978-0205677207 Chapter 13

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Chapter Thirteen: Sculpture

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

• Carving

• Modeling

• Casting

• Assemblage

• Installation

Works in Progress

Jim Sardonis’s Reverence

The Critical Process

Thinking about Sculpture:Zhang Huan’s How to Raise the Water Level in a Fish

Pond, and Berlin Buddha

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

This Chapter Will:

• identify and illustrate subtractive and additive sculptural processes

• describe the lost-wax casting process

• distinguish between low-relief, high-relief, and in-the-round sculpture

KEY TERMS

in-the-round ankh frieze performance

art

subtractive process patina casting low (bas-)

relief

additive process cire-perdue lost-wax process ponderation

replacement method investment high (haut-) relief installation

MyArtsLab RESOURCES

Closer Look: The Tomb of Shihuangdi

Primary Source Document: Eva Hesse (1936–1970) – Artists on Art

Studio technique Video: Carving

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS

1. Sculptures and Space

Have students look through the chapter to familiarize themselves with the variety of

additive and subtractive sculptural methods and techniques. Discuss the relationship

2. Relief Sculpture

Differentiate between freestanding sculpture and relief sculpture. Discuss the nature of

relief as it relates to sculpture using the provided works in the chapter from, Maidens and

Giovanni de Bologna’s The Rape of the Sabine Women (fig.’s 366 & 367).

3. Carving

Carving is part of the subtractive sculptural process in which the material being carved is

cut away from the sculptural material. Illustrate the variety of carved works in the

from the imprisoning block of stone. In an unfinished work such as Atlas, point out

Michelangelo’s attempt to free Atlas from the encompassing stone.

4. Modeling

Sculptures made from clay, wax, or other pliable materials are part of the additive

sculptural process. Robert Arneson modeled clay to form his whimsical works such as

Case of Bottles (fig. 376). Sculptures created using clay are referred to as ceramic

5. Casting

In Africa, in the Kingdom of Benin, brass casting reached an unsurpassed level of

sophistication. The Head of an Oba (fig. 378) is an excellent example of the intricate

detail that is possible to achieve in one of the most complicated casting processes—the

lost-wax method. In order to fully understand the lost-wax casting method, direct

6. Assemblage

Louise Nevelson’s Sky Cathedral (fig. 383), the Yoruban Display Piece (fig. 384), Robert

Gober’s Untitled (fig. 385), Clyde Connell’s Swamp Ritual (fig. 386), and Eva Hesse’s

Contingent (fig. 387) are all examples of assemblage sculpture. Assemblage is an

7. Installation Art

Installation art refers to works of art that use sculptural materials and other media to

modify the way we view a particular space. Installation art can vary from Kara Walker’s

Insurrection (figs. 389 & 390) to Eleanor Antin’s Minetta Lane—A Ghost Story (fig. 391-

393) and James Turrell’s Atlan (fig. 394). This type of art came to prominence in the

1970s. Many trace the roots of this form of art to earlier artists such as Marcel Duchamp

8. Earthworks

As seen in Chapter 1, with Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates (figs. 1-3) and Robert

Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (fig. 395 & 396), earthworks are usually large, sometimes

9. Performance Art

Chapter 14 ends with a discussion of performance art, which encompasses sculpture and

installation, with movement and human interaction, performed over a period of time. In

Allan Kaprow, Household (fig. 402)

Alan Kaprow invented an early form of performance art in the 1950s called the

Happening. He defined happenings as “assemblages of events performed or perceived in

more than one time and place…a happening is art but seems closer to life.” Have

students discuss how this quote relates to his Happening Household. Kaprow’s

philosophy that art was naturally associated to daily life stems from his interest in the

Joseph Beuys, I Like America and America Likes Me

Joseph Beuys created what he preferred to call “actions.” These performances were

designed to reveal what he believed to be the real function of art—teaching people to be

CRITICAL THINKING: More Opportunities to Think about Art

1. Works in Progress: Jim Sardonis’s Reverence

Jim Sardonis creates stone sculptures, bronze casts, and jewelry. His Reverence (figs.

374 & 375 & 414), featured in this chapter, is a sculptural tribute to whales. Discuss how

the artist used black granite to carve these sculptures. Read about the nature of working

with this type of stone and the difficulties the artist encountered during the sculptural

3. Works in Progress: Goat Island’s How Dear to Me the Hour When Daylight Dies

How Dear to Me the Hour When Daylight Dies (figs. 405-407), a work by the

collaborative performance troupe Goat Island is a Works in Progress feature of this

chapter and one of the feature videos in the A World of Art: Works in Progress video

Thinking about Sculpture: Zhang Huan

Have students consider the efficacy of performance art as political activism. Zhang

Huan’s work directly engages the government of China and its policies, yet Huan himself

has said of To Raise the Water Level… that is was “an action of no avail”. What

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

1. Pluralistic or Noisy?

One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art

is that in their inclusiveness—their willingness to admit anything and everything into the

2. Performance Art Script

Ask students to write a script for a performance piece that conceptualizes an idea. They

should include a description of the characters involved, sets, media used, and of course,

PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS

For additional project ideas, remember to investigate the Hands-On Projects found on

MyArtsLab

Other Suggested Websites:

Marble Stone Carving -Tools of the Trade is a site that features the work of a

contemporary stone carver, Walter S. Arnold. A history of the medium as well as pictures

Robert Arneson’s work can be found online at numerous exhibitions. See

Tomb of Emperor Qin, information about this great archeological discovery is provided

Eva Hesse images and biography are provided at

Nancy Holt’s art can be found at numerous online locations at

Art 21: Art in the 21st Century is an excellent website and video/DVD series produced

by PBS that profiles diverse work by many established and emerging contemporary