Methods
Three Dimensional Design
METHODS
1. Carving uses the subtractive process to cut away areas from a larger mass, and is the oldest method used for three-dimensional work. Traditionally stone and wood were the most common materials because they were readily available and extremely durable. Contemporary materials include foam, plastics, and glass. Using chisels and other sharp tools, artists carve away material until the ultimate form of the work is achieved.
A beautiful example of the carving process is seen in the Water and Moon Bodhisattva Links to an external site. from 10th century China. The Bodhisattva, a Buddhist figure who has attained Enlightenment Links to an external site. but decides to stay on earth to teach others, is exquisitely carved. The figure is almost four feet high, seated in an elegant relaxed pose, staring straight ahead with a calm benevolent look. The extended right arm and raised knee create a stable triangular composition. The sculptor carves the left arm to simulate a slight muscle tension inherent when it supports the weight of the body.
In another example, you can see the high degree of relief carved from an original cedar wood block in the Earthquake Mask from the Pacific Northwest Coast Kwakwaka’ wakw culture. It’s extraordinary for masks to personify a natural event. This and other mythic figure masks are used in ritual and ceremony dances. The broad areas of paint give a heightened sense of dimension to this mask.
Earthquake Mask, 9” x 7”, early 20th century. Kwakwaka’ wakw culture, North American Pacific Coast. Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle. Used by permission.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s masterpiece Apollo and Daphne, inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, was sculpted from 1622-1625. Carved and sanded to create the moment that, at the approach of a love-sick Apollo, Daphne begins to turn into a laurel tree, her fingers shown as branches of laurel and her toes taking root into the ground. This exquisite life sized sculpture is carved out of marble, the translucent nature of marble allows for light to penetrate the surface giving a life-like quality to the figures -- when viewing the sculpture in person, one feels as though blood is coursing just below the surface and the transformation is happening before your eyes.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo and Daphne, marble, 1622–1625.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Wood sculptures by contemporary artist Ursula von Rydingsvard are carved, glued and even burned, translating the complex emotional world of the human condition into physical, sculptural form. Many are massive, rough vessel forms that carry the visual evidence of their creation.
Ursula von Rydingsvard, For Natasha, 2015; Cedar and graphite, 9 ft. 1 in. x 6 ft. 7 in. x 3 ft. 6 in.
2. Casting: The additive method of casting has been in use for over five thousand years. It’s a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. One traditional method of bronze casting frequently used today is the lost wax process:
lost wax process
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Casting materials are usually metals but can be various cold setting materials that cure after mixing two or more components together; examples are epoxy, 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. It’s a labor-intensive process that allows for the creation of multiples from an original object (similar to the medium of printmaking), each of which is extremely durable and is exactly like its predecessor. A mold is usually destroyed after the desired number of castings has been made.
Traditionally, bronze statues were placed atop pedestals to signify the importance of the figure depicted. A statue of William Seward (below), the U. S. Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and who negotiated the purchase of the Alaska territories, is set nearly eight feet high so viewers must look up at him. Standing next to the globe, he holds a roll of plans in his left hand.
Richard Brooks, William Seward, bronze on stone pedestal, c. 1909.
Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission.
More contemporary bronze cast sculptures reflect their subjects through different cultural perspectives. The statue of musical genius, Jimi Hendrix is set on the ground, his figure cast as if performing on stage. He’s on both of his knees, head thrown back, eyes shut, and mouth open. His bell-bottom pants, frilly shirt unbuttoned halfway, necklace, and headband give us a snapshot of 1960’s rock culture but also engage us with the subject at our level.
Daryl Smith, Jimi Hendrix, 1996, bronze. Broadway and Pine, Seattle.
Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission.
Doris Chase, in addition to being a video artist, was also a strong sculptor. Her large scale abstract work, Changing Form from 1971 is cast in bronze and dominates the area around it. The title refers to the visual experience you get walking around the work, seeing the positive and negative shapes dissolve and recombine with each other. The sculpture is installed in Kerry Park, Seattle, Washington.
Doris Chase, Changing Form, 1971. Bronze.
Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission.
3. Modeling is a method that can be both additive and subtractive. The artist uses modeling to build up form with clay, plaster, or other material that can be pushed, pulled, pinched, or poured into place. The material then hardens into the finished work. Larger sculptures created with this method make use of an armature, an underlying structure of wire that sets the physical shape of the work. Although modeling is primarily an additive process, artists can also remove material in the process so it can also be considered subtractive as well.
Modeling a form is often a preliminary step in the casting method. In 2010, Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti’s Walking Man (c. 1955), a bronze sculpture first modeled in clay, set a record Links to an external site. for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction. View the video to see and hear about Giacometti's, Walking Man:
https://youtu.be/ps4wuBpAUCQ
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4. Assemblage, or Construction, uses found, manufactured, or altered objects to build form. Artists weld, glue, bolt, and wire individual pieces together. Sculptor Debra Butterfield transforms throw away objects into life-sized, abstract sculptures of horses Links to an external site. with scrap metal, wood, and other found objects. She sometimes goes on to cast these assemblages, or constructions, in bronze.
Installation photography, Deborah Butterfield, April 9 - May 9, 2009, L A Louver Gallery, Venice, California
Louise Nevelson Links to an external site. used cut and shaped pieces of wood, gluing and nailing them together to form fantastic, complex compositions. Painted a single tone, (usually black or white), her sculptures are graphic, textural facades of shapes, patterns and shadow.
Traditional African masks often combine different materials. The elaborate Kanaga Mask Links to an external site. from Mali uses wood, fibers, animal hide and pigment to construct an other worldly visage that changes from human to animal and back again.
Some modern and contemporary sculptures incorporate movement, light and sound. Kinetic sculptures use ambient air currents or motors allowing them to move, changing in form as the viewer stands in place. The artist Alexander Calder is famous for his mobiles Links to an external site., whimsical, abstract works that are intricately balanced to move at the slightest wisp of air.
https://youtu.be/j3OqfduWdhc
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In contrast, the sculptures of Jean Tinguely are contraption-like and, similar to Nevelson’s and Butterfield’s works, constructed of scraps often found in garbage dumps. His motorized works exhibit a mechanical aesthetic as they whirr, rock and generate noises. Tinguely’s most famous work, Homage to New York Links to an external site. Links to an external site., ran in the sculpture garden at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1960 as part of a performance by the artist. After several minutes, the work exploded Links to an external site. and caught fire.
The idea of generating sound as part of three-dimensional works has been utilized for hundreds of years, traditionally in the form of musical instruments. Contemporary artists use sound to heighten the effect of sculpture or to direct recorded narratives. The cast bronze fountain by George Tsutakawa (below) uses water flow to produce a soft rushing sound. In this instance the sculpture also attracts the viewer by the motion of the water: a clear, fluid addition to an otherwise hard abstract surface.
George Tsutakawa, Fountain. Bronze, running water. City of Seattle, Washington
Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission.
Doug Hollis’s, A Sound Garden from 1982 creates sounds from hollow metal tubes atop grid like structures rising above the ground. In weather vane fashion, the tubes swing into the wind and resonate to a specific pitch. The sound extends the aesthetic value of the work to include the sense of hearing and, together with the metal construction, creates a mechanical and psychological basis for the work.
A Sound Garden
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