SCULPTURE

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping hard or plastic material, commonly stone (either rock or marble), metal, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by carving; others are assembled, built up and fired, welded, moulded, or cast. A person who creates sculptures is called a sculptor. Because sculpture involves the use of materials that can be moulded or modulated, it is considered one of the plastic arts. A sculpture that is designed to move is known as kinetic. A sculpture that is like a self-operating machine which has moving parts such as cogs, that can be made to move by use of handles and levers, Is known as automata (singular: automaton) (DEFINITIONS FROM WIKIPEDIA)

Lost-wax casting This is also sometimes called by the French name of cire perdue, and is the process by which a bronze is cast from an artist's sculpture. wikipedia link about bronze casting

An armature is a lightweight structure on which sculptors can work. It gives the basic form of the sculpture, but with little detail. It allows sculptors to create work that isn’t solid, thereby being more economical with the materials they use. Here Ron Mueck has used chicken wire to make the figure’s form. ARMATURE

RON MUECK UNTITLED (BIG MAN) VIEWS OF THE WORK IN PROGRESS 2000 PIGMENTED POLYESTER RESIN ON FIBERGLASS

MAQUETTE Before beginning a full-scale sculpture, a sculptor will make a small-scale test piece, or maquette. This maquette by Ron Mueck stands over 2 feet tall, but the final sculpture stands over 2.5 metres tall, much larger than life size.

RON MUECK PREGNANT WOMAN 2002 PIGMENTED POLYESTER RESIN ON FIBERGLASS,

USING PLASTER Plaster can be poured into clay moulds to form a cast. online workshop for mould-making It can also be used to make the mould itself. By covering an armature with plaster, it can then be worked with various tools such as chisels, rasps and surforms (like mini cheesegraters), and eventually polished to a smooth finish. A plaster sculpture can also be then cast into a more durable material, such as bronze.

MICHELANGELO AWAKENING GIANT, FOR TOMB OF JULIUS II CARVING Traditionally, sculptors carved into wood and stone They used stone or wood chisels More recently sculptors have explored other materials, such as ice, to carve from, and experimented with a variety of powered tools, such as chainsaws

EXAMPLES OF SCULPTURE USING VARIOUS TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS

MARC QUINN SELF 1991 FROZEN BLOOD

TONY CRAGG STACK 1975 MIXED MEDIA

CORNELIA PARKER COLD DARK MATTER: AN EXPLODED VIEW 1991

HELEN CHADWICK PISS FLOWERS BRONZE, WHITE CELLULOSE LACQUER

DAVID MACH GORILLA 2007 WIRE COATHANGERS

SARAH SZE UNRAVEL (INSTALLATION) 2005 MIXED MEDIA

ALEXANDER CALDER UNTITLED 1976 ALUMINIUM AND STEEL

SALVADOR DALI LOBSTER TELEPHONE 1936 PLASTIC, PAINTED PLASTER AND MIXED MEDIA

RICHARD DEACON STRUCK DUMB 1988 WELDED STEEL

CLAES OLDENBURG SOFT PAY-TELEPHONE 1963 VINYL FILLED WITH KAPOK, MOUNTED ON WOOD PANEL CLAES OLDENBURG SOFT LIGHT SWITCHES 1964 VINYL FILLED WITH DRACON AND CANVAS

ANISH KAPOOR MARSYAS (INSTALLATION AT TATE MODERN’S TURBINE HALL) 2002 PVC MEMBRANE STRETCHED OVER 3 STEEL RINGS

BARBARA HEPWORTH OVAL SCULPTURE (NO. 2) 1943 PLASTER

HENRY MOORE WORKING MODEL FOR RECLINING FIGURE 1957 PLASTER

JEAN ARP HEAD AND SHELL c POLISHED BRONZE

CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI THE NEWBORN 1915 MARBLE

LOUISE BOURGEOIS END OF SOFTNESS 1967 BRONZE WITH GOLD PATINA

LOUISE BOURGEOIS LE REGARD 1966 LATEX AND CLOTH

MERET OPPENHEIM OBJECT 1936 FUR-COVERED CUP, SAUCER AND SPOON