Sculpture

I. Introductory Concepts.

A. In painting, line creates mass; in sculpture, mass creates line.

1. The drawn line (built-up, enclosing a space) creates a shape or mass on a two-dimensional plane.

2. The contour of a three-dimensional mass creates an implied line in the space in which it is situated.

B. The aesthetic subtext of sculpture.

1. Mass and space are in conversation with one another.

2. Mass and space together constitute the overall form.

3. Therefore, the spatial placement of the object, or mass, is just as important as the object itself.

C. Of the visual arts, sculpture is generally the most public. More often than not, sculpture is in public/corporate settings (public buildings, parks, etc.).

II. Types of Sculpture.

A. Full round: three-dimensional mass, one can walk around all sides.

B. Relief: cut into a flat surface, and yet still three-dimensional, as light creates various contours within it.

1. Bas relief: low relief.

2. Haute relief: high relief.

C. Linear: three dimensional, but mass is not the controlling element; constructed from linear shapes such as wire, tubing, fibers, etc.

D. Environmental: part of one's world into which one enters and interacts.

III. Methods of Sculptural Execution.

A. Subtraction: carving, chiseling.

B. Addition: welding, fastening.

C. Manipulation: modeling, reshaping a plastic substance, such as clay.

D. Substitution: replacing one substance with another, as in metal casting.

E. Found: the compilation of objects that already exist, either in nature or in technology.

F. Many if not most sculptural techniques involve a combination of two or more of these singular methods.

IV. Other Important Terms.

A. Contrapposto (“counter posture”).

B. Ephemeral: to exist in time as well as in space.

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