Sculpture

Sculpture means a work of art that is primarily 3D. Sculpture can be made of many different materials in various ways. Sculpture, like other arts forms, can be realistic or abstract, figurative or conceptual, or loose or tight.

Various words describe the general categories of sculpture such as:

Additive: This means that the sculpture is built up by adding things or building up
Subtractive: The sculptor starts with a block of something and takes away slices until the sculpture emerges.
Cast: Cast sculptures are made by making a model in wax. The artist covers the wax in plaster and melts the wax away. This makes a mold of the sculpture into which the sculptor pours hot metal. When the metal hardens, the plaster is removed and the sculpture is left.
In-the-Round: This means that it is a free-standing piece of sculpture. To remember this term, think about being able to walk around it
Relief: This means that it is carved on a flat surface. It has depth and implies or gives the illusion of more depth than there is actually. Another name for this is bas relief (pronounced bah-relief)
Environmental: Uses things in nature to make a statement about nature. In this case, Christo wrapped the islands in pink. The Earth as a medium.

You might want to make word strips of these words or write them on the board. Sculpture is made of stone, wood, metal, concrete, clay, recycled materials, mixed media or other innovative materials. Show the examples below to demonstrate the different types of sculpture. 7. *10.

Sample Projects:

Complementary Color Paper Sculpture (2nd Grade) art lesson.
Oldenburg Inspired Donuts (2nd Grade) art lesson.
Lucha Libre Masks (4th Grade) art lesson.
Assemblage Sculptures (5th Grade) art lesson.
Recycled Cubist Sculpture (5th Grade) art lesson.
Sculptured Mountains (5th Grade) art lesson.
Make a piñata using balloons or boxes for your bases. Flour and water make the paste for slathering on strips of newsprint which can be made into any shape. Encourage them to really stretch their imaginations!
Make a junk sculpture. For a week or so before your lesson, ask the students to bring in junk from home (big or small). Depending on how much junk you get, divide into groups to build a sculpture with tape, duct tape, nails, glue guns, etc. Have a “gallery showing” of their art where they explain what they made.

Examples of Artwork:

Stele of Hegesos, 410, (Greek), Relief.

Heavenly Guardian, Spirit Road of Shenzongemp, 1085, (Chinese), In-the-Round.

Canopiclegerdomain, Nancy Graves, 1990,Additive.

Mayan Relief Copa,n 6-900 ad. Subtractive.

Chinese Diety, 8th c. Cast bronze.

Wrapped Islands, Christo, (American). Environmental work.

*Beginning with this work, see if they can tell what processes are used (there is usually more than one. For instance, it can be both Subtractive and Relief.) This is Mali Headresses Chiwara Kun 19th c. (wood). Subtractive, In-the-Round.

Throne of Maximian, 6th c.( Ravenna ivory). Subtractive, Relief.

David Bernini, 1623, (Italian). Subtractive, In-the-Round.

Degas Dancer sculpture
The Little Dancer, Rodin, 1881. Cast, In-the-Round, Additive.

On the Road to Emmeus, Silos Abbey, (Spain), 11th c. Subtractive, In-the-Round.

sculpture long term parking by Arman
Long Term Parking, Arman, (American), 1982. Additive, In-the-Round.

Tourists, Duane Hansen, (1970). Additive, In-the-Round.

Colleoni, 1487, Verocchio (Italian). Cast, In-the-Round.

Seti Egyptian sculpture
Seti I, Offering Temple of Seti, Abydos 1300 bc (Egyptian). Subtractive, In-the-Round.

Spiral Jetty Great Salt Lake, Smithson 1969, (American), Environmental.

man pointing sculpture
Man Pointing, Giacometti, 1847, (Italian). Additive, In-the-Round. (could be cast as well).

Gate Guardian Sumerian sculpture
Gate Guardian, Khorsabad, 720 bc. (Sumerian). Subtractive, Relief.

Cycladic Head 200 (Greek) Subtractive, In-the-Round.

Meridian Barbara Hepworth 1958 (British) Cast, In-the-Round.

Ludovisi Sarcophagus, 3rd c. ad. (Rome). Relief, Subtractive.

Pieta Michelangelo sculpture
Pieta ,Michelangelo, 1499, (Italian), Subtractive, In-the-Round

Profitrole, Claus Oldenburg, 1989. Additive, In-the-Round.

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