CLASS: Additive Sculpture

"The job of a sculptor is as much about empty space as it is about  form."  - Anish Kapoor

Title: Cloud Gate​
Artist: Anish Kapoor
Year: 2006
Medium: Stainless steel sculpture
Dimensions: 10 m × 13 m × 20 m (33 ft × 42 ft × 66 ft)
Location: Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States

So many possibilities, so little time... In the next quarter, you will be experimenting with a select number of sculpture methods in order to create a 3-dimensional piece inspired by the CONTENT found so far in your PLAY pages. 

​Start PLANNING for this work by looking at the images, vocabulary terms, and resources posted below:

Sculpture, like 2-dimensional art, can be made with myriad materials and techniques. Look through these images to see just some of the many possibilities. Since the MEDIUM an artist uses -  and the STYLE in which an artists works - is related to CONTENT, it's a good idea to start thinking NOW about how YOU can best communicate your ideas.

Take a moment to learn about a specific style of sculpture, which was inspired by the AbEx movement that came before it (and which you are now fairly familiar with). Then THINK... what might YOUR sculpture communicate and how will you attempt to get your point across? 

THE LISTS BELOW ARE NOT FINITE. STAY TUNED.

Some vocabulary to know (see also, the handout):

• Relief (bas, mezzo, alto, and sunken)
• In-the-round​
• Assemblage
• Additive vs. Subtractive
• Found object
• Kinetic - mobile vs. stabile
• Realistic, abstract, non-objective, conceptual
• Armature
• Maquette
• Scale

​Some artists to know (see also, Artist Spotlights):

• Martin Puryear
• Louise Nevelson
• Alexander Calder
• Henry Moore
• Robert Arneson
• Richard Serra
• Andy Goldsworthy

​Some materials and processes we *may* experiment with:

• CARVING: subtractive carving from a Creastone block or other solid form
• BUILDING: with styrofoam, wire, cardboard, etc.; use these forms as-is or as an ARMATURE to be covered with:
  • Plaster gauze, papier mâché, burlap, fabric, etc.
• CERAMIC: Think about ways that basic hand-building methods can be used to create work in a larger scale and with specific form and textures.
  • LOOK AT THESE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WHO WORK WITH CERAMICS!
• BOOK ART: VCU has an amazing collection that will change your definition of a "book."
• FOUND OBJECTS: use things that already exist to express content (thank you, Marcel Duchamp!).

Additional resources to explore:

• Expressive Busts