1. CHAPTER 13 ___________________________ SCULPTURE

2. Richard Serra, The Matter of Time, 2005
Richard Serra, The Matter of Time, Installation of seven sculptures, weatherproof steel, varying dimensions.

3. Sculpture is one of the oldest and most enduring of all arts…
Mask, BCE
Mexico; Olmec
Jadeite
Woman of Willendorf
24,000-22,000 BCE
Willendorf, Austria
Limestone
Thutmose, Bust of Nefertiti
1345 BCE
Ancient Egypt
Limestone and stucco

4. We will examine the different types of sculpture:
Carving
Modeling
Casting
Assemblage/Construction
Installation Art
Earthworks
Performance Art

5. Different sculptural processes…
The different types of sculpture usually fall into one of two processes: subtractive or additive.
The subtractive process is when the artist starts with a large piece of material, and removes part of it, or “subtracts” from it, to create the final and finished form. For example, a sculptor can start with a large piece of stone and carve it into a statue; the finished piece would be accomplished through the subtractive method.
The additive process is when the sculptor builds up the work, “adding” material as he/she progresses along. The finished work of art is larger than the specific pieces that were put together to create it.

6. Four ways we experience sculpture…
Relief
Low relief
High relief
Sculpture-in-the-round
Environment
Site-Specific Sculpture
Installation sculpture
Earthwork sculpture
Performance Sculpture

7. Senwosret I led by Atum to Amun-Re, from the White Chapel at Karnak, Thebes, c BCE. Limestone, raised relief, height 13 ft, 6 in. An example of low relief. We can see the figures, but they remain relatively flat.

8. Maidens and Stewards, fragment of the Panathenaic Procession, from the east frieze of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, BCE. Marble, height approx. 43 inches. Low relief: although the figures look more round that the Egyptian sculpture, they are still fairly flat. Showing the human figures from a three-quarter angle allows them to “turn back” in space, allowing them to appear deeper than they actually are.

9. Lorenzo Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise, Gilded bronze doors at the east entrance to the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, Italy. Ghiberti uses high relief on the figures in his foreground. The figures and elements in high relief appear to almost detach from the background they connect to. Ghiberti also uses low relief on the backgrounds in the panels. This contrast helps the relatively flat bronze panels to appear to stretch back far into space. Notice how the artist also uses Renaissance conventions, such as linear perspective, to further enhance the illusion of deep space.

12. By viewing a ¾ view of the panels, you can see the difference in levels of sculptural depth. The background is far more shallow (low relief) that the figures and angels in the foreground, who almost seem to separate entirely from the background.

13. Yu the Great Taming the Waters, Qing dynasty, completed 1787
Yu the Great Taming the Waters, Qing dynasty, completed Jade, height 7ft. 4¼in. x 3ft. 1¾in. High relief: an amazing work carved from the largest single piece of jade ever discovered. The un-carved block weighed 6 tons! A team of craftsmen spent almost eight years carving this magnificent achievement. The figures project at least half of their depth off the surface, and some are fully round. The artwork tells the story of a monumental feat that was accomplished by hard work and dedicated service to one’s ruler (appropriately, the same values occurred to create the sculpture!).

15. Giambologna, Capture of the Sabine Women, completed 1583
Giambologna, Capture of the Sabine Women, completed Marble, height 13ft. 6in. An excellent example of the movement of sculpture-in-the-round. This piece cannot be realized from only one angle; you must view it from all sides, as it spirals around and changes from different angles.

16. Additional viewpoints…

17. Nancy Rubins, Pleasure Point, 2006
Nancy Rubins, Pleasure Point, Nautical vessels, stainless steel, stainless steel wire, and boats; 304 x 637 x 288 inches. Site-specific sculpture.

18. Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate, 2004. Stainless steel, 33 ft. X 66 ft
Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate, Stainless steel, 33 ft. X 66 ft. X 42 ft. Site-specific sculpture.

19. Michael Heizer, Levitated Mass. Diorite granite and concrete, 2012
Michael Heizer, Levitated Mass. Diorite granite and concrete, This site-specific sculpture creates an engaging environment, specifically because of the way that space is transformed underneath the boulder.

21. Angela Behrends, Sway, and detail, 2011. 365 glass vials each 3 in
Angela Behrends, Sway, and detail, glass vials each 3 in. tall, plaster, wild onion stalks, and 2 oscillating fans, dimensions variable. Installation

22. James Turrell, A Frontal Passage, Flourescent light, 12 ft. 10 in. x 22 ft. 6 in. x 34 ft. Installation

23. Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, April 1970. Great Salt Lake, Utah
Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, April Great Salt Lake, Utah. Black rock, salt crystals, earth, red water (algae). 3½ ft. x 15 ft. x 1,500 ft. Earthwork

24. Great Serpent Mound, Adams County, Ohio. Hopewell culture, c
Great Serpent Mound, Adams County, Ohio. Hopewell culture, c. 600 BCE – 200 CE. Length approximately 1,254 feet. Earthwork

25. Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels, Great Basin Desert, Utah, (four showing). Four tunnels, each 18 ft. long, 9 ft. 4 in. in diameter, each axis 86 ft. long. Site specific sculpture; earthwork.

26. Nancy Holt, Sun Tunnels, one front view.

27. Performance Art Marina Abramović and Ulay, Imponderabilia, Performance at the Galleria Commundale d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy, What happens to the “space” that lies between these two artists? How is that specific space so very different to us on a psychological level when their bodies are present? What does this say about personal space?

28. Marina Abramović, The House with the Ocean View – Nov. 22 9:54 am, Living installation, November 15-26, 2002.

29. Carving
Carving is a subtractive process, in which the material being carved is either chipped, gouged, or hammered away from the solid, raw block of material.
Wood and stone are two of the most common carving materials.
Michelangelo, “Atlas” Slave, c Marble, 9ft. 2in.

30. When carving, each material presents unique difficulties
When carving, each material presents unique difficulties. Wood will only split in the direction it grows; sandstone is gritty and coarse, marble is soft and crystalline, and granite is dense and hard. For Michelangelo, each stone held within it the secret of what it might become as a sculpture. He has given up on this sculpture, leaving the figure trapped within the stone. Michelangelo, “Atlas” Slave, c Marble, 9ft. 2in.

31. Menkaure with a Woman, probably Khamerernebty, from valley temple of Menkaure, Giza. Dynasty 4, c BCE. Schist, height 54½ inches. These funerary sculptures were carved to contain the ka, or individual spirit, of the deceased into the eternity of the afterlife. Stone’s permanence was felt to guarantee the ka’s immortality.

32. Kritios Boy, c. 480 BCE. Marble, 36 inches tall
Kritios Boy, c. 480 BCE. Marble, 36 inches tall. Greek sculpture was strongly influenced by Egyptian sculpture, but the Greeks quickly evolved a far more naturalistic style. It is less rigid, and seems more at ease and life like. The Greeks believed that the strongest connection between the spiritual immortal gods and the world of humanity was beauty itself. They believed that the most beautiful thing of all was the perfectly proportioned, usually athletic, male figure.

33. Praxiteles, Hermes and Dionysos, c. 330 BCE. Marble, height 7 ft. 1 in
Praxiteles, Hermes and Dionysos, c. 330 BCE. Marble, height 7 ft. 1 in. Praxiteles, the most famous sculptor of his day, further developed the naturalism of figurative sculpture. He shifted the weight in his figures to make their pose more dynamic. This pose is known as contrapposto, or counterbalance. The hips and shoulders counter against one another, creating an S-curve in the body that gives a greater sense of naturalism and movement.

34. Cartoon by Peter Duggan, illustrating the differences between the traditional Egyptian poses in sculpture and the Classical Greek pose that uses contrapposto.

35. Right: Alexandros of Antioch, Venus de Milo, between 130 and 100 BCE
Right: Alexandros of Antioch, Venus de Milo, between 130 and 100 BCE. Marble. Left: Ahmose-Nefertari, wife of Ahmose I, ca to 1069 BCE. Painted Shea. Notice the dramatic difference that the contrapposto gives to the human figure. The body language is far more dynmic, suggesting movement and energy. The Egyptian pose on the left, by contrast, suggests stability and permanence.

36. Three Goddesses, from the east pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, c BCE. Marble, over life size. Although sitting and reclining, note the shifted weight and contrapposto poses.

37. Jim Sardonis, Reverence, 1989. Black granite, height 13ft
Jim Sardonis, Reverence, Black granite, height 13ft. Stone is a symbol of permanence, and out of all stones, black granite is one of the hardest and most durable. Jim Sardonis chose this stone for his sculpture, Reverence, to show the contrast between the stone’s permanence and whales’ threatened survival.

38. Modeling
Modeling, in sculpture, is the shaping of some plastic material, such as clay or plaster. (Plastic is used here as an adjective, meaning a material that is capable of adapting to varying conditions.)
Ceramics: any work that is made out of clay.
Firing refers to “baking” ceramics to a high temperature to allow the material to become hard and waterproof.
A kiln is the special oven used for firing ceramics.

39. Robert Arneson, Case of Bottles, 1964
Robert Arneson, Case of Bottles, Glazed ceramic (stoneware) and glass, 10½ x 22 x 15 inches.

40. Linda Ganstrom, Butterfly Effect. Stoneware ceramics, 2005.

41. Casting
Casting is a process where a liquid or molten material is poured into a mold, and allowed to harden. It is an invention of the Bronze Age (beginning around 2500 BCE). The process works similar to a gelatin mold. You pour gelatin into a mold, and let it harden. When you pop the gelatin out, it holds the shape of the dish it was in.
Lost-wax Casting Process: A method of casting hollow objects. This saves metal and allows the sculpture to be less heavy. The method was perfected by the Greeks.

42. Tomb of the emperor Qin Shihuangdi, 221-206 BCE
Tomb of the emperor Qin Shihuangdi, BCE. Painted ceramic figures, life-size. This enormous work decorates the tomb of the first emperor of China. It took more than 700,000 men to complete this work! The tomb contains more than 6,000 life-size, and extraordinarily life like ceramic figures of soldiers and horses. Each soldier contains individual characteristics!

43. Additional views, and detail of soldiers.
The body parts were cast by pouring liquid clay into molds, assembling different parts to make the soldiers look unique, and firing the clay so that the sculptures would become hard and durable.

44. The Lost-Wax Casting Process
The Lost-Wax Casting Process. The positive model (1) often created with clay, is used to make a negative mold (2). The mold is coated with wax, the wax shell is filled with a cool fireclay, and the mold is removed (3). Metal rods, to hold the shell in place, and wax rods, to vent the mold, are then added (4). The whole is placed in sand, and the wax is burned out (5). Molten bronze is poured in where the wax used to be. Then the bronze is hardened, the whole is removed from the sand, and the rods and vents are removed.

49. Auguste Rodin, The Burghers of Calais, 1884-85
Auguste Rodin, The Burghers of Calais, Bronze, 79⅜ x 80⅞ inches. This large work was cast in several pieces, then put back together again after they were cast in metal.

50. Nancy Graves, Variability and Repetition of Similar Forms, II, 1979
Nancy Graves, Variability and Repetition of Similar Forms, II, Bronze with pigmented wax patina on Cor-Ten steel base, 6 x 12 x 16 ft. The bronze was covered with a patina: a chemical compound applied to the bronze by the artist that forms a film or encrustation on the surface.

51. Luis Jiménez, Howl, Fiberglass and acrylic urethane, 60 x 29 x 29 inches. Bronze is traditionally the favorite material for casting, but other materials have become more available to artists, such as fiberglass, seen in this artwork.

52. Assemblage
Assemblage is the process of bringing individual objects or pieces together from a larger whole.
As a process, assemblage is more often associated with the transformation of common materials into art, in which the artist, rather than forming all of the parts that are put together, finds the parts in the world.

53. Louise Nevelson, Sky Cathedral, 1958
Louise Nevelson, Sky Cathedral, Assemblage: wood construction, painted black, 11ft. 3½in. x 10ft. X 18in. A giant assemblage of wooden boxes, wood working remnants and scraps, and found objects. It is frontal and functions as a high relief altarpiece.

54. Jeff Koons, Puppy, Stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants, 40 ft. 8¾ in. x 27 ft. 2¾ in. x 29 ft. 10¼ in.

55. Robert Gober, Untitled, Plaster, beeswax, human hair, cotton, leather, aluminum, and enamel. 33½ x 40 x 24 inches. The choices of materials in this assemblage, including actual body hair and clothes (socks) creates an eerie quality and fragility in the work.