10.1: Sculpture

Three-dimensional art goes beyond the flat surface to encompass height, width, and depth. There are four main methods used in producing art in three dimensions. All three-dimensional art uses one or a combination of these four methods: carving, modeling, casting, or assembly. A form of three-dimensional art that emerged in the twentieth century is installation, a work in which the viewer is surrounded within a space or moves through a space that has been modified by the artist.

Sculpture can be either freestanding—“in the round”—or it can be relief—sculpture that projects from a background surface. There are two categories of relief sculpture: low relief and high relief. In low relief, the amount of projection from the background surface is limited. A good example of low relief sculpture would be coins, such as these ancient Roman types dating from c. 300 BCE to c. 400 CE. (Figure 10.1.1) Also, much Egyptian wall art is low relief. (Figure 10.1.2) High relief sculpture is when more than half of the sculpted form projects from the background surface. This method generally creates an effect called undercut, in which some of the projected surface is separate from the background surface. Mythological scenes depicted on the Parthenon, an ancient Greek temple, (Figure 10.1.3) and the Corporate Wars series by Robert Longo (b. 1953, USA) are both examples of high relief using undercut.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Common Roman Coins. (GFDL; Rasiel Suarez, by FSII via Wikimedia Commons)

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Egyptian Relief Carving. (Public Domain; by GDK via Wikimedia Commons)

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Lapith fighting a centaur. (Public Domain; by Jastrow via Wikimedia Commons)

Modeling is an additive process in which easily shaped materials like clay or plaster are built up to create a final form. Some modeled forms begin with an armature, or rigid inner support often made of wire. An ar- mature allows a soft or fluid material like wet clay, which would collapse under its own weight, to be built up. This method of sculpting includes most classical portrait sculpture in terra cotta, or baked clay. (Figure 10.1.4) Clay lends itself to modeling and is thus a popular medium for work of this kind, although clay may also be carved and cast.

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Bust of Maximilien Robespierre. (CC BY-SA 2.0; Claude-Andrée Deseine, by Rama via Wikimedia Commons)

Carving is the removal of material to form an art object. Carving is a subtractive process that usually begins with a block of material, most commonly stone. Tools—usually metal or metal tipped— are used to chip away the stone until the final form emerges. (Figure 10.1.5) The main concern in carving, aside from achieving the correct form, is to be careful not to chip away too much material, as it cannot be replaced once it has been removed. (Figure 10.1.6) It is possible that the final shape of some carved stone sculptures result from not only the artist’s intention, but also the subtle shifts caused by unpredictable variations in the stone causing the artist to “change course” when too much stone came away. This possibility is not to suggest that trained sculptors do not know the limits of their medium: artists often encounter surprises and innovative ones can sometimes work solutions that incorporate them.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): A selection of woodcarving gouges, chisels, and a mallet. (CC BY-SA 3.0; by Aeriolin55 via Wikimedia Commons)

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): Sculptor Carving Stone. (Public Domain; by Bain News Service via Wikimedia Commons)

Different kinds of stone vary in hardness as well as color and appearance. Not all stone is suit- able for sculpting. Marble, a form of limestone, was preferred by the ancient Greeks and Romans for its softness and even color. (Figure 10.1.7) Diorite, schist (a form of slate), and Greywacke (a form of granite) were preferred by Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures for their hardness and permanence. (Figure 10.1.8) The Chinese have traditionally used jade, a hard, brittle stone found in numerous shades, most commonly green, to indicate wisdom, power, and wealth. (Figure 10.1.9)

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Marble statue of Eirene (the personification of peace). (OASC; Kephisodotos via Met Museum)

Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\): Naophorous Block Statue of a Governor of Sais, Psamtik. (OASC via Met Museum)

Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\): Jade ornament of flowers with grape design. (CC BY-SA 3.0, by Mountain via Wikimedia Commons)

Wood is also often used as a carving material. Because of variations in grain size and texture, different species of wood have different sculptural qualities. In general, wood is prized for its flexibility and ease of forming, though it reacts to changes in humidity and lacks permanence. During the Heian era (794-1185 CE), the Japanese artist Jocho used joined wood to construct his sculpture of the Seated Buddha. (Figure 10.1.10)

Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\): Seated Buddha. (Public Domain; Jõchõ, by Kosigrim via Wikimedia Commons)

Casting is a process that replaces, or substitutes, an initial sculptural material such as wax or clay with another, usually more permanent, material such as bronze, an alloy, or mixture of copper and tin. Casting is also a process that makes it possible to create multiple versions of the same object.

In the lost wax process, an original sculpture is modeled, often in clay, coated in wax, and then covered in plaster to create a mold. When the plaster dries, it is heated to melt the wax, which is poured out of the mold. Molten metal is then poured into the space within the mold between the (now lost) wax coating and the original sculpted form. When the metal has cooled and solidified, the plaster is broken away to reveal the cast metal object. (Figure 10.1.11) In order to create multiple versions of the object, the mold must be made in such a way that it can be re- moved without being destroyed. (Figure 10.1.12) This operation is generally achieved by separating a mold into several sections while the original is being cast. Sectional molds are also used to cast original objects that cannot be melted or otherwise removed from the mold. To cast the form, the original is removed, and the sections are then re-fastened together. In some cases, complex sculptures are cast in several pieces and the resulting metal sections are welded together.

Figure \(\PageIndex{11}\): Lost Wax Casting Process. (CC BY-SA 4.0; Jeffrey LeMieux Original Work)

Figure \(\PageIndex{12}\): Sectional Mold. (CC BY-SA 4.0; Jeffrey LeMieux Original Work)

Assembly, or assemblage, is a fairly recent type of sculpture. Before the modern period, carving, casting, and modeling were the only accepted methods of making fine art sculpture. Recently, sculptors have enlarged their approach and turned to the process of assembly, manually attaching objects and materials together. Assemblies are often composed of mixed media, a process in which disparate objects and substances are used in order to achieve the desired effect.

Because she spent time near a cabinetry workshop, Louise Nevelson (1899-1988, Ukraine, lived USA) would retrieve wooden cut-offs and other discarded objects to use in her sculpture. Her art practice involved the use of found objects. Consider Nevelson’s Sky Cathedral. She filled individual wooden boxes with found objects. She then arranged these boxes into large assemblies and painted them a single color, usually black or white. Each sub-unit box in the sculpture can be read as a separate point of view or separate world. The effect of the whole is to recognize that both unity and diversity are possible in a single artwork.

Installation is related to assembly, but the intent is to transform an interior or exterior space to create an experience that surrounds and involves the viewer in an unscripted interaction with the environment. The viewer is then immersed in the art, rather than experiencing the art from a distance. For example, Carsten Höller (b. 1961, Belgium, lives Sweden) installed Test Site in the Turbine Hall, a five-story open space, at the Tate Modern in London. (Figure 10.1.13) Part of a series of slides Höller created at museums worldwide, he wanted to encourage visitors to use the practical, though unconventional, means of transport, and, while doing so, to experience the momentary loss of control and whatever emotional response each individual felt.

Figure \(\PageIndex{13}\): Test Site. (Public Domain; Carsten Höller, by Teh Lud via Wikimedia Commons)

An installation that is intended for a particular location is called a site-specific installation. Good examples of site-specific installations would be Tilted Arc by Richard Serra (b. 1939, USA); Lightning Field by Walter De Maria (1935-2013, USA); Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson (1938-1973, USA), (Figure 10.1.14); and Cadillac Ranch by the art group known as Ant Farm. (Figure 10.1.15) In part because of the large scale of many of these works, installation is an increasingly popular form of public artwork.

Figure \(\PageIndex{14}\): Spiral Jetty. (CC BY-SA 2.0; Robert Smithson, by Yonidebest via Wikimedia Commons)

Figure \(\PageIndex{15}\): Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo. (CC BY 2.0; Ant Farm, Richie Diesterheft via Wikimedia Commons)

Kinetic art is art that moves or appears to move. Generally this art is sculptural. Good examples of kinetic artworks are the suspended, freely moving mobiles of Alexander Calder (1898-1976, USA) that are meant to change shape as part of their design. (Nénuphars Rouges, Alexander Calder) Homage to New York was a work of kinetic art Jean Tinguely (1925-1991, Switzerland) intended to self-destruct, although it never completed its purpose because a local fire department stepped in and stopped the process. (Homage to New York, Jean Tinguely) Reuben Margolin (USA) is a contemporary artist who uses intersecting waves to create beautifully undulating sculptures. Click the following link to view a video of Margolin’s Square Wave. Beginning with simple materials like paper towel tubes, fishing swivels, and fishing line, and then moving to larger, more complex sculptures using more permanent materials like wood, metal, and wire, Margolin has made a career of creating meditatively flowing sculptures.