Sculpture

Outline

• What is Sculpture?• Sculptural Techniques• Materials/ mediums use in

sculpture• Characteristics of the Materials• Sculptural Concerns

Sculpture

• Sculpture comes from Latin word “Sculpere” – meaning to carve. It refers to the creation of three-dimensional figures, forms designs from a single block mass of materials.

• Sculpture may be the oldest of the arts.

Sculpture

There are two major sculptural processes:

1.Subtractive- unwanted materials is cut away

2.Additive- construction of a figure by putting together.

Example of Subtractive sculptural process.

Duane Hanson Tourists, 1970

Calder

Example of Additive sculptural process

Sculptural Techniques

Sculpture is created in four basic ways:

• Carving

• Modeling

• Casting

• Construction

SculptureCarving

Subtractive process: material is removed

Mainly wood and stone (marble)

SculptureModeling

Additive process: material is added to build up a shape

Clay, wax, plaster, paper-mache

SculptureCasting: a mold is used to form molten bronze(or other material) into a desired shape.

http://www.verylgoodnight.com/casting3.html

SculptureCasting: “Lost wax” method or cire-perdue, often used for jewelry or small sculptures

http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/bronze.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0318

SculptureConstruction:

Additive process; welding, gluing, nailing materials together.

SculptureAssemblage: assembling found objects in unique ways.

Joseph Cornell

SculptureKinetic Sculpture: movable parts (wind)

Alexander Calder: the mobile

Characteristics of the Materials use in

Sculpture

Materials use in Sculpture

1. Stone- hard and durable, weather and fire resistant, but is heavy and durable.

a) Basalt and Diorite (black and hard)b) Marble (finely-grained, with crystalline

sparkle)c) Granite- (tough, coarse-grained but

suitable for bold effects) d) Limestone- (Softer)

Materials use in Sculpture

2. Wood- lighter, softer, and cheaper, and easy to cut.

3. Terra Cotta- which means “ baked earth” is made by firing clay, as

in pottery making.4. Bronze- is solid and too expensive. The

difficult process of casting bronze is one of its disadvantages.

Sculptural Concerns

• Pictorial Sculpture- the artist, like the painter, is more concerned with details than anything else.

• Sculpturesque Sculpture- the artist is more concerned with the medium/materials used.

• Built- up- the artist is very much concerned with the medium/materials used but also with details.

KINDS OF SCULPTURE

SculptureRelief: attached to a surface or a background

SculptureFree-standing or full-round.

-free standing sculpture that can be seen from all sides.

Sculpture

Kinetic and Mobiles- are moving three- dimensional figures, best

example are those which are suspended on air.

SculptureTools: chisels armature