What is Sculpture?

Sculpture is the act and art of making three-dimensional works of art such as statues.  It is an artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials. Softer materials can also be used such as plastic, clay and polymer. There are many different types of sculptures some examples are relief, free-standing, linear, kinetic, and assemblage.  Sculpture is one of the oldest art forms and its history can stretch back from early civilization.  Over the years the styles of sculptures have changed into different types and are now starting to reflect the current trends of the period.  The methods that are used in sculpture to reflect the time periods are known as carving, modeling, casting, and construction.  In Reality through the Arts Dennis J. Sporre calls these methods subtraction, substitution and manipulation (70). The video below shows a head being sculptured and the man is demonstrating all the methods of sculpture and how it turns out in the end. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GH5Eri5pGW0

Relief Sculpture

Relief sculpture is three-dimensional but since it is attached to a background it portrays a two-dimensional feature. Relief in itself can be broken down into three major types they are bas-relief, alto-relief and sunken-relief.  Sporre stated that the sculptors “have a free choice of subjects and need not worry about their positions or supports” (69). The three types of relief explain Sporres argument.  Bas-relief barley extends past the base; the figures project partially from the background you can see it in Roman and Greek buildings.  Alto-relief has a high degree of relief, in which the figurines stand out from the background to half of their natural depth.  Egyptians are known for their sculptures on their temples of the ancient pharaohs.  Sunken-relief is an image carved onto the base itself and has a negative degree of relief.  The image below shows the three types of relief that Sporre talks about. 



http://www.vroma.org/images/raia_images/marsaltar.jpg

Free-standing Sculpture

Free-standing sculpture also known as full-round is any work that shows the full surroundings of all sides, you are able to see the sculpture from any view and any angle.  Free-standing means that it is surround on all sides by space, it is the opposite of relief.  Example of free-standing sculpture used in the text is Michelangelo’s David. The image below is an example of Free-standing sculpture. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Nike_of_Samothrace_in_the_Louvre.jpg

Linear Sculpture

According to Sporre linear sculpture emphasizes construction with linear items such as wire or neon tubing (70).  A linear sculpture can be described as a curved out image which shows the usage of tubular items. One example of a linear sculpture found in Reality through the Arts is Alexander Calder, Eleven Polychrome.   The image below is an example of Linear Sculpture. 

http://haydndaviessculptor.ca/Images/Thumbs/linearThumb.jpg

Kinetic Sculpture

Kinetic sculpture is free-standing sculpture that moves, either by mechanical power or under the power of wind or water.  It is a type of art that has any moving parts or depends on motion for its effect.  The sculptures move only by the release of energy it is not motor, or battery.  Assemblage is sculpture pieced together from found or scavenged items that have little or no relationship to one another. Collages represent a two-dimensional assemblage sculpture. The picture below is an example of  free-standing sculpture. 





http://www.cornermark.com/images2/Geomertric_Stratum_Boynton.jpg

Method of Execution

Sculptors have different techniques that they used in order to achieve their work.  They are known as subtraction, construction, substitution or manipulation.  In the text Sporre describes these methods in great depth.  The first one Sporre talks about is subtraction it usually begins with a large block, made of wood or stone and the sculptor starts to cut away the unwanted material (70).  Subtraction is also known as carving; the artist subtracts away solid material to get it to the desired form.  Once the artist is ready to starting sculpturing him or she carves about three inches of the work with the help of tools and begins cutting out the material to its form and finishes by polishing it. The video below will show all the methods of sculpture. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=As3l1I5vumY

Construction

When using the method of construction it is the same as assemblage where the sculptor starts with raw material and keeps on adding different elements to create the sculpture. The materials for the construction method can be plastic, metal, steel, wood or aluminum and what the artist does is combines it all together. The picture below shows a sculpture of assemblage. 

http://www.quicksilvermineco.com/shows/monty/images/heartleyb.jpg

Casting

Substitution method is also called casting and it’s when an artist creates a sculpture from soft substances such as; plastic, molten, wax, or clay and it gets turn into a solid state. The artist can start by making a mold and putting in durable material to get a form.  Most sculptors fill the cast with a molten metal such as bronze and when the metal cools the sculpture it ready.  A method for casting that Sporre talks about is called lost wax, “the artist creates the basic mold by using a wax model, which he or she melts to leave the desired space in the mold” (72). The first step the artist does is creates a wax model of the original sculpture it is then covered with a layer of wax. Wax rods which are gates are attached to the wax casting in the right positions.  This next step is the wax casting is dipped into investment liquid several times, the first dip involves a fine powered which is applied. On the next dip of course, ceramic sand will be applied. This step is repeated several times, each increasing the coarseness of the material to create the ceramic mold. Between each dip, the ceramic layer must dry before another layer can be applied.  As soon as the molten metal has dried the clay can be removed. This video below is about 6 minutes long and it shows a method that Sporre talks about which is Lost Wax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uPgEIM-NbhQ#t=6s

Modeling

In the text Sporre calls this technique manipulation but it can also be called modeling which is the process of manipulating soft materials to create a three-dimensional form (72).  Unlike carving, modeling requires soft substances that can be easily and rapidly shaped by the sculptor's hands. The soft materials that can be used are clay, wax, or plaster. The picture below shows a man modeling a face sculpture. 

http://www.tsos.org/news/2006/0601_lucchesi.jpg 

Works Cited

Sporre, Dennis J. Reality through the Arts. London: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497046/relief

http://www.ehow.com/info_8106828_four-different-kinds-art-sculptures.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_8507873_four-basic-methods-making-sculpture.html