Unit IV Subtractive Sculpture Abstraction of the Human Form Henry Moore Jean (Hans)Arp

Take notes… What is the definition of Subtractive sculpture : What is the definition of Additive sculpture : What is the definition of Assemblage:  What is the definition of Abstract art:  What is the definition of Non-Objective Abstract Art: What is a Maquette: What is a Contour line: What is the name at least 2 of one of the artists that inspired this lesson ?  

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475 –1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime. Pieta

Michelangelo, Moses,1513-1515, Marble, 92 Michelangelo, Moses,1513-1515, Marble, 92.5 “, San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome

Henry Moore 1898 -1986 English sculptor, draughtsman and printmaker Leeds School of Art and Royal College of Art in London. Modernist Sculptor - Generally acknowledged as the most important British sculptor of the 20th century. He took the human figure as his central subject-matter throughout his career. His female figures, echoing the forms of mountains, valleys, cliffs and caves, extended and enriched the landscape tradition, which he embraced as part of his English artistic heritage.

Sculptors may create a maquette (or small scale sculpture) in another material, such as plaster, prior to executing a large scale sculpture in a more sustainable material like metal, bronze or iron.

Henry Moore, Relief No. 1, 1959, Bronze, ed Henry Moore, Relief No. 1, 1959, Bronze, ed. 3/6 7 feet 4 inches x 4 feet x 20 inches Why is this called a relief?

Relief No. 1 depicts the abstracted form of a woman standing with her weight on her left hip and her right knee jutting forward. Her head, undulating shoulders and breasts are implied by geometric cubic forms. Moore addressed this intentional ambiguity of form when he said that the “non-logical, instinctive, subconscious part of [the viewer’s] mind must play a part” in completing and understanding his work. (?) While most of Moore’s sculptures are meant to be seen in the round, this relief sculpture was intended to be viewed against a wall.

Sketch and Maquette

Large Torso Arch 1962-1963; cast 1963 Bronze, ed Large Torso Arch 1962-1963; cast 1963 Bronze, ed. of 7 6 feet 6 1/2 inches x 5 feet x 42 1/8

Henry Moore said, “It is no longer necessary to close down and restrict sculpture to the single, static unit.” In Large Torso: Arch, which frames a view of nature, it is space that opens and activates the form. The single arch is an unusual motif within Moore’s work. It fuses organic, biomorphic form with one of the oldest architectural motifs, the arch.

Reclining Figure: Hand, 1979 Bronze, ed. of 9 5 feet 5 inches x 7 feet 4 inches x 4 feet 4 inches. Many of his sculptures were titled Reclining Figure. Why is this sculpture call a “sculpture in the round”?

Reclining Connected Forms, Bronze, ed Reclining Connected Forms, Bronze, ed. of 9 36” x 7’ 4 ¼” x 4’ 4” H L W Front and back

Jean (Hans) Arp Born: Strasbourg, France, 1886 - 1966 Modernist Sculptor A retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1958, followed by another at the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, in 1962. Arp died June 7, 1966, in Basel. “Each of these bodies has a definite significance, but it is only when I feel there is nothing more to change that I decide what each means, and it is only then that I give it a name.”

Jean Arp, Head and Shell, 1933 Polished brass, 7 1/4 x 7 7/8 inches (19.7 x 22.5 cm), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. This is not one continuous form but two separable elements. A spike attached to the base section supports the upper portion, which is easily removed. Both conceptually and physically, this work is a unit composed of discrete parts. During the 1930s, the artist produced several small works made of multiple elements that the viewer could pick up, separate, and rearrange into new configurations.

Jean (Hans) Arp Pyrenean Torso, 1959, Marble, 41” h The torso becomes an independent complete form. In 2000 it sold at Christie’s Auction for $776,000.

Jean (Hans)Arp Déméter, polished bronze, 25 5/8 “, Conceived in 1960 and cast in 1964.

Barbara Hepworth Figure in a Landscape

Today in class – choose a gesture drawing to inspire your maquette Using the Paper Clay, create a maquette inspired by the gesture drawing Keep these in a plastic bag In marker, write your name on the plastic bags DO NOT THROW THESE AWAY

Next class - Abstract/Simplify an image of the human form for your sculpture Select an image from a magazine… or draw on your own the human form/body ** ABSTRACT and SIMPLIFIED** Simplify the drawing with rounded contours of the form/body. Does your eye easily move around sculpture (movement)? Trace image onto tracing paper using only a contour outline. Abstract the image to include at least one hole or empty space within it. (negative space) Your only constraint is the size of the foam block So use all of the space! Remember to sketch larger and fatter than you think you need to.

Abstract Expressionism Brainstorm a list of emotions. How can emotions vary (Ex. feeling pleased vs. feeling ecstatc, both are happy feelings.) Choose 3-5 you would like to work with. Review color mixing (Intermediate hues, tints, shades, low-intensity hues.) Discuss how emotions can be symbolized through color (Ex. blues = sadness, etc.) Have students establish a color symbol for the emotions they have chosen. - See more at: http://www.thesmartteacher.com/exchange/resource/33/Expressive_Sculpture#sthash.LMqJnIwt.dpuf

Abstract Human Form Sculpture Preliminary contour (outline) drawings – abstracted to rounded contours of the body (inspiration is from actual human forms/body) Think: Dancers, Gymnasts, Athletes, movement… Draw contour lines on clay block first per demo Create your maquette Direct carving on block (subtractive sculpture) Painting maquette and mounting on base if needed is later. (clay needs to dry). Start outline on foam block.

Abstraction of Form Henry Moore, Bird and Egg, 1934, Alabaster, Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1932- length 52.8cm 1940, Bronze, 59 7/16 inches Part of a Bird in Space sequence

Resources: http://echostains.wordpress.com/tag/barbara-hepworth/ http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/CollectionDatabase.cfm?id=9305&theme=kcsp