12.1-12.2
12.1 Freestanding and relief sculpture
Freestanding (in the round): sculpture meant to be seen from all sides; our experience is the sum of viewing it from multiple angles. A single photograph captures only one view under one lighting condition, giving a limited impression of the piece.
Example: CFAO is a freestanding sculpture that offers different characteristics and impressions depending on the viewer’s position.
Relief sculpture: sculpture that projects from a background surface but is not freestanding.
Low relief (bas-relief): projection from the surrounding surface is slight; shadows are minimal.
High relief: more than half of the natural circumference of the modeled form projects from the background; figures are often substantially undercut. In high relief, dynamic gestures and diagonal placements create activity in the composition.
Examples and details:
Coins often exhibit low relief, yet can still have strong presence (e.g., the Apollo coin, strong presence despite being low relief and small).
Angkor Wat (Cambodia): temple complex from the twelfth century, center of the Khmer Empire; Khmer kings sponsored extensive sculpture and architecture.
In the temple chambers at Angkor Wat, delicately carved low reliefs rise barely above the background; a scene such as army on the march shows an army commanded by a prince. The soldiers’ rhythmic spear-pattern contrasts with curving background foliage; the prince sits with bow and arrow on an elephant’s back. Intricate details cover the stone walls.
In the high relief example provided, Robert Longo’s corporate war’s wall of influence features figures convulsing in conflict with significant undercutting; largely in high relief with some areas where limbs and garments barely rise above the surface. The work conveys emotional charge and suggests a horror at competitive corporate life.
Key takeaways:
In the round invites continuous observation around all sides; relief relies on projection from a background surface.
The amount of projection (low vs. high relief) influences shadows, depth, and viewer interpretation.
Formal qualities (pose, gesture, rhythm) contribute to the narrative and emotional impact of the sculpture.
12.2 Methods and materials
Most sculpture is made by modeling, casting, carving, constructing, assembling, or combinations of these processes.
Modeling (additive process)
Artists build up a final form by adding pliable material (clay, wax, plaster) and manipulating it by hand.
The resulting surface often shows evidence of the modeling process (tool marks, fingerprint impressions).
Examples and notes:
Ballplayer with three-part yoke and bird headdress shows visible tool marks and finger impressions; body volume, gesture, and costume detail are defined.
The ancient Maya used clay to create lively ceramic vessels and sculptures; ballplayer depicts attire such as a bright blue headdress, a wide yoke for protection, wristbands, and anklets reflecting the game rules (hands were not allowed to be used).
Rodin’s Balzac: Rodin used a small armature to support plaster as he built up the figure from below; the armature was removed after the plaster dried.
In large works or when avoiding sagging, arms and supports are used; for some large pieces, artists build separate, fired sections to avoid needing a continuous internal armature.
Non-representational modeling: Ken Price’s vink demonstrates that modeled works need not be representational; Price built a clay form, fired it, painted with acrylic layers, and sanded to expose layers of color; the piece invites multiple interpretations (reminiscent of body parts, sea life, or knobby plant life).
Materials and working properties:
Modeling uses pliable substances; surface texture and color can be integral to meaning.
In many cultures, modeling ceramics preserves cultural and artistic traditions.
Casting (substitution process)
Casting makes three-dimensional works by pouring a liquid into a mold and allowing it to harden; then the mold is removed.
Casting enables reproduction or production of works in more durable materials (e.g., bronze) after creating a clay or wax original.
Key concepts:
The original is copied into a mold; the casting liquid (often molten bronze) fills the hollow cavity; after hardening, the mold is removed.
Casting often involves a substitution of one material for another; thus casting is also called a substitution process.
Molds can be reusable (allowing multiple castings) or single-use (destructive mold).
Steps in casting:
Make a mold from the original; the mold must completely surround the original with no gaps.
Remove the original from the mold (which may require disassembly of the original or mold).
Pour the casting liquid into the mold’s cavity.
Allow to harden, then remove the mold.
Casting varieties and examples:
Lost-wax process is one widely used method that preserves the mold for future use.
Solid vs hollow casts: some castings are solid, others hollow depending on method; hollow casts are common for large statues to reduce weight and cost.
Large-scale bronze memorials are often cast in pieces and assembled on site with an elaborate internal armature (e.g., The Statue of Liberty was cast in many pieces and reassembled into a hollow interior on-site).
Bronze casting has been highly developed in many cultures; in the West it has been dominant for about centuries for public monuments, and earlier in China, Greece, and Rome.
Works and artists mentioned:
Robert Longo’s corporate roars/wall of influence: cast aluminum.
Charles Ray’s father figure: cast steel; based on a green plastic toy tractor enlarged to life size from a plaster model.
Dwayne Hanson: cast actual people from life by applying silicone rubber to skin, removing the mold, filling with resin or filler, painting, and dressing; each cast is unique because the mold is ruined in removal.
The Harris-Withe rule and other contemporary artists include Whiteread (Rachel Whiteread): uses polyvinyl resin to cast interior volumes; Untitled Hive No. 1 filled a beehive with resin and then removed the hive to leave the interior as a solid volume.
Casting emphasizes the relationship between presence and absence: replacing one substance with another can reveal new meanings; casting empty volumes can render absence as a tangible presence.
Carving (subtractive process)
Carving removes material to reveal form; it is often done in stone or wood and tends to be a one-way process with limited opportunity to correct errors.
Michelangelo is a canonical example; his unfinished Awakening Slave reveals the steps toward refining the figure—from roughing out to increasingly detailed cutting.
The process begins with visualizing the finished form from every angle inside the block of material; different stones have different properties affecting what can be carved.
Stone materials discussed:
Marble: soft and workable; ideal for detail; final polish yields a skin-like surface; outdoor sculpture historically favored; modern pollution threatens marble durability.
Granite: very hard; good for outdoor monuments but difficult for fine detail.
Sandstone and limestone: sedimentary, relatively soft, allow high detail and gloss but weathering occurs over time.
Egyptian schist: dense stone used for durability.
Jade (nephrite): extremely hard and brittle; suitable for small pieces; Chinese discs/amulets show high craftsmanship; nephrite was ground by drills and quartz sand over two millennia; disc features bosses in neat rows and a feline figure amid cloud-like patterns.
Wood carving:
Walnut and cypress preferred for strength and ease of working.
Notable sculpture and example references:
Elizabeth Catlett’s carved Mother and Child No. 2: gestural emphasis on anguish; abstracted forms with bold curves; open spaces between features; smooth, polished wood invites touch; line engraving indicates the mother’s gesture.
Constructing and assembling (construction and assemblage)
Historically, modeling, carving, and casting were the main Western techniques; in the 20th century, assembling and constructing became popular.
Construction involves putting together pieces that artists have shaped themselves; assemblage is sculpture built from found objects and found materials.
Julio Gonzalez (Gonzalez) pioneered welded metal sculpture in the 1920s–1930s; the invention of oxy-acetylene welding in 1895 enabled new possibilities in metal sculpture; Gonzalez helped usher in a new era where metal could be used aesthetically rather than as weaponry.
Gonzalez’s works include welded iron constructions such as Maternity; the piece is airy and playful, with a feminine form atop a stone base.
Filina Barlow creates aggressive, visually jolt-inducing wooden constructions like Untitled Stilted Crates (2015), built from large wooden crates perched on lumber; her work appears dangerous but is engineered for safety.
Assemblage artists transform familiar objects by recontextualizing them so viewers recognize original characteristics while experiencing new meanings.
Marc Andre Robinson uses thrift-store found furniture to create new assemblages; e.g., Thrown for the greatest rapper of all time—an assemblage based on chairs with a higher back and wing-like sides to dignify the sitter.
Martin Perrier (Puryear) integrates carving with construction; some works employ found wheels or other components, highlighting a craft-based approach to form.
Martin Puryear (born 1941) elaborates on the shift to sculpture’s third dimension:
Quote: "the difference is so great when you go into the third dimension. It's not simply a two dimensional thing expanded. It's like an infinitely multiple view, an infinitely multiplied sense of possibilities, spatial possibilities. That's what interests me."
Biography highlights:
Son of a self-taught woodworker; grew up in segregated schools in Washington, DC.
Early inspiration from seeing a Black artist painting a portrait on the street; memory of color and realism in a public setting.
Studied at the Catholic University of America and the Swedish Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm; studied modern wood furniture techniques and printmaking.
Served in the Peace Corps for two years in Sierra Leone; admired local woodworkers for resourcefulness in making functional objects.
Art perspective: admiration for vernacular cultures where materials are sourced locally and objects are made for daily use; a respect for craft as a value that informs his art.
Notable works: Hominid (a wooden block on rollers, over six feet tall; carved and finished with cabinet-making skills; the piece is enigmatic and open to interpretation; symbolism left to viewer).
Working philosophy: Perrier prefers to leave symbolism to the viewer; his work resists straightforward meaning and embraces diffuse ideas; he describes coherence as not equal to resolution and seeks a ‘flickering’ quality where opposed ideas coexist.
Approach to meaning: his process is a distillation of ideas; his sculptures aim to invite viewers to slow down and explore multiple meanings.
Connections and broader implications (integrated themes across 12.1–12.3)
Technique and meaning: the choice of technique (modeling, casting, carving, constructing) directly influences form, texture, presence, and interpretation.
Materiality and process: materials (clay, bronze, marble, jade, wood, resin, metal) carry cultural histories and physical constraints that shape what is possible and how it is read by viewers.
Relationship between form and light: relief vs. in the round changes how light and shadow reveal depth and narrative; lighting conditions can dramatically alter perception.
Realism vs abstraction: modeling can render representational detail, while casting and assembling allow for abstraction or transformation of familiar objects into new meanings.
Ethical and philosophical dimensions: artists’ focus on vernacular crafts, everyday objects, and corpses of work (e.g., lifelike casts of people) raise questions about authorship, presence/absence, and the value of craft in contemporary art.
Real-world relevance: many techniques mirror industrial and artisanal practices (e.g., casting for public monuments, welding for large-scale constructions, woodworking for functional sculpture). The works also address social themes (corporate life, human figures, and public memory).