2. Three Dimensional Art Three-dimensional works
Have height, width, and depth
Pyramids are an example
Possess four of the visual elements: form, volume, mass, and texture
1.28 Three dimensions: height, width, and depth

3. Form Shapes are flat; forms are three-dimensional
Scale refers to the size of an object
Forms have two fundamental attributes: volume and mass
Volume is the amount of space a form occupies
Mass is the expression of solidity
Texture is the sensation of touching
Artists sometimes evoke our memory of touch
Materials can communicate ideas

4. 1.29 Great Sphinx of Giza, c. 2650 BCE, Giza, Egypt

5. Geometric Form Regular forms, readily expressible in words or numbers
Cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones, and pyramids are simple examples

6. 1.30 Great Pyramid of Khufu, c. 2560 BCE, Giza, Egypt

7. The Pyramids of Giza

8. 1.31 David Smith, Cubi XIX, 1964. Stainless steel, 113¼ x 21⅝ x 20⅝”

9. Organic Form Organic forms are derived from living things
Irregular and unpredictable
Can be used for expressive effect

10. 1.32 Vesperbild (Pietà), Middle Rhine region, c Wood, 34½” high. Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany

11. 1.33 Lino Tagliapietra, Batman, 1998. Glass, 11½ x 15½ x 3½”

12. Form in Relief and in the Round
A relief is a work in which forms project from a flat surface
It is designed to be viewed from one side only
A form in the round can be seen from all sides

13. 1. 34 Imperial Procession, from the Ara Pacis Augustae, 13 BCE
1.34 Imperial Procession, from the Ara Pacis Augustae, 13 BCE. Marble altar. Museo dell’Ara Pacis, Rome, Italy

14. 1. 35 Stela with supernatural scene, Mexico or Guatemala, 761 CE
1.35 Stela with supernatural scene, Mexico or Guatemala, 761 CE. Limestone, 92 x 42 x 3”. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

15. Volume Volume is the amount of space occupied by an object
Architectural forms usually enclose a volume of interior space to be used for living or working
1.36 Volume and mass

16. Open Volume
When artists enclose a space with materials that are not completely solid, they create an open volume

17. 1. 37a Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter, Ghostwriter, 1994
1.37a Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter, Ghostwriter, Cast metal/stainless cable, 36 x 8 x 10’. Evanston Public Library, Illinois

18. 1.37b Detail of Ghostwriter

19. 1.38 Vladimir Tatlin, Model for Monument to the Third International, 1919

20. 1. 39 Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse, In the Blue (Crest), 2008
1.39 Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse, In the Blue (Crest), Painted cypress, 24 x 108 x 11’. Installation at St. Petersburg Art Center, Florida

21. Mass Mass suggests that something is solid and occupies space
Our perception of mass is derived from our imagination, our previous experience with smaller objects, and our understanding of the forces of nature
Mass can suggest weight in a three-dimensional object
Mass does not necessarily imply heaviness, only that a volume is solid and occupies space

22. 1. 40 Colossal Head, Olmec, 1500–1300 BCE. Basalt
1.40 Colossal Head, Olmec, 1500–1300 BCE. Basalt. Museo de Antropología, Veracruz, Mexico

23. 1. 41 Rachel Whiteread, House, 1993. Concrete
1.41 Rachel Whiteread, House, Concrete. Bow, London, England (demolished 1994)

24. 1. 42 Marisol (Escobar), Father Damien, 1969
1.42 Marisol (Escobar), Father Damien, Bronze, State Capitol Building, Honolulu, Hawaii

25. Texture
Texture is the tactile sensation we experience when we physically encounter a three-dimensional form
When we think of texture, we mostly rely on the impressions we receive from our hands
When we look at a surface we can imagine how its texture feels

26. 1.43 Nam June Paik, TV Buddha, Closed-circuit video installation with bronze sculpture, monitor, and video camera, dimensions vary with installation. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

27. 1. 44 Méret Oppenheim, Object, 1936
1.44 Méret Oppenheim, Object, Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon, 2⅞” high. MOMA, New York

28. 1.45 Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum, 1997, Bilbao, Spain

29. 1. 46 Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999 (cast 2001)
1.46 Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999 (cast 2001). Bronze, stainless steel, and marble, 29’4⅜” x 32’9⅛ x 38’1”. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

30. Conclusion
Three-dimensional art is expressed in height, width, and depth
Forms can be geometric or organic
Volume is the amount of space occupied by the form
Mass is the impression that the volume is solid and occupies space
The surface of the form can be described in terms of its texture
Artists can use the language of three-dimensional art to express many ideas and emotions

31. Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts
This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 1.2
Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts
By Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields
Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

32. Picture Credits for Chapter 1.2
1.28 Ralph Larmann 1.29, 1.30 Photo Heidi Grassley © Thames & Hudson Ltd, London 1.31 Photo courtesy the Marlborough Gallery Inc., New York. © Estate of David Smith/DACS, London/VAGA, New York Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn 1.33 Photo Russell Johnson. Courtesy Lino Tagliapietra, Inc Museo dell’Ara Pacis, Rome 1.35 Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Museum Purchase, Gift of Mrs Paul Wattis 1999, 42 a-k 1.36 Ralph Larmann 1.37a, 1.37b Photo Clements/Howcroft, MA, USA. Courtesy the artists 1.38 Photo Nationalmuseum, Stockholm 1.39 Photo Andrew Hawthorne. Courtesy the artists 1.40 Photo Irmgard Groth-Kimball © Thames & Hudson Ltd, London 1.41 Photo Sue Ormerod. © Rachel Whiteread. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, London 1.42 © Marisol, DACS, London/VAGA, New York Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 1.44 Museum of Modern Art, New York, Purchase, Acc. no a-c. Photo 2011, Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence. © DACS © Romain Cintract/Hemis/Corbis 1.46 © Louise Bourgeois Trust/DACS, London/VAGA, New York 2011