1.(Ursula von Rydingsvard) https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s4/ursula-von-rydingsvard-in-ecology-segment/ 2.( Judy Pfaff ) https://art21.org/watch

sculpture into two basic processes. Subtractive and Additive. When you start with a

large chunk of something - wood, stone for example and you remove material then it’s

subtractive. In additive process you add material as you work - that could be adding

clay, or as in Fig 12-1 in your book by Sarah Sze, adding bits of things into a space. The

same also applies to this image from Richard Serra - he added pieces of rolled steel to

form these large objects.

In addition to additive and subtractive process, your book describes sculptures as

falling into one of “Three Forms of Sculptural Space.” Relief, in-the-round, or environ -

ments. First let’s look at relief.

They can be low relief where the surface is only barely carved. A mid-relief which is

carved a bit deeper. Or, a high relief, which is very deep and often has 3d elements in

the surface. There is also a type of sunk-relief which is distinct to ancient Egypt. This is

a frieze (pg. 276), it’s a sculptural band often incorporated into architecture. Here is a

stack of them.

The next form of sculptural space is in-the-round. And, that literally means an object

that you can walk around. Like this by Doris Salcedo. Or, these sculptures by Liza Lou

- which you may recognize as the make of the image on the home page of this class!

These are really complex objects made out of seed beads.

The last of the three forms of sculptural space is Environments. They are sculptural

spaces which you can physically enter into. Your book breaks these down into two

different categories. When an environment in indoors, it’s called an Installation. When

it’s outside, it’s called an Earthwork. This piece by Annette Messager is indoors, so it’s

an installation. These are hanging fabric body parts and organs that you get to walk

around. This is an installation by Antony Gormly and it grows to fill an entire interior

space. He also did this piece which is outdoors, so it’s an earthwork. These are cast

metal figures. An earthwork by Louise Bourgeois.

Now your book talks about how a sculpture is made. One subtractive process is carv -

ing, like stone. This is one of Michelangelo’s slaves in a series of 6. They lead up to the

David sculpture in the Academia in Florence, Italy. His pose is important here. Look on

page 281, there’s a term, Contrapposto.

That’s when the weight falls on one foot, raising the corresponding hip. It was an im -

portant development in figurative sculpture to give a more life-like appearance.

I threw in a couple of images of work made in contemporary methods - this is subtrac -

tive method using high density foam. Artists are able to build very large scale works

relatively quickly by stacking carved foam blocks on top of one another

Modeling is another method of building a sculpture. Your book uses the Terra Cotta

Soldiers as a great example. This was the tomb of a great Chinese emperor/warrior. It

makes sense that you would bring your army with you to the afterlife. All these figures

are hand modeled out of clay. A modern day method of modeling (or additive process)

would be a rapid prototype machine, or a 3d printer. The 3d printer builds a form by

adding layers of wax, plastic, or metal.

chapter 12 - sculpture Casting (pg. 283) involves a mold and filling a cavity with molten metal. It’s one of the

oldest art forms, and there are examples from all over the world. These are relatively

more recent though. This is one of many Heads of the Oba from central Africa. These

pieces were made during a really technologically advanced moment in metal casting.

You can also cast plastic, like these pieces by Roxy Paine. Or plaster, or resin (plastic)

like Rachel Whiteread. She casts the negative space in and around objects.

Assemblage (page 286) is the process of bringing individual objects or pieces together

to form a larger whole. As in these piece by Robert Gober. Or these by Eva Hesse.

I added a few more examples of Installations and Earthworks here at the end.