Sculpture is
three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard,
plastic material, wire, sound, text, light,
commonly
stone (either
rock or
marble), metal,
glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or
carving; others are assembled, built
together and
fired,
welded,
molded, or
cast. Sculptures are often
painted.
Because sculpture involves the use of
materials that can be moulded or modulated, it is
considered one of the
plastic arts. The
majority of
public art is sculpture. Many
sculptures together in a
garden setting may
be referred to as a
sculpture
garden.
Types of sculpture
Some common forms of sculpture are:
Materials of sculpture through history
Sculptors have generally sought to produce
works of art that are as permanent as possible,
working in durable and frequently expensive materials such as
bronze and stone: marble,
limestone,
porphyry, and
granite. More rarely, precious materials such as
gold,
silver,
jade, and
ivory were used for
chryselephantine works. More common and less expensive materials
were used for sculpture for wider consumption, including
glass,
hardwoods (such as
oak,
box/boxwood, and
lime/linden);
terracotta and other
ceramics, and cast metals such as
pewter and
zinc (spelter).
Sculptures are often
painted, but commonly
lose their paint to time, or restorers. Many different painting
techniques have been used in making sculpture, including
tempera, [oil painting], gilding, house paint,
aerosol, enamel and sandblasting.
Many sculptors seek new ways and materials to make art.
Jim Gary used
stained
glass and automobile parts, tools, machine parts, and hardware.
One of
Pablo Picasso's most famous
sculptures included
bicycle parts.
Alexander Calder and other modernists made
spectacular use of painted
steel. Since the
1960s,
acrylics and other plastics have
been used as well.
Andy Goldsworthy
makes his unusually ephemeral sculptures from almost entirely
natural materials in natural settings. Some sculpture, such as
ice sculpture,
sand sculpture, and
gas sculpture, is deliberately
short-lived.
Sculptors often build small preliminary works called
maquettes of ephemeral materials such as
plaster of Paris, wax, clay, or plasticine, as
Alfred Gilbert did for 'Eros' at
Piccadilly Circus, London. In
Retroarchaeology, these materials are
generally the end product.
Sculptors sometimes use
found
objects.
Asian
Many different forms of sculpture were used in
Asia, with many pieces being
religious art based around
Hinduism and
Buddhism
(
Buddhist art) and
greco-Buddhist art.
A great deal of
Cambodian
Hindu sculpture is preserved at Angkor
, however
organized looting has had a heavy impact on many sites around the
country. In Thailand, sculpture was almost exclusively of
Buddha images. Many Thai sculptures or temples are gilded, and on
occasion enriched with inlays. See also
Thai
art
India
The first
known sculptures are from the Indus Valley civilization
(3300–1700 BC), found in sites at Mohenjo-daro
and Harappa
in
modern-day Pakistan
.
These are among the earliest known instances of sculpture in the
world. Later, as
Hinduism,
Buddhism, and
Jainism
developed further, India produced bronzes and stone carvings of
great intricacy, such as the famous temple carvings which adorn
various Hindu, Jain and Buddhist shrines.
Some of these, such as
the cave temples of Ellora
and Ajanta
, are examples of Indian rock-cut architecture,
perhaps the largest and most ambitious sculptural schemes in the
world.
During the 2nd to 1st century BC in northern India, in what is now
southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures became more
anatomically realistic, often representing episodes of the life and
teachings of
Gautama Buddha. Although
India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich
iconography, the Buddha was never
represented in human form before this time, but only through
symbols such as the
stupa. This alteration in
style may have occurred because
Gandharan
Buddhist sculpture in ancient Afghanistan acquired
Greek and
Persian influence. Artistically, the Gandharan
school of sculpture is characterized by wavy hair, drapery covering
both shoulders, shoes and sandals, and
acanthus leaf
decorations, among other things.
The pink
sandstone sculptures of Mathura
evolved during the Gupta
Empire period (4th-6th century AD) to reach a very high
fineness of execution and delicacy in the modeling. Gupta
period art would later influence Chinese styles during the Sui
dynasty, and the artistic styles across the rest of
east Asia.
Newer sculptures in Afghanistan
, in stucco, schist or clay,
display very strong blending of Indian post-Gupta mannerism and
Classical influence. The celebrated bronzes of the
Chola dynasty (c. 850-1250) from
south India are of particular note; the iconic
figure of
Nataraja being the classic
example.
The traditions of Indian sculpture continue
into the 20th and 21st centuries with for instance, the granite
carving of Mahabalipuram
derived from the Pallava
dynasty. Contemporary Indian sculpture is typically
polymorphous but includes celebrated figures such as
Dhruva Mistry.
Image:Gandhara Buddha (tnm).jpeg|Buddhist, 1st-2nd century
ADImage:NatarajaMET.JPG|Hindu, Chola period, 1000
ADImage:VajraMudra.JPG|Buddhist, 2nd
centuryImage:Bronzes-Chola-1.jpg|Chola-ra bronze, 11th-12th
centuriesImage:Hoysala emblem.JPG|Hoysala emblemImage:13th century
Ganesha statue.jpg|13th century GaneshaImage:Siva and
Parvarti.jpg|Siva and ParvartiImage:Ellora Kailash temple Shiva
panel.jpg|Ellora Kailash temple
ShivaImage:Bhudevi.jpg|BhudeviImage:Shiva and Uma 14th
century.jpg|14th century sculptureImage:Khajuraho8.jpg| In
KhajurahoImage:Ellora cave16 001.jpg| in Ellora
caveImage:Parsurameswar_Temple6.jpg|Sculpture at Parsurameswar
Temple, BhubaneswarImage:Parsurameswar_Temple.jpg|Sculpture of
Dancing Woman at Parsurameswar TempleImage:Bishnu.jpg| Lord Bishnu
at Bhubaneswar
Image:Mukteswar_temple.jpg|A Sculpture in
Mukteswar temple, Bhubaneswar
China
Artifacts from China
date back as
early as 10,000 BC and skilled Chinese artisans had been active very early in history, but
the bulk of what is displayed as sculpture comes from a few select
historical periods. The first period of interest has been
the
Western Zhou Dynasty (1050-771 BC),
from which come a variety of intricate cast bronze vessels.
The next
period of interest was the Han Dynasty
(206 BC-220 AD), beginning with the spectacular Terracotta
Army
assembled for the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the important but short-lived Qin Dynasty that preceded the Han. Tombs
excavated from the Han period have revealed many figures found to
be vigorous, direct, and appealing 2000 years later.
The first
Buddhist sculpture is found dating from the Three Kingdoms period (3rd century), while
the sculpture of the Longmen Grottoes
near Luoyang
, Henan
Province
(Northern Wei, 5th and 6th century) has been
widely recognized for its special elegant
qualities.
The period now considered to be
China's golden age is the
Tang Dynasty, coinciding with what in Europe is
sometimes called the
Dark Ages).
Decorative figures like those shown below became very popular in
20th century Euro-American culture, and were made available in
bulk, as
warlords in the Chinese civil wars
exported them to raise cash. Considered especially desirable, and
even profound, was the Buddhist sculpture, often monumental, begun
in the Sui Dynasty, inspired by the Indian art of the Gupta period,
and many are considered treasures of world art.
Following the Tang, Western interest in Chinese artifacts drops off
dramatically, except for what might be considered as ornamental
furnishings, and especially objects in
jade.
Pottery from many periods has been collected, and again the Tang
period stands out apart for its free, easy feeling. Chinese
sculpture has no nudes—other perhaps than figures made for medical
training or practice—and very little portraiture compared with the
European tradition. One place where sculptural portraiture was
pursued, however, was in the monasteries.
Almost
nothing, other than jewelry, jade, or pottery is collected by art
museums after the Ming
Dynasty
ended in the late 17th century—and absolutely
nothing has yet been recognized as sculpture from the tumultuous
20th century, although there was a school of Soviet-influenced
social realist sculpture in the early decades of the Communist
regime, and as the century turned, Chinese craftsmen began to
dominate commercial sculpture genres (the collector plates,
figurines, toys, etc) and avant garde Chinese artists began to
participate in the Euro-American enterprise of contemporary
art.
Image:AIC-winejar2.jpg |Wine jar,
Western Zhou Dynasty (1050 BC-771
BC)Image:XianCavalryman.JPG|Calvalryman,
Qin
DynastyImage:TERRACOTTA ARMY @ Gdynia 2006 - 06
ubt.jpeg|Terracotta
Army soldier and horse from the Qin DynastyImage:AIC-chimera.jpg|Chimera
(from a tomb) ,
Han Dynasty (202 BC-220
AD)Image:AIC-hantomb.jpg|Tomb figure,
Han
Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD)Image:Wei-Maitreya.jpg|
Northern Wei Dynasty Maitreya (386-534)Image:AIC-tang-rider2.jpg
|
Tang Dynasty rider
(618-907)Image:AIC-tang-girl.jpg |
Tang
Dynasty girl figurine (618-907)Image:AIC-Boddhisatva-side.jpg
|Boddisatva,
Tang Dynasty
(618-907)Image:Mahayanabuddha.jpg|Seated
Buddha,
Tang
Dynasty ca. 650.
Image:Leshan Buddha Statue View.JPG|The
Leshan Giant
Buddha
, Tang Dynasty,
completed in 803.Image:AIC-portrait-monk.jpg |Portrait of
monk,
Song Dynasty, 11th
centuryImage:Song-Bodhisattva1.jpg|A wooden
Bodhisattva from the
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Image:SFEC BritMus
Asia 023.JPG|A glazed stoneware statue,
Ming
Dynasty (16th century)Image:Status of Kuan
Yin.jpg|Statue of Guanyin, by Chaozhong He,
Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644)Image:Underglaze blue statue of
man.jpg|Blue underglaze statue of a man with his pipe, from
Jingdezhen
, Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644)Image:Doctors lady.jpg|
Doctor's lady, mid-19th century
Japan
Countless paints and sculpture were made, often under governmental
sponsorship. Most Japanese sculpture is associated with religion,
and the medium' use declined with the lessening importance of
traditional Buddhism. During the Kofun period of the third century,
clay sculptures called
haniwa were erected
outside tombs.
Inside the Kondo at Hōryū-ji
is a Shaka Trinity (623), the historical Buddha
flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the Guardian Kings of the Four
Directions.The wooden image ( 9th c.) of Shakyamuni,
the "historic" Buddha, enshrined in a secondary building at the
Murō-ji
, is typical of the early Heian sculpture, with its ponderous body,
covered by thick drapery folds carved in the hompa-shiki
(rolling-wave) style, and its austere, withdrawn facial
expression. The Kei school of sculptors, particularly Unkei,
created a new, more realistic style of sculpture.
Africa
African art has an emphasis on Sculpture
- African artists tend to favor three-dimensional artworks over
two-dimensional works.
African sculptures
The style, key aesthetic characteristics, materials, and techniques
used in the creation of a piece of sculpture reflects the region
from which it originates. Sculptures often have unique functions
that vary widely from one geographical region to the next.
In West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok
culture of Nigeria, which dates around 500 BC. The figures of West
African sculptures typically have elongated bodies, angular shapes,
and facial features that represent an ideal rather than an
individual. These figures are used in religious rituals. They are
made to have surfaces that are often coated with materials placed
on them for ceremonial offerings. In contrast to these sculptures
of West Africa are the ones of Mande-speaking peoples of the same
region. The Mande pieces are made of wood and have broad, flat
surfaces. Their arms and legs are shaped like cylinders.
In Central Africa, however, the main distinguishing characteristics
include heart-shaped faces that are curved inward and display
patterns of circles and dots. Although some groups prefer more
geometric and angular facial forms, not all pieces are exactly the
same, nor are they made of the same material. The primary material
is wood, though ivory, bone, stone, clay, and metal are also used.
The Central African region has very striking styles that are very
easy to identify, making regional identification very easy.
Eastern Africans are not known for their sculpture, but, one type
that is created in this area is pole sculptures, which are poles
carved in human shapes, decorated with geometric forms, while the
tops are carved with figures of animals, people, and various
objects. These poles are, then, placed next to graves and are
associated with death and the ancestral world.
Southern Africa’s oldest known clay figures date from 400 to 600
A.D. and have cylindrical heads. These clay figures have a mixture
of human and animal features. Other than clay figures, there are
also wooden headrests that were buried with their owners. The
headrests had styles ranging from geometric shapes to animal
figures.Each region had a unique style and meaning to their
sculptures. The type of material and purpose for creating sculpture
in Africa reflect the region from which the pieces are
created.
Egypt
The
monumental sculpture of
Ancient Egypt is world-famous, but
refined and delicate small works are also a feature. The ancient
art of Egyptian sculpture evolved to represent the ancient Egyptian
gods, and Pharaohs, the divine kings and queens, in physical form.
Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues: male
statues were darker than the female ones; in seated statues, hands
were required to be placed on knees and specific rules governed
appearance of every Egyptian god. Artistic works were ranked
according to exact compliance with all the conventions, and the
conventions were followed so strictly that over three thousand
years, very little changed in the appearance of statues except
during a brief period during the rule of
Akhenaten and
Nefertiti
when naturalistic portrayal was encouraged.
The Americas
Sculpture
in what is now Latin America developed in two separate and distinct
areas, Mesoamerica in the north and
Peru
in the south. In both areas, sculpture was
initially of stone, and later of
terracotta and metal as the civilizations in
these areas became more technologically proficient. The
Mesoamerican region produced more monumental sculpture, from the
massive block-like works of the
Olmec and
Toltec cultures, to the superb low
reliefs that characterize the
Mayan and
Aztec
cultures. In the Andean region, sculptures were typically small,
but often show superb skill.
In North America, wood was sculpted for
totem poles, masks, utensils,
War canoes and a variety of other uses, with
distinct variation between different cultures and regions. The most
developed styles are those of the
Pacific Northwest Coast, where a group
of elaborate and highly-stylized formal styles developed forming
the basis of a vibrant tradition that is in a renaissance today
(see
Bill Reid) and has moved into other
mediums such as silver, gold and modern materials. The introduction
of metal tools introduced new carving techniques, including the use
of a
black type of
argillite, also called black slate, which is exclusive for use
by artists of the
Haida people.
In addition to the famous totem poles, painted and carved
house fronts were complemented by carved posts
inside and out, as well as mortuary figures and other items. Among
the
Inuit of the far north, traditional
carving styles in ivory and soapstone have been expanded through
the use of modern power tools into new directions for Inuit culture
which, like the art of the Northwest Coast, is highly prized by art
collectors for its plastic forms and innovative interpretation of
figure and story.
arrival of European Catholic culture readily adapted local skills
to the prevailing
Baroque style, producing
enormously elaborate
retablos and other
mostly church sculptures in a variety of hybrid styles.
The most
famous of such examples in Canada is the altar area of the Notre Dame
Basilica
in Montreal, Quebec, which was carved by peasant
habitant labourers. Later,
artists trained in the Western academic tradition followed European
styles until in the late nineteenth century they began to draw
again on indigenous influences, notably in the Mexican baroque
grotesque style known as
Churrigueresque.
Aboriginal peoples
also adapted church sculpture in variations on Carpenter Gothic; one famous example is the
Church of the Holy Cross in Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British
Columbia
.
The history of sculpture in the United States after Europeans'
arrival reflects the country's 18th-century foundation in
Roman republican civic values and
Protestant Christianity. Compared to areas
colonized by the Spanish, sculpture got off to an extremely slow
start in the British colonies, with next to no place in churches,
and was only given impetus by the need to assert nationality after
independence. American sculpture of the mid- to late-19th century
was often classical, often romantic, but showed a bent for a
dramatic, narrative, almost journalistic realism. Public buildings
during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of
the 20th century often provided an architectural setting for
sculpture, especially in relief. By the 1950s, traditional
sculpture education would almost be completely replaced by a
Bauhaus-influenced concern for
abstract design.
Minimalist sculpture replaced the figure in
public settings and architects almost completely stopped using
sculpture in or on their designs. Modern sculptors (21st century)
use both classical and abstract inspired designs. Beginning in the
1980s, there was a swing back toward figurative public sculpture;
by 2000, many of the new public pieces in the United States were
figurative in design.
Europe
The earliest European sculpture to date portrays a female
form, and has been estimated at dating from
35,000 years ago. The discovery in 2008 has caused experts to
revise the history of the development of art.
Greek-Roman-classical
Features unique to the European Classical tradition:
- full figures: using the young, athletic male or full-bodied
female nude
- portraits: showing signs of age and strong character
- use of classical costume and attributes of classical
deities
- Concern for naturalism based on observation, often from live
models.
Features that the European Classical tradition shares with many
others:
- characters present an attitude of distance and inner
contentment
- details do not disrupt a sense of rhythm between solid volumes
and the spaces that surround them
- pieces feel solid and larger than they really are
- ambient space feels sacred or timeless
The topic of Nudity
An unadorned figure in Greek classical sculpture was a reference to
the status or role of the depicted person, deity or other being.
Athletes, priestesses and gods could be identified by their
adornment or lack of it.
The
Renaissance preoccupation with Greek
classical imagery, such as the 5th century B.C.
Doryphoros of
Polykleitos, led to nude figurative statues
being seen as the 'perfect form' of representation for the human
body. Subsequently, nudity in sculpture and
painting has often represented a form of ideal, be
it innocence, openness or purity. Nude sculptures are still common.
As in painting, they are often made as exercises in efforts to
understand the
anatomical structure of the
human body and develop skills that will provide a foundation for
making clothed figurative work.
Nude statues are usually widely accepted by many societies, largely
due to the length of tradition that supports this form.
Occasionally, the nude form draws objections, often by moral or
religious groups.
Classic examples of this are the removal of
the parts of Greek sculpture corresponding to male genitals (in the
Vatican
collection), and the addition of a fig leaf to a
plaster cast of Michelangelo's
sculpture of David for Queen Victoria's visit to the
British
Museum
.
Gothic
Gothic sculpture, late 15th
century.
Gothic sculpture evolved from the early stiff and elongated style,
still partly Romanesque, into a spatial and naturalistic feel in
the late 12th and early 13th century.
The architectural
statues at the Western (Royal) Portal at Chartres
Cathedral
(c. 1145) are the earliest Gothic sculptures
and were a revolution in style and the model for a generation of
sculptors.
Prior to this there had been no sculpture
tradition in Ile-de-France
—so sculptors were brought in from Burgundy.
Bamberg
Cathedral
had the largest assemblage of 13th century
sculpture. In England sculpture was more confined to tombs
and non-figurine decorations. In Italy there was still a Classical
influence, but Gothic made inroads in the sculptures of pulpits
such as the Pisa Baptistery pulpit (1260) and the Siena pulpit
(1268). Dutch-Burgundian sculptor
Claus
Sluter and the taste for naturalism signaled the beginning of
the end of Gothic sculpture, evolving into the classicistic
Renaissance style by the end of the 15th century.
Renaissance
Although the Renaissance began at different times in various parts
of Europe (some areas created art longer in the Gothic style than
other areas) the transition from Gothic to Renaissance in Italy was
signalled by a trend toward naturalism with a nod to classical
sculpture. One of the most important sculptors in the classical
revival was
Donatello. The greatest
achievement of what art historians refer to as his classic period
is the bronze statue entitled
David (not to be confused
with Michelangelo's David), which is currently located at the
Bargello in Florence. At the time of its creation, it was the first
free-standing nude statue since ancient times. Conceived fully in
the round and independent of any architectural surroundings, it is
generally considered to be the first major work of Renaissance
sculpture. The movement affected all aspects of art, in all parts
of Italy; as represented by the conscious revival from
archaeological sources of the Antique dining table, by the great
sculptor
Tullio Lombardo, for the
Castello di Roncade in the Veneto (the house with the first
free-standing pediment since antiquity.)
During the main Renaissance, the time from about 1500 to 1520,
Michelangelo was an active sculptor
with works such as
David and the
Pietà, as well
as the
Doni Virgin,
Bacchus,
Moses,
Rachel,
Orgetorix, and members of the Medici
family.
Michelangelo's David
is possibly the most famous sculpture in the world,
which was unveiled on September 8, 1504. It is an example of
the
contrapposto style of posing the
human figure, which again borrows from classical sculpture.
Michelangelo's statue of David differs from previous
representations of the subject in that David is depicted before his
battle with Goliath and not after the giant's defeat. Instead of
being shown victorious over a foe much larger than he, David looks
tense and battle ready.
Mannerist
the Mannerist period, more abstract representations were praised,
(such as the "figura serpentinata" or "twisted figure") giving more
thought to color and composition rather than realistic portrayal of
the subjects in the piece. This is exemplified in
Giambologna's Abduction/Rape of the Sabine
Women, where the figures are not positioned in a way which is at
all comfortable, or even humanly possible, but the position and
emotion still come across. Another exemplar of the form is
Benvenuto Cellini's 1540
salt cellar of gold and ebony, featuring
Neptune and
Amphitrite (earth and water) in elongated form
and uncomfortable positions (implausible poses).
Baroque
Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and
there was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms— they
spiralled around an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into
the surrounding space. For the first time, Baroque sculpture often
had multiple ideal viewing angles. The characteristic Baroque
sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for example, concealed
lighting, or water fountains. Often, Baroque artists fused
sculpture and architecture seeking to create a transformative
experience for the viewer.
Gian
Lorenzo Bernini was undoubtedly the most important sculptor of
the Baroque period. His works were inspired by Hellenistic
sculpture of Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome. One of his most
famous works is
The
Ecstasy of St Theresa (1647-1652).
Neo-Classical
The Neoclassical period (c.1750-1850) was one of the great ages of
public sculpture, though its "classical" prototypes were more
likely to be Roman copies of Hellenistic sculptures. In sculpture,
the most familiar representatives are the Italian
Antonio Canova, the Englishman
John Flaxman and the Dane
Bertel Thorvaldsen. The European
neoclassical manner also took hold in the United States, where its
pinnacle occurred somewhat later and is exemplified in the
sculptures of
Hiram Powers.
Modern Classicism
Modern Classicism contrasted in many ways with theclassical
sculpture of the 19th century which was characterized by
commitments to naturalism (
Antoine-Louis Barye) -- the melodramatic
(
François Rude) sentimentality
(
Jean Baptiste Carpeaux)-- or
a kind of stately grandiosity (
Lord
Leighton) Several different directions in the classical
tradition were taken as the century turned, but the study of the
live model and the post-Renaissance tradition was still fundamental
to them.
Auguste Rodin was the most renowned
European sculptor of the early 20th century. He is often considered
a sculptural
Impressionist, as are
Medardo Rosso, Count Troubetski,
Rik Wouters, and
Hugo Rheinhold, attempting to model of a
fleeting moment of ordinary life.
Modern Classicism showed a lesser interest in naturalism and a
greater interest in formal stylization. Greater attention was paid
to the rhythms of volumes and spaces - as well as greater attention
to the contrasting qualities of surface (open, closed, planar,
broken etc) while less attention was paid to story-telling and
convincing details of anatomy or costume. Greater attention was
given to psychological effect than to physical realism. Greater
attention was given to showing what was eternal and public, rather
than what was momentary and private. Greater attention was given to
examples of ancient and Medieval sacred arts:Egyptian, Middle
Eastern, Asian, African, and Meso-American. Grandiosity was still a
concern, but in a broader, more worldwide context.
Early masters of modern classicism included:
Aristide Maillol,
Alexander Matveev,
Joseph Bernard,
Antoine Bourdelle,
Georg Kolbe,
Libero
Andreotti,
Gustav Vigeland,
Jan Stursa,
Constantin Brancusi.
As the century progressed, modern classicism was adopted as the
national style of the two great European totalitarian empires: Nazi
Germany and Soviet Russia, who co-opted the work of early masters,
like Kolbe and
Arno Breker in Germany,
and Matveev in Russia. Nazi Germany had a 15-year run; but over the
70 years of the USSR, new generations of sculptors were trained and
chosen within their system, and a distinct style,
socialist realism, developed, that
returned to the 19th century's emphasis on melodrama and
naturalism.
Classical training was rooted out of art education in Western
Europe (and the Americas) by 1970 and the classical variants of the
20th century were marginalized in the history of modernism. But
classicism continued as the foundation of art education in the
Soviet academies until 1990, providing a foundation for expressive
figurative art throughout eastern Europe and parts of the Middle
East. By the year 2000, the European classical tradition maintains
a wide appeal to viewers - especially tourists - and especially for
the ancient, Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th century periods—but
awaits an educational tradition to revive its contemporary
development.
In the
rest of Europe, and the United States
the modern classical became either more
decorative/art deco (Paul Manship,
Jose de Creeft, Carl Milles) or more abstractly stylized or more
expressive (and Gothic) (Anton Hanak,
Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Ernst Barlach, Arturo Martini) -- or turned more to the
Renaissance (Giacomo Manzù,
Venanzo Crocetti) or stayed the
same (Charles Despiau, Marcel Gimond).
Modernism
In the early days of the 20th century
Pablo Picasso revolutionized the art of
sculpture when he began creating his
constructions
fashioned by combining disparate objects and materials into one
constructed piece of sculpture, - by addition. Picasso reinvented
the art of sculpture with his innovative use of constructing a work
in three dimensions with disparate material. Just as collage was a
radical development in two dimensional art; so was
construction a radical development in three dimensional
sculpture. The advent of
Surrealism lead
to things occasionally being described as "sculpture" that would
not have been so previously, such as "involuntary sculpture" in
several senses, including
coulage. In later
years
Pablo Picasso became a prolific
ceramicist, revolutionizing the way
Ceramic art is perceived.
George E. Ohr and
more contemporary sculptors like
Peter
Voulkos,
Kenneth Price and others
have effectively used ceramics as an important integral medium for
their work.
Similarly, the work of
Constantin Brâncuşi at the
beginning of the century paved the way for later abstract
sculpture. In revolt against the naturalism of Rodin and his late
19th century contemporaries, Brancusi distilled subjects down to
their essences as illustrated by his
Bird
in Space (1924) series. These elegantly refined forms became
synonymous with 20th century sculpture. In 1927, Brancusi won a
lawsuit against the U.S. customs authorities who attempted to value
his sculpture as raw metal. The suit led to legal changes
permitting the importation of abstract art free of duty.
Brancusi's impact, with his vocabulary of reduction and
abstraction, is seen throughout the 1930's and 1940's, and
exemplified by artists such as
Gaston
Lachaise,
Sir Jacob Epstein,
Henry Moore,
Alberto Giacometti,
Joan Miró,
Julio González,
Jacques Lipchitz and later in the century
by
Carl Andre and
John Safer who added motion and monumentality to
the theme of purity of line.
Eventually artists like
Isamu Noguchi,
David Smith,
Alexander Calder,
Jean Tinguely,
Richard Lippold,
George Rickey Louise Bourgeois and
Louise Nevelson came to characterize the
look of modern sculpture. By the 1960s
Abstract expressionism,
Geometric abstraction and
Minimalism as exemplified by the Cubi's of
David Smith, and the welded
steel work of
Sir Anthony Caro, the
large scale work of
John
Chamberlain, and
Mark di Suvero,
and the
Minimalist works by
Tony Smith,
Robert Morris,
Donald Judd,
Larry Bell,
Anne
Truitt,
Richard Serra,
Dan Flavin and others led contemporary abstract
sculpture in new directions.
Since the 1950s
Modernist trends in
sculpture both abstract and figurative have dominated the public
imagination and the popularity of Modernist sculpture has all but
eliminated the traditional approach. During the 1960s and 1970s
figurative sculpture by modernist artists as stylized as
Leonard Baskin,
Ernest Trova,
Marisol Escobar, Paul Thek and
Manuel Neri became popular, and by the 1980s the
painter
Fernando Botero emerged with
monumental figures reminiscent of the fat characters in his
paintings.
Picasso was
commissioned to make a maquette for a huge
-high public sculpture to be built in
Chicago
, known usually as the Chicago
Picasso
. He approached the project with a great
deal of enthusiasm, designing a sculpture which was ambiguous and
somewhat controversial. What the figure represents is not known; it
could be a bird, a horse, a woman or a totally abstract shape. The
sculpture, one of the most recognizable landmarks in downtown
Chicago, was unveiled in 1967. Picasso refused to be paid $100,000
for it, donating it to the people of the city.
During the late 1950s and the 1960s abstract sculptors began
experimenting with a wide array of new materials and different
approaches to creating their work. Surrealist imagery,
anthropomorphic abstraction, new materials and combinations of new
energy sources and varied surfaces and objects became
characteristic of much new modernist sculpture.
Modernist sculpture movements include
Geometric abstraction,
De Stijl,
Suprematism,
Constructivism,
Dadaism,
Cubism,
Surrealism,
Futurism,
Minimalism,
Formalism Abstract expressionism,
Pop-Art, and
Installation art among others.
Gallery of Modernist sculpture
Image:Gaston lachaise floating
figure.jpg|Gaston Lachaise,
Floating Figure 1927, bronze, no. 5 from an edition of 7,
National
Gallery of Australia
File:JacobEpstein DayAndNight.jpg|
Jacob Epstein,
Day and Night, carved
for the
London Underground's
headquarters, 1928.Image:Cactus Man - González.jpg|
Julio González,
Monsieur
Cactus, 1939.File:Jacques Lipchitz, Birth of the Muses
(1944-1950), MIT Campus.JPG|
Jacques
Lipchitz, "Birth of the Muses", (1944-1950).
Image:Moore
ThreePieceRecliningFigureNo1 1961.jpg|Henry
Moore, Three Piece Reclining figure No.1, 1961,
Yorkshire
Image:2004-09-07 1800x2400 chicago
picasso.jpg|Pablo Picasso, Public
Sculpture, 1967, Chicago, Illinois
Image:104_0422.JPG|Isamu Noguchi, Heimar, 1968, at the
Billy Rose Sculpture Garden, Israel Museum
, Jerusalem
, Israel
Image:George Rickey Ri10.gif|George Rickey, Four Squares in
Geviert, 1969, terrace of the New National Gallery
, Berlin,
Germany
Image:caro_1974.jpg|Sir Anthony Caro, Black Cover
Flat, 1974, steel, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Image:Judd ohneTitel.jpg|Donald Judd, Untitled 1977, Münster
, Germany
Image:Dona i Ocell.JPG|Joan Miró, Woman and Bird, 1982,
Barcelona,
Spain
Image:RichardSerra Fulcrum2.jpg|Richard Serra, Fulcrum 1987, 55 ft
high free standing sculpture of Cor-ten
steel near Liverpool Street station
, London
Postminimalism
Bill Bollinger,
Eva Hesse,
Sol LeWitt, Jackie Winsor,
Keith Sonnier,
Bruce
Nauman,
Lucas Samaras, and
Robert Smithson among others were
pioneers of
Postminimalist
sculpture.
Also during the 1960s and 1970s artists as diverse as Stephen
Antonakis,
Chryssa,
Walter De Maria,
Dan
Flavin,
Robert Smithson,
Robert Irwin,
Claes Oldenburg,
George Segal,
Edward Kienholz,
Duane Hanson, and
John
DeAndrea explored abstraction, imagery and figuration through
Light sculpture, and
installation art in new ways.
Readymade
The term found art — more commonly found object (French: objet
trouvé) or readymade — describes art created from the undisguised,
but often modified, use of objects that are not normally considered
art, often because they already have a mundane, utilitarian
function. Marcel Duchamp was the originator of this in the early
20th-century with pieces such as
Fountain.
Conceptual Art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved
in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material
concerns. Works include
One and
Three Chairs, 1965, is by
Joseph
Kosuth, and
An Oak Tree by
Michael Craig-Martin.
Post-modernism
Post-modern sculpture occupies a broader field of activities than
Modernist sculpture, as Rosalind Krauss has observed. Her idea of
sculpture in the expanded field identified a series of
oppositions that describe the various sculpture-like activities
that are post-modern sculpture:
- Site-Construction is the intersection of
landscape and architecture
- Axiomatic Structures is the combination of
architecture and not-architecture
- Marked sites is the combination of landscape
and not-landscape
- Sculpture is the intersection of not-landscape
and not-architecture
Krauss' concern was creating a theoretical explanation that could
adequately fit the developments of
Land
art,
Minimalist sculpture, and
Site-specific art into the
category of
sculpture. To do this, her explanation created
a series of oppositions around the work's relationship to its
environment.
Contemporary genres
Some modern sculpture forms are now practiced outdoors, and often
in full view of spectators, thus giving them kinship to
performance art in the eyes of some.
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture
that uses ice as the raw material. It's popular in China, Japan,
Canada, Sweden, and Russia. Ice sculptures feature decoratively in
some cuisines, especially in Asia.
Kinetic sculptures are sculptures that are
designed to move, which include
Mobiles.
Snow
sculptures are usually carved out of a single block of snow
about 6 to on each side and weighing about 20 - 30 tons. The snow
is densely packed into a form after having been produced by
artificial means or collected from the ground after a snowfall.
Sound sculptures take the form of
indoor sound installations, outdoor installations such as aeolian
harps, automatons, or be more or less near conventional musical
instruments. Sound sculpture is often site-specific. A
Sand castle can be regarded as a sand
sculpture.
Weightless Sculpture
(in outer space) as a concept is created in 1985 by the Dutch
artist
Martin Sjardijn.
Lego brick sculpting involves the use of common Lego
bricks to build realistic or artistic sculptures sometimes using
hundreds of thousands of bricks.
Art toys
have become an important format for contemporary artists since the
late 1990s, such as those produced by
Kid
Robot, designed by
Michael Lau, or
hand-made by
Michael
Leavitt .
Social status
Worldwide, sculptors have usually been tradesmen whose work is
unsigned. But in the
Classical
world, many
Ancient Greek
sculptors like
Phidias began to receive
individual recognition in Periclean Athens, and became famous and
presumably wealthy. In the
Middle Ages,
artists like the 12th century
Gislebertus sometimes signed their work, and
were sought after by different cities, especially from the
Trecento onwards in Italy, with figures like
Arnolfo di Cambio,
Nicola Pisano and his son
Giovanni. Many sculptors also practised in
other arts, sometimes painting, like
Andrea del Verrocchio, or
architecture, like
Giovanni Pisano, Michelangelo, or
Jacopo Sansovino, and maintained large
workshops.
From the
High Renaissance artists
like
Michelangelo,
Leone Leoni and
Giambologna could become wealthy, and ennobled,
and enter the circle of princes. Much decorative sculpture on
buildings remained a trade, but sculptors producing individual
pieces were recognised on a level with painters. From at least the
18th century, sculpture also attracted middle-class students,
although it was slower to do so than painting. Equally women
sculptors took longer to appear than women painters, and have
generally been less prominent until the 20th century at
least.
Techniques
Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity
where pieces of rough natural
stone
are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the
permanence of the
material, evidence can be
found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of
stone work.
Petroglyphs (also called rock
engravings) are perhaps the earliest form:
images created by removing part of a
rock surface which remains
in situ,
by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading.
Monumental sculpture covers large
works, and architectural sculpture, which is attached to buildings.
Hardstone carving is the carving
for artistic purposes of
semi-precious
stones such as
jade,
agate,
onyx,
rock crystal,
sard or
carnelian, and a general term for an
object made in this way.
Engraved gems
are small carved gems, including
cameos, originally used as
seal rings.
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for
cast metal
sculptures; a
cast
bronze sculpture is often
called simply a "bronze". Common bronze alloys have the unusual and
desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus
filling the finest details of a mold. Their strength and lack of
brittleness (ductility) is an advantage when figures in action are
to be created, especially when compared to various
ceramic or stone materials (see
marble sculpture for several
examples).
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood
by means of a cutting tool held in the hand (this may be a power
tool), resulting in a wooden figure or figurine (this may be
abstract in nature) or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden
object.
Casting
Casting is a manufacturing process by which
a liquid material is (usually) poured into a mold, which contains a
hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify.
The solid casting is then ejected or broken out to complete the
process. Casting may be used to form hot liquid metals or various
materials that
cold set after mixing of components (such
as
epoxies,
concrete,
plaster and
clay). Casting is most often used for making
complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to
make by other methods.
Casting is a 6,000-year-old process. The oldest surviving casting
is a copper frog from 3200 BC. The casting process is subdivided
into two distinct subgroups: expendable and non-expendable mold
casting.
Conservation
Sculptures are sensitive to environmental conditions such as
temperature,
humidity and exposure to light and
ultraviolet light.
Acid rain can also cause damage to certain
building materials and historical monuments. This results when the
sulfuric acid in the rain chemically
reacts with the calcium compounds in the stones (limestone,
sandstone, marble and granite) to create
gypsum, which then flakes off.
Similar arts
Other arts which are related to sculpture:
See also
References
- Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical
Antiquity September 22, 2007 Through January 20, 2008, The Arthur
M. Sackler Museum
- Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical
Antiquity September 22, 2007 Through January 20, 2008, The Arthur
M. Sackler Museum
- http://www.sculpturepainted.com/philosophy.html
- http://www.flashpointmag.com/sculptur.htm
- Castedo, Leopoldo, A History of Latin American Art and
architecture, Frederick A. Praeger, Publisher, New York,
1969
- Neumeyer, Alfred, The Indian Contribution to Architectural
Decoration in Spanish Colonial America. The Art
Bulletin, June 1948, Volume XXX, Number two
- Visual arts in the 20th century, Author Edward Lucie-Smith,
Edition illustrated, Publisher Harry N. Abrams, 1997,Original from
the University of Michigan,ISBN 0810939347, 9780810939349
- Constantin Brancusi , Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition,
2008
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Constantin_Brancusi.aspx
- The Oxford dictionary of American art and artists, Author Ann
Lee Morgan, Publisher Oxford University Press, 2007,Original from
the University of Michigan,ISBN 0195128788, 9780195128789
- National Air and Space Museum Receives "Ascent" Sculpture for
display at Udvar-Hazy Center
http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/pressroom/releaseDetail.cfm?releaseID=49
- "Art Army by Michael Leavitt", hypediss.com[1], December 13, 2006.
- .
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