Sculpture Study Topics

1. Modeling - Like the video I posted with the lecture, modeling involves taking a soft material like clay or plaster and shaping it into the form you want it to be. So, this is a building up method rather than chiseling out. Remember all that went into the modeling of the womans face? She built up layer after layer to get the shape right, then added features, then cut off part to change the angle of the head, so on and so forth. This can be achieved with modeling because of the forgiving nature of the material. For comparison, you could not do the same thing with chiseling marble. If you make a major mistake you have to start over.

2. Freestanding - This is a sculpture which can be placed anywhere. It is not attached to a base or a wall. It is also not necessarily designed to go in a specific space like an alcove or an altar.

3. Relief - A relief sculpture is a sculpture which is carved into (or out of) a particular thing (usually an architectural feature). It emerges from the material itself rather than being carved completely out of it.

4. Installation - This is when a sculpture is placed in a specific place that was made for it. It is installed there. Often an alcove, or as part of a larger overall piece of art. Sometimes installations are temporary, but sometimes they can be permanent. For instance, this statue of the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa was installed in a particular place in a particular church:

5. Carving - This is cutting away or removing material until you get it into shape. So, when a block of marble is chiseled down into a statue, this is carving.

"They say he carved that spoon himself from a bigger spoon." - Lenny

6. Casting - This is when one makes a mold (normally the inverse of the statue depending on which molding process is used) and pours some liquid material into the mold that will harden into the form of a statue. This can be done with all kinds of materials: metal, resin, glass, etc.

7. Lost-Wax Casting - This is a means of making a statue that can be turned into a mold and reused. Essentially this combines aspects of 1, 2, and 3 above. A soft material that can melt (usually wax) is sculpted into the desired shape. Then a mold is built around it. Then it is heated so all the mold melts and leaks out, leaving only the shape of the statue behind to be filled with another more permanent material. This makes it easier to make a mold and reproduce a unique work of art.

8. Assemblage - This is simply taking a number of different pieces and assembling them together via adhesive, welding, or some other method. The end result is a statue or sculpture.