GEORGE SEGAL INSPIRED FIGURE SCULPTURE

Sculptor George Segal w as born to a Jew ish couple in New Y ork in 1924. George grew up w ith his fam ily w orking in their butcher shop in the B ronx, and later on their farm . Segal also lived w ith his aunt for a period so that he could begin his plans to further his education in a m ath/science related field. In this process George discovered his passion for art. George received his form al art training at Pratt, Cooper Union, and NY U. Segal received his teaching degree in 1949 from NY U. At this tim e Segal saw a shift in the m essage being expressed through art and it w as m ore related to real life issues.

(George Segal, 1924-2000) As Segal‘s interest in art grew he began to explore the various art sub-cultures in and around his neighborhood. It w as in 1958 that Segal debuted the w ork that he is m ost know n for today, his plaster figure sculptures. Segal began this process by experim enting on his ow n body. H e and his w ife w orked together to plaster cast Segal‘s entire body in pieces, and then assem ble them together as one that w ould sit in an environm ent w ith a chair, w indow fram e, tables, etc.

Segal is the artist know n to have m astered the casting technique and real life tableaux. Segal m ost often used friends and fam ily m em bers as his m odels. Segal w as considered to part of the Pop Art m ovem ent along w ith Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, and Andy W arhol. Segal‘s w ork first surfaced in a raw form –w hite plaster w ith the rough texture apparent. Y ears later he began painting the w ork and this w as usually in bright, m onochrom atic colors. Eventually Segal‘s pieces w ere cast in bronze and patinated. W hile figures w ere built of plaster or bronze, the environm ents the pieces w ere placed in w ere built of found objects. Larger scale pieces w ere even found in restaurants, bus stops, and street corners. (W om an in Arm chair, 1994)

Figure: A representation of a hum an being in a picture or sculpture.

Cast: To pour som ething such as m olten m etal or plaster into a m old and allow it to solidify, or to m ake an object in this w ay.

(Dentist, 1966-1970) Tableaux: A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people

Pop Art: An art m ovem ent that focused attention upon fam iliar im ages of the popular culture such as billboards, com ic strips, m agazine advertisem ents, and superm arket products.

Actual Texture: The feel and appearance of a surface, especially how rough or sm ooth it is.

M onochrom atic: H aving, or perceived as having, only one color.

B ronze:: A hard yellow ish-brow n alloy of copper and tin som etim es containing sm all am ounts of other m etals. H arder than copper and is often cast to m ake statues.

Patina: A thin greenish layer, usually basic copper sulfate that form s on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of corrosion.

Found Object: objects that are not norm ally considered art, often because they already have TaH m uEnda nPe, RutiOlitaJriEanC fuTnct ion.

Created by Robyn Acker Y ou w ill be creating a figure sculpture in the sam e process that Segal did but you w ill be using tape. Each group m em ber w ill act as both the sculptor and the m odel. That m eans that there w ill be a life- size figure of each class m em ber!

1. Determ ine position , pose, or form . Sketch som e ideas below –use a gesture draw ing form at. Are you playing basketball, skateboarding, dancing, flying, reading a book, playing chess, the violin… possibilities are endless. M aybe you have a favorite hobby that could truly represent you?

2. Y ou w ill w rap tape in layers. Y our first layer w ill be Saran W rap. This w ill prevent the tape from sticking to Y OU! Continue to w rap layers of tape, sticky side dow n. Approxim ately 3 layers should w ork.

3. Approach the figure in —body sections“. After a section is w rapped you‘ll need to cut a seam . This seam w ill be taped back together. It is im portant the cuts be clean so the repair job is clean.

4. W hen doing head/face you‘ll need to w ear a stocking hat–Y OU provide the hat. Features m ay need to be adjusted/enhanced after you rem ove the tape from the head.

5. If you w ould like to add any artistic elem ents to the inside of the piece you‘ll need to do that now . Y ou m ay collage, paint, fill w ith objects, etc.

6. B egin to reassem ble the sections into a w hole figure.

TH UM B NAIL SK ETCH ES

(Sources : w w w .princetonol.com ; w w w .segalfoundation.org; w w w .en.w ikipedia.org; Encarta W ord Dictionary)

Created by Robyn Acker