model because of thefluidity and flexibility of the material.

When the flexible mold solidifies, it is gently pulled from the surface of the modelin two equal sections revealing a negative impression. (Figure 2)

Melted wax is then appliedto the inside of the flexiblemold. The thickness of thewax determines thethickness of the finishedbronze. When the wax

solidifies, a core ofinvestment material ispoured. (Figure 3)


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After the core solidifies, the twohalves of the flexible mold with theouter plaster retainer molds areremoved to reveal the waxpositive. The artist can make

adjustments at this point, handfinishing the wax positive to thedesired level of completion beforethe bronze casting. (Figure 4) Thisis the point at which the artist signsthe work and an edition number anda foundry seal are added.

Wax runners, sprues and risers(air vents) are attached to thewax positive. These will act aschannels for the bronze to fill thespaces left behind from themelted wax and for the air toescape. Core pins are insertedthrough the wax to theinvestment core. These pins

maintain the distance betweenthe core and the outer moldonce the wax is gone. (Figure 5)

A fine grade ceramicinvestment material isapplied to the wax positiveand runners to make anouter investment mold. Acoarser investment materialis added on the outside,filling all the spaces inbetween as a protectivecradle. The core pins willbind the wax positive andthe core to the investmentmold. (Figure 6)


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When the investmentmold has beensufficiently fired andcooled, molten bronzeis poured into themold flowingdownward throughthe runners and thenup through the spruesfilling the air spacesleft by the melted

wax. (Figure 7)

When the bronze is cooled,the outer investment moldis chipped away and therough bronze is ready forfinishing. (Figure 8)

The runners, sprues andvents are removed,chiseled and filed so thatno trace of them remains.This process is calledchasing. The core isremoved from inside of thebronze leaving the finishedshell. (Figure 9)

When the chasing is complete, a thinlayer of corrosive oxides are applied tothe surface of the bronze giving it apatina which isslightly brown, green, orblue in color.

humanities assignment: sculpture

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