SCUPLTURE AND THE THIRD DIMENSION METHODS AND MATERIALS OF SCULPTURE • MODELING----ADDITIVE- add materials • ASSEMBLING----ADDITIVE • CARVING—SUBRACTS—until desired form remains • CASTING—mold—liquid—poured – remains harden MODELING • MOST COMMON MATERIAL TO US IS CLAY • TERRACOTTA: FIRED CLAY • MOST ANCIENT OF ANY ART FORM Figurine of a Voluptuous Lady late Classic period, 700-900 C.E. Ceramic • Modeled of clay • By hand • Survived as part of a group of objects buried in a tomb • Modeling is the most direct of sculpture methods • Use to test ideas • Clay is kept water and can be used over and over again CASTING—INDIRECT METHOD • SOMETIMES THE ARTIST NEVER TOUCHS THE FINAL PIECE • METAL AND BRONZE USED FOR CASTING • NO FEAR OF BREAKING OFF • ACHIEVE SMOOTH ROUNDED SHAPES—GLOWERY-REFLECTIVE SURFACE INDIRECT & INVESTMENT CASTING • ALLOWS FOR MULTIPLES TO BE MADE • MOLD MAKES WAX CASTING REUSABLE • EACH CASTING IS AN ORIGINAL WORK OF ART “Vaquero” by Luis Jimenez. Modeled 1980, Cast 1990 • Uses contemporary materials for contemporary art • Paints his sculptures using acrylic urethane enamels • Industrial “wet look” paint • Cast in sections/assembled around a steel armature • Front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. CARVING • MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN MODELING • MORE DIRECT THAN CASTING • WOOD AND STONE PRINCIPAL MATERIALS • BEGIN WITH A SOLID BLOCK OF MATERIAL BOWL WITH FIGURES 20TH CENTURY-WOOD-25” • Song about sculptor/praises him for carving the hardest wood as though it were as soft as melon • Lid carved from single piece of wood • Bowl/base/woman all carved from a single piece of wood • Freely rolling head inside the cage formed by the supporting figures beneath the bowl ASSEMBLING— Individual pieces or segments or objects are bought together to form a sculpture Smith’s XI Books and III Apples • made of steel • basic geometric shapes welded together • displayed outdoors/polished their surfaces/scribbling of the polishing markings contrasts with the calm geometry of the forms RELIEF SCULPTURE • MEANT TO BE VIEWED FROM ONE SIDE ONLY—3D DEPTH • DOES NOT OCCUPY SPACE • USED TO DECORATE ARCHITECTURE OR FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS • EXAMPLES: COINS, TOMBSTONES, PAINTINGS, WALLS AND BOOK COVERS LOW RELIEF OR BAS-RELIEF • THE SUBJECTS PROJECT SLIGHTLY FROM THEIR BACKGROUND King Tut and his Queen relief on the back of a throne found in his tomb High Relief (Haut-relief) • SHOULD PROJECT AT LEAST ½ THEIR DEPTH—PARTS OF FIGURES MAY BE IN THE ROUND The Story of Jacob and Esau Lorenzo Ghiberti The gates of Paradise—1435 Pharaoh and his Great Royal Wife—2460 BC • Idealized youthful bodies • Similar facial features • No intention of walking • Gesture of power serene and eternal existence • Pose used over 2000 years Greeks • Body itself was beautiful • Cultivated the body through gymnastics and sports • Admired their Athletes greatly( the Olympics was the Greek’s invention) • Statues usually depicted nude and male atheltes Contrapposto • Greek artist developed distinctive stance for their standing figures called: • Contrapposto meaning “counterpoise” or counter balance • Set the body in a gentle s-curve • Implies motion The Dying Slave Michelangelo—1513-16 What is important is the sculptor’s expression and the experience of the viewer—even if it lasts only a moment..