1. Three – Dimensional Media
Sculpture
Three – Dimensional
Media

2. Sculpture Media
Sculpture- art work that confronts us with the third dimension, with the concept of depth.
Media (plural form of medium) is the “stuff” we make art with.
Some traditional sculpture media include
Wood
Glass
Clay
Plaster
Marble (Stone)
Bronze
Papier mache
Metal

3. Relief vs. freestanding
A relief is “flat”sculpture. It is meant to be seen from only one side. Reliefs are usually found carved into walls or doorframes.
Free-standing sculptures are true sculptures “in the round”. They are meant to be viewed from all sides and stand on their own. These sculptures can be on the ground, on a pedestal or hanging.

4. In the
Round
Relief-Sculpture meant to be viewed from only one side. Usually part of a wall or other architectural feature.
Low Relief (Bas relief)- coins, shallow carved items
High Relief -when a sculpture projects boldly from the background. (They project out at least half of their depth, but still remain connected to a wall or structure).

5. Menkaure and Khamerernebty, Egypt,
c B.C.E.
Greywacke, 4’6”
The human figure in sculpture from the earliest
times depicted rulers with the wealth to employ
artists that were dedicated to depicting the ruler
and their deeds.
This work is HIGH relief. Carved almost completely
Around, but not in the back- where the pieces were
still connected to the stone / wall
Religious beliefs often manifested themselves in
Sculpture- bringing the intangible into the
“real” world.

6. This is a relief sculpture.
It is meant to be viewed frontally, the
way we view a painting.
Sarcophagus lid,
from the Temple of Inscriptions,
Palenque Chiapas, mexico,
Maya, limestone, 684 CE

7. Elements of Art – as they pertain to sculpture
Form- a shape with three dimensions
Forms have length, width and depth
Forms can be organic or geometric (natural or manmade)
Value- deals with the lightness or darkness of an object
Value can refer to light or color

8. Elements Space- the area in, around, between, above and below objects
Sculptures take up positive space, but can be made up of both positive and negative space (the empty areas).
Barbara Hepworth (w video lnk)

9. Reclining Figure (1951) outside the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, is characteristic of Henry Moore's sculptures, with an abstract female figure intercut with voids (interesting negative space). There are several bronze versions of this sculpture, but this one is made from painted plaster.

10. Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999, Bronze and steel 30’5”
(video link)

11. Methods and Materials Four Basic Methods for making a sculpture
Modeling – additive process
Carving- subtractive process
Casting- molds
Assembling- additive process

12. Modeling
In sculpture, manipulating a plastic material such as clay or wax to create a form.
This is an additive process. Taking clay or other pliable materials and adding them together to create a shape or form.

13. Elements
Color- reflected light. Wavelengths of light determine the color you see.
Color=Hue
Colors can be warm or cool, of high or low intensity and have dark or light value
The saturation of color is the pureness of the color

14. Casting
The process of making a sculpture or other object by pouring a liquid into a mold, letting the liquid harden and removing the hardened form from the mold.
Materials such as bronze, plaster, clay and synthetic resins are poured into molds.

15. The Burghers of Calais, Auguste Rodin, 1884-85, cast bronze, 6’ 10” x 7’11” x 6’6”
(with video link)

16. Casting
To create an exact replica of something, you first need to create a mold.
Molds are traditionally made from plaster, but can also be made from plastics like latex.
Once you have made a mold, you pour a liquid into it and wait for the liquid to harden.
After the liquid is hard, you open your mold and sand off any blemishes caused by the seams of the mold.
Using liquid clay or slip is an easy method. Melting metal is slightly more difficult.
This entire process is called “casting”.

17. Lost wax casting process
Click the image on the left to watch a great video on the lost
wax process- it will give you a great understanding
of mold making and casting!

18. Click the
bulldog mold
to watch a mold
making video

19. Carving
A sculpture is carved, chipped, sanded, cut or gouged out of a solid material.
Wood and stone are the principle materials for carving.
This is a more aggressive approach to art making. Both wood and stone tend to resist the artists’ tools.

20. wood sculptures - carved
The Clubs of Bamako, Installation at Deitch Projects, New York, Coulibaly Siaka
Paul, Emile Guebehi and Koffi Kouakou, sculptors with photographs by Malick Sidibe, 1999

21. Detail, The Clubs of Bamako
Click on this
image to
find out more
about this work-
(this link only
works while you
are in slideshow
mode and
connected to
the internet)

22. If you knew how much work went
into it, you wouldn’t call it genius”.
-Michelangelo
Carved from Marble

23. Elements
Texture- an element dealing with how something feels or looks like it feels
Textures can be rough or smooth. Think of the glass versus a Triscuit cracker.
Actual texture is tactile (you can physically feel it)
Visual texture is simulated texture. The painting technique “trompe l’oeil” refers to tricking the eye, or painting simulated textures and patterns to create realistic looking work.

24. (w video link)
Assembling
The technique of creating a sculpture by grouping or piecing together distinct elements. An assembled piece may be called an assemblage.
Untitled #1111 (Little Ed’s Daughter Margaret), Petah
Coyne , Wax, fiberglass cast statuary, velvet,
satin, ribbon, thread, PVC pipe and fittings, steel
understructure, branches, fabricated branches, silk flowers,
wire, hat pins, tassels, feathers, pumps, irrigation tubing,
water, hair, black paint ’ tall

25. Rain Garden II ,Louise Nevelson
painted wood..31-1/2"x 47" x 4-1/2" (1977)
Royal Tide I, 1960
(w video link)

26. Elements Time and Motion
Artists create or capture actual motion with Kinetic art. (moving art).
Alexander Calder’s mobiles are among the most famous kinetic art.
Implied Motion-art that leaves the viewer to infer that motion has happened or time has passed.

27. Calder Mobiles Click the image about to watch a vide
on Alexander Calder and his mobiles

28. Large scale sculpture+ installation art
This will segue into your next power point on Installation art.

29. Christo and Jeanne Claude, Drawings for The Gates-
Letter from the mayor of NYC regarding
The Gates

30. Christo and Jeanne Claude, The Gates, 1979-2005, Installation in Central Park
New York City, February , 2005

31. Christo and Jeanne Claude, sketches for wrapped coast

32. Wrapped Coast

33. Christo and Jeanne-Claude  Wrapped Coast, One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Sydney, Australia,   Photo: Harry Shunk  © 1969 Christo

34. Working with Time or Place
Serpent Mound, near Locust Grove, Ohia, c C.E. Overall length 1300’

35. Mirror, plexiglas, 150 lights and water, 9’7” x 12’ x 12’
In installations that she calls Infinity Mirror Rooms, Yayoi Kusama has explored how to depict infinite space. Fireflies on the Water is composed of 150 tiny lights hang over a shallow pool of water in a small room whose walls are covered with mirrors. The combination of direct and reflected light creates a magical effect: space appears infinite, with no top or bottom, beginning or end. If you entered this mirrored space, you would see endless images of yourself, reflected into the distance. The work creates the feeling of being everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Yayoi Kusama in front of her installation Fireflies on the Water, 2002,
Mirror, plexiglas, 150 lights and water, 9’7” x 12’ x 12’

36. Fireflies on the Water, 2002, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

37. Sculpture techniques
Additive- a process of creating sculpture by adding medium together. Gluing, welding or attaching pieces to form a whole is an additive process. Glue, paste, or tape used to hold things together are called binders.
Subtractive (reductive)- this process requires you have a larger amount of medium and you carve pieces out of it to create the form. Marble sculpture carved out are subtractive.