Prebles' Artforms
An Introduction to the Visual Arts
ELEVENTH EDITION
CHAPTER
12
Sculpture
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
1. Distinguish sculpture as three-dimensional art
that viewers examine from multiple
perspectives.
2. Compare examples of freestanding and relief
sculpture.
3. Describe additive, subtractive, and constructive
techniques used to make sculpture.
4. Identify materials used in sculpture including
kinetic and mixed media works.
5. Discuss the use of installation and site-specific
art to transform their surroundings.
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Introduction
• Martin Puryear, C.F.A.O.
 Unpainted stack of wood on one side
 Large, curving shape based on an
elongated African mask on the other
• Sculpture is a work in three
dimensions.
 Height, breadth, depth
 Experience existing in space
 Two main types: freestanding and relief
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Discovering Art:
Sculpture
Martin Puryear. C.F.A.O. 2006–2007.
Painted and unpainted pine and found wheelbarrow. 8'5" ×
6'5-1/2" × 61".
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Courtesy of the McKee
Gallery. Photo Richard Goodbody. [Fig. 12-1]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Freestanding and Relief Sculpture
• Freestanding or in-the-round
 Sculpture meant to be seen from all
sides
• Relief
 Sculpture projects from a background
surface
 Low-relief (bas relief)
• Slight projection
• The Apollo coin
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Apollo. c. 415 BCE.
Greek silver coin. Diameter 1-1/8".
Hirmer Fotoarchiv. [Fig. 12-2]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Freestanding and Relief Sculpture
• Relief
 Low-relief (bas relief)
• Temple complex of Angkor Wat, the
center of Khmer empire in 12th century
• Army on the March
- Delicate low relief carving
 High-relief
• More than half of the natural
circumference projects from surface
• Corporate Wars: Wall of Influence
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Army on the March. 1100–1150.
Sandstone.
Relief from Angkor Wat, The Great Temple of the Khmers, Cambodia. Time & Life
Pictures/Getty Images. [Fig. 12-3]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Video: Studio Technique:
Sculpture Carving (Relief)
Robert Longo. Corporate Wars: Wall of Influence, middle
portion. 1982.
Cast aluminum. 7'× 9'.
Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures. [Fig. 12-4]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Modeling
 An additive process of building up
material such as clay, wax, or plaster
 Ballplayer with Three-Part Yoke
• Naturalistic clay sculpture
• Fingerprint impressions visible
 Armature
• A rigid inner support under soft materials
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Ballplayer with Three-Part Yoke and Bird Headdress. Maya Classic period, 600–800.
Ceramic with traces of blue pigment. 13-15/32" × 7".
Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921,
Fund, in honor of Gillett G. Griffin on his 70th birthday. 1998–36. Photo by Bruce M.
White. Photograph: Princeton University Art Museum/Art Resource NY/Scala, Florence.
[Fig. 12-5]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Modeling
 Stubborn Woman, Orange Hands
• Pieced-together large hollow work
• Visible seams from armature
 Ken Price, Vink
• Non-representational
• Clay layered in acrylic paint
• Mysterious, iridescent quality
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Viola Frey. Stubborn Woman, Orange Hands. 2004.
Ceramic. 72" × 80" × 72".
Courtesy of Nancy Hoffman Gallery Art © Artists'Legacy Foundation/Licensed by VAGA,
New York, NY. [Fig. 12-6]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Ken Price. Vink. 2009.
Acrylic on fired ceramic. 9" × 20" × 11".
L.A. Louver, Venice, CA. [Fig. 12-7]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Casting
 Process involving the substitution of
one material for another
 Developed in ancient China, Greece,
parts of Africa
 Used extensively in the West from
Renaissance times
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Casting
 Steps
• Mold taken from original work
• Completely surrounds the original
• Original sculpture removed from the
mold
• May require disassembly
• Casting liquid poured into mold cavity
• Mold removed when liquid hardens
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Video: Studio Technique:
Lost-Wax Bronze Casting
The Casting Process.
[Fig. 12-8]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Casting
 Lost-wax process
• Mold only used once and destroyed to
remove the hardened cast
 Solid or hollow
 Many items other than art are cast.
• Engine parts, dishes, children's toys
• Charles Ray, Father Figure
• Based on green plastic toy tractor
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Podcast: Kaz Oshiro – East
Los Angeles, CA
Charles Ray. Father Figure. 2007.
Painted steel. 93-3⁄4" × 137" × 71-3⁄4".
© Charles Ray, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.
[Fig. 12-9]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Casting
 Kaz Oshiro, Tailgate (OTA)
• Duplicates Toyota pickup truck tailgate
• Wooden armature viewed from behind
 Classical Greek Artist Zeuxis
• No works survive beyond written word
 Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Hive I)
• Beekeeper's hive filled with brownorange resin
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Kaz Oshiro. Tailgate (OTA). 2006.
Acrylic and Bondo on canvas. 53" × 17-7⁄8" × 13⁄4". Bottom edge 12" from wall.
Collection of Barry Sloane, los Angeles. [Fig. 12-10]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Rachel Whiteread. Untitled (Hive) I. 2007–2008.
Resin (two parts). 32-1⁄8" × 20-15⁄16" × 25-3⁄16".
© Rachel Whiteread. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. [Fig. 12-11]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Carving
 Subtractive process of taking away
unwanted material
 Michelangelo, Awakening Slave
• Unfinished piece revealing process
 Most challenging method
• No error correction possible
 Marble preferred material in the West
• Can be polished for smooth surface
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Michelangelo Buonarroti. Awakening Slave. 1530–1534.
Marble. Height 9'.
Galleria dell'Accademia. akg-image/Rabatti - Domingie. [Fig. 12-12]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Carving
 Other materials
• Granite
• Less vulnerable to modern pollution
• Sandstone and limestone
• Schist favored by Egyptians
• Jade favored by Chinese
• Suitable for small, elaborate pieces
• Raised bosses on surface of disk (bi)
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Disk (bi). China, Western Han dynasty, c.100–220 CE.
Jade (nephrite). Diameter 7".
Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. D.C.: Gift of Charles Lang
Freer, F1916.155. [Fig. 12-13]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Carving
 Wood
• Preference for walnut and cypress
• Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child
• Abstract composition of sweeping curves
and essential shapes
• Highly polished smooth wood
• Martin Puryear
• Combination of carving and stacking
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Elizabeth Catlett. Mother and Child ×2. 1971.
Walnut. Height 38".
Photograph by Samella Lewis. © Catlett Mora Family Trust/licensed by VAGA, New York,
NY. [Fig. 12-14]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Forming Art
• Martin Puryear: Shaping Possibilities
 Prefers to leave symbolism in an openended state
 C.F.A.O.
• Reference to laborers in Sierra Leone
 Hominid
• Pre-human primate related to irregular
polygonal block on wooden rollers
 Element of time in viewing his works
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Video: Art21: Martin
Puryear: Printmaking
Martin Puryear. Hominid. 2007–2011.
Pine. 73" × 77-1⁄2" × 57".
Currently located at Martin Puryear's studio. Courtesy of the
McKee Gallery. Photo: Christian Erroi. [Fig. 12-15]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Constructing and assembling
 Assembled sculpture
• Became popular early in 20th century
 Julio González
• Pioneered the use of a welding torch in
metal sculpture
• Assisted Picasso
• Maternity
• Airy, playful, feminine shape
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Julio González. Maternity. 1934.
Steel and stone. Height 49-7⁄8".
© Tate, London 2013 © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. [Fig. 12-16]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Constructing and assembling
 Deborah Butterfield
• Creates figures of horses from found
materials in Montana and Hawaii
• Scrapped automobiles find new life
 Assemblage
• Transformation of two common objects
to create a third, inspiring metaphorical
thought on original objects
• Picasso, Bull's Head
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Deborah Butterfield. Conure. 2007.
Found steel, welded. 92-1⁄2" × 119" × 30".
Courtesy L.A. Louver, Venice, CA. © Deborah Butterfield/Licensed by VAGA, New York,
NY. [Fig. 12-17]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Pablo Picasso. Bull's Head. 1943.
Bronze. Seat and handles of a bicycle. Height 16-1⁄8".
Paris, Musée Picasso. RMN-Grand Palais/Photo by Bernice Hatala © 2013 Estate of Pablo
Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. [Fig. 12-18]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Methods and Materials
• Constructing and assembling
 Marc André Robinson, Throne for the
Greatest Rapper of All Time
• Lower center of found chairs
• From thrift stores or old used furniture
• Higher back and wings dignify the
intended sitter
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Marc André Robinson. Throne for the Greatest Rapper of All Time. 2005.
Wood. 76" × 69" × 48".
Private Collection. [Fig. 12-19]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Kinetic Sculpture
• Sculpture that moves
• Pioneer Alexander Calder
 Focus on shape, space, and movement
• Often called mobiles when parts move
in response to small air currents
• Jesús Rafael Soto, Hurtado Writing
 Wire slowly swaying in response
 Resembles strokes of handwriting
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Jesús Rafael Soto. Escritura Hurtado (Hurtado Writing). 1975.
Paint, wire, nylon cord, and wood. 40" × 68" × 18".
Reprinted with permission from the General Secretariat of the OAS AMA. Art Museum of
the Americas Collection. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
[Fig. 12-20]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Mixed Media
• A variety of media in a single work
 Often represents a cultural or symbolic
meaning
• Cai Guo-Qiang, Inopportune: Stage
One
 Nine automobiles perforated with light
tubes
 References both contemporary action
movies and car bombings by terrorists
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Cai Guo-Qiang. Inopportune: Stage One. 2004.
Nine cars and sequenced multichannel light tubes. Dimensions variable.
Collection of Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Robert M. Arnold, in honor of the 75th
Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2006. [Fig. 12-21]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Mixed Media
• Lara Schnitger
 Fabric over wooden armatures creating
sculpture and hollow interiors
 Elements of fashion design
• "Dressmaking" a feminist message
 Grim Boy
• 6 feet tall, like a gangly teen
• Tense, lurking, and birdlike stare
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Lara Schnitger. Grim Boy. 2005.
Wood, fabric, and mixed media. 71" × 59" × 20".
Anton Kern Gallery, New York. [Fig. 12-22]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Mixed Media
• Matthew Monahan
 Works resemble museum exhibits gone
wrong
 The Seller and the Sold
• Figures made out of floral foam
• Expression resembling mummified king
• Glass case
• Title reminds viewer of business world
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Matthew Monahan. The Seller and the Sold. 2006.
Drywall, glass, wax, foam, and pigment. 67" × 25" × 25".
Courtesy of Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London and Anton Kern Gallery, New York.
[Fig. 12-23]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Installations and Site-Specific Art
• Installation
 Transformation of a space by bringing in
items of symbolic significance
 Constructed sculpture of a space
 Amalia Pica, Eavesdropping
• Mysterious, colored drinking glasses
• Allows viewer to listen to sounds on the
other side of the wall
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Amalia Pica. Eavesdropping. 2011.
Drinking glasses and glue. 78" × 240" × 8".
Courtesy of Mark Foxx Gallery. [Fig. 12-24]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Installations and Site-Specific Art
• Site-specific
 Works intended only for particular
locations
 Earthworks, or land art, created
outdoors
 Best known is Richard Serra's Tilted Arc
• Steel blade 12 feet high
• Blocked view, collected graffiti, became a
homeless shelter in the middle of a
federal office plaza
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Video: Art21: Richard
Serra: Tools & Strategies
Richard Serra. Tilted Arc. 1981.
Steel. Height 12', length 120'.
AP Photo/Mario Cabrera. [Fig. 12-25]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Installations and Site-Specific Art
• Site-specific
 Indoor space
• Olafur Eliasson, The Weather Project
• Semicircular sun of bright lamps made
whole through mirrors on the ceiling
• Creation of clouds from dry ice
• Attracted many visitors during bleak
winter
- Space of communal meditation
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Olafur Eliasson. The Weather Project (The Unilever Series). 2003.
Monofrequency lights, projection foil, haze machines, mirror foil, aluminum, and
scaffolding. 87'7-3⁄16" × 73'2" × 509'10-7⁄64".
Installation in Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London. Photo: Jens Ziehe. Courtesy the artist;
Neugerriemschneider, Berlin, and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York © Olafur Eliasson
2003. [Fig. 12-26]
Prebles' Artforms, Eleventh Edition
Patrick Frank
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved