Chapter 9

Sculpture

A sculptor is a person obsessed with the form and shape of things, and it’s not just the shape of one thing, but the shape of anything and everything: the hard, tense strength, although delicate form of a bone; the strong, solid fleshiness of a beech tree trunk.

–Henry Moore

Henry Moore [British, 1898–1986], Reclining Figure: Angles, 1979.

Sculpture

Sculpture - The art of carving, casting, modeling, or assembling materials into three-dimensional figures or forms

Relief sculpture• Bas-Relief or low relief• High Relief• Freestanding sculpture

Subtractive and Additive Types of Sculpture

Subtractive Process - Carving, unwanted materials are removed.

Additive Process - Modeling, Casting, Construction

Mass: a solid, three-dimensional form that has weight and takes up real space

Voids: the empty spaces between the masses of sculpture

Carving

• Carving - removing portions of a block of materials to create a form.

• Can use stone, wood, ivory, chocolate…

Figure 9.1, p.181: MICHELANGELO. The Cross-Legged Captive (c. 1530–1534). Marble. H: 7’6 1⁄2”.

Modeling

Modeling - using a pliable materials such as clay or wax the artist shapes the material into a 3D form.

• Can be done by hand or tools.

Casting

Casting - liquid metal material is poured into a mold to create a form.

Mold - the form into which the material is poured and with imparts the shape.

• Any material that hardens can be used for casting.

• One of the oldest and most common is Bronze.

Figure 9.2, p.181: LOUISE BOURGEOIS. Portrait of Robert (1969). Cast bronze with white patina. 13” x 12 1⁄2” x 10”.

The Lost-Wax TechniqueLost-Wax Technique1. The artist creates a form and them from this form a mold is created by

covering the shape usually in plaster or resin. 2. The inside of the mold is is then filled or covered with wax. 3. The wax is removed and covered in a sandy mixture of silica, clay and

plaster to create a investiture. • Investiture - is a fire resistant mold into which the liquid metal will

be poured. 4. The wax is heated and pour out of the now sold investiture and

replaced with the liquid metal. 5. The finished metal sculpture is removed from the investiture, and

burnished. • Burnished - treated chemically to take on a texture and color.

Figure 9.4, p.182: EDGAR DEGAS. The Little Dancer, 14 Years Old (1880–1881). Bronze. H: 39”.

Figure 9.5, p.183: SHERRIE LEVINE. Fountains after Duchamp (1991). Bronze. Installation view at Sherrie Levine Exhibition in the Zürich Kunsthalle (2.11.1991–3.1.1992), Zürich, Switzerland.

Figure 9.6, p.183: GEORGE SEGAL. Three Figures and Four Benches (1979). Painted bronze. 52” x 144” x 58”.

Casting of Human Models

Robert Gober, American, born 1964 Untitled (Long Leg), 1990–93

Wood, leather, cotton, wax, and hair67 (L) x 33 x 18 cm

Types of Materials

• Stone• Wood• Clay• Metal

Stone

• Stone is extremely hard• It is also very durable• Appropriate for monuments and statues• Stone tools include the chisel, mallet, and

rasp.• Artists also use contemporary power tools

Figure 9.7, p.184: LOUISE BOURGEOIS. Eyes (1982). Marble. 74 3⁄4” x 54” x 45 3⁄4”.

Wood

• Wood can be carved, scraped, drilled, and polished molded and bent.

• Different woods have a different hardnesses.• Wood appeals to sculptures because of its grain,

color, and workability. • Wood is easier to carved than stone.• Tensile strength - The inherent strength of a

material.

Figure 9.8, p.185: Poro Secret Society mask (Kagle). Liberian, Dan people. Wood. H: 9’.

Figure 9.9, p.186: PO SHUN LEONG. Figure (1993). Mahogany with hidden drawers. H: 50”.

Clay

• Clay is more pliable than stone or wood– Clay is not very strong. – Nor is permanent.

• Armature - an inner skeleton normally made of metal used to help give clay additional strength.

Robert Arneson. Brick Bang. 1976. Clay, glaze. 38 x 48 x 15 cm.

Metal

• Metals can be cast, extruded, forged, stamped, drilled, filed, and burnished.

• Cast bronze sculptures• Direct-metal sculptures - Assembling

sculpture by welding, riveting, and soldering. • Patinas - the colors created on bronze due to

oxidation.

Figure 9.10, p.187: RICHARD SERRA. Installation view, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain.

Richard Serra1-1-1-1. 1968Lead antimony

Modern and ContemporaryMaterials and Methods

Throughout history sculptures have searched for new forms expression.

• Constructed sculpture• Assemblage• Readymades• Mixed media• Kinetic sculpture• Light sculpture• Land art

Constructed sculpture

• The artist “builds” the sculpture• Materials could include, sheet metal,

cardboard, celluloid, or wire• Some artworks are lighter than those from

stone or wood• Unorthodox materials can also be used

Constructed sculpture

Fig. 9-11, p. 188 PABLO PICASSO. Mandolin and Clarinet (1913). Wood construction and paint.

Figure 9.12, p.188: CLAES OLDENBURG. Soft Toilet (1966). Vinyl filled with kapok painted with Liquitex, and wood. 57 1⁄16” x 27 5⁄8” x 28 1⁄16”.

Assemblage

• A form of constructed sculpture• Pre-existing or found objects take on a new

form as artworks• Novel combinations that take on a new life

and meaning• One of the best-known examples is Picasso’s

Bull’s Head

Figure 9.15, p.190: PABLO PICASSO. Bull’s Head (1943). Bronze cast of parts of a bicycle. H: 16 1⁄8”.

Readymades

Marcel Duchamp In Advance of a Broken Arm

Mixed Media

Mixed Media - Use materials and ready-made or found objects that are not normally elements of a work of art.

• Artists, such as Rauschenberg (see Ch. 20), may attach other materials to their canvasses.

• What might be some the materials you could use in a Mixed Media sculpture?

Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram (1955-1959) Freestanding Combine

Figure 9.16, p.191: SIMON RODIA. Simon Rodia Towers in Watts (1921–1954). Cement with various objects. H: 98’.

Kinetic Sculpture

Kinetic sculpture - Sculptures that move, art + action. Example: the mobile.

Forms of movement might include: • Wind• Magnetic fields• Jets of water• Electric motors• The intensity of light• Human manipulations

Fig. 9-17, p.191 GEORGE RICKEY. Cluster of Four Cubes (1992). Stainless steel.

Light Sculpture

• Light and its reflections have always been an important elements in sculpture (and art!)

• However, “light sculpture” is a 20th-century artform

• What are the physical psychological and physical effects of color and the creation of illusion?

Dan Flavin installation in Marfa, TX

Other Materials

Sculpture today uses not only traditional materials, but also materials that have never been used before.

Example: beeswax and microcrystalline wax, chocolate, Styrofoam, etc…

Marc Quinn Self 1991 blood stainless steel perspex refrigeration

Figure 9.20, p.193: JANINE ANTONI. Chocolate Gnaw (1992). Chocolate (600 lb before biting), gnawed by the artist. 24” x 24” x 24” (61 cm x 61 cm x 61 cm).

Chapman Brothers Tragic Anatomies

Figure 9.21, p.193: SYLVIE FLEURY. Dog Toy 3 (Crazy Bird) (2000). Styrofoam, paint. 260 cm x 210 cm x 180 cm.