Sculpture 1

Co ur s es a mpl e

Sculpture 1

Written by: Chris Sacker

Level HE4 - 40 CATS

This course has been written and illustrated by Chris Sacker. Open College of the Arts Unit 1B, Redbrook Business Park Wilthorpe Road Barnsley S75 1JN

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Copyright OCA 2008 Document control number: m1_scm.doc Cover image: Lindsay Harris, ‘Coming of Age 1’, plaster, cane and string 2008

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About the author

Chris Sacker is a professional practicing and exhibiting Fine Artist, who since 1976 been a visiting lecturer in Fine Art and Sculpture in art schools and universities in Great Britain and Europe. Amongst these, include Edinburgh School of Art, Dartington College, University of Hull, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and the Accaademia di Belle Arti, Perugia, Italy. During the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s he was Assistant Sculpture Consultant, Education Co-ordinator and Lecturer for the Henry Moore Sculpture Studio in Halifax, where major International Sculptors where invited to make new innovative works for the Henry Moore Foundation. In this capacity he lectured to B.A. M.A. and PhD students from the majority of art colleges in Britain on the projects of the invited artists. Over the past 20 years, he has been interviewed on many occasions on radio and television in relation to his own practice as an artist and that of International Contemporary Sculptors, including Radio 4 ‘ Kaleidoscope’, Radio 3 ‘Nightwaves’, The Arts Channel, and Yorkshire Television.

Chris has also taken part in a number of International sculpture conferences in Italy on ‘Contemporary British Sculpture’ ‘Old Age and Creativity’ and ‘Transformations of Art at the Turn of the 20th Century’. Chris was co-designer and editor of the book ‘Sculpture on the Page’ [drawings and text] by Tony Cragg, published by the Whitechapel Gallery and the Henry Moore Trust. With his own practice, since graduating in 1973, Chris has exhibited his work in galleries and museums, nationally and internationally including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Israel and the Ukraine. Recent major exhibitions include; the Biennale of Florence and the X11 Biennale of Sculpture in Cararra, Italy. Chris’s work is held in a number of major museums and collections which Include; Museo Luigi Pecci, Prato and Museo di Scultura, Cararra, Italy.

Contents Introduction Course overview Course outcomes Health & Safety considerations Project and assignment plan

1:

Construction Relief Introduction Project 1: Shallow geometric relief sculpture Project 2: Open space relief sculpture Assignment 1: A relief sculpture

2:

Stacked construction Introduction Project 3: Building 3 dimensional structures Project 4: Large drawings from maquettes Assignment 2: Large stacked sculptures

3:

Modelling in clay and plaster Introduction Project 5: Still life drawing and modelling in clay Project 6: Modelling in plaster Assignment 3: A modelled sculpture in clay or plaster

4:

Casting Introduction

Project 7: Casting internal space/ external form Project 8: Bas-relief Assignment 4: Cast works and bas-relief in plaster

5:

Carved sculpture Introduction Project 9: Drawing/ model in clay and cast block for carved sculpture Project 10: A carved sculpture Assignment 5: Two carved sculptures

Appendix A: when you submit your work for final assessment Appendix B: suggested reading

Introduction

Course overview Welcome to the Open College of the Arts course in sculpture. Sculpture1 is designed to introduce you to the art of sculpture in all its aspects and as the course progresses through Sculpture 2 and 3 you will be well equipped to becoming a motivated, independent sculptor. You may have chosen to follow the OCA course in sculpture by already completing the Art and Design course that included a section on sculpture. You may have a private desire to try your hand at sculpture or possibly have been inspired by visits to museums, galleries or sculpture parks and have an interest in the history and development of sculpture and wish to experience the practicalities of this unique art form. It is not expected that you have a previous knowledge or experience of sculptural techniques but if you have done some construction, basic DIY, clay modelling, carving or casting so much the better. Some of you may have knowledge of woodworking techniques and skills and be able to cut and construct various joints. You may have experience in woodcarving or stone carving. Some of you may have worked with metal and be adept in brazing and welding. Others may be skilled at sewing. All these skills are invaluable and extremely useful in your armoury as a sculptor, and if you wish to utilize your skills within the projects, don’t be afraid to do so. During Sculpture 1 you will be introduced to a series of projects and assignments that utilise various techniques for making and producing sculptural works. There are four main ways of making sculpture, construction, modelling, casting and carving each of which will be covered in Sculpture1.

The course consists of a series of projects and assignments each of which includes art historical references, health and safety issues in relation to tasks you will experience and the materials and tools you require for each of the projects. As the course progresses and you gain in confidence, the course is designed to empower you to be a self-motivated student. In the series of projects and assignments, you will be predominantly dealing with the ‘hows’ of producing sculptural form. The projects in the course are designed to give you an insight into sculptural practice and methodology by giving you the opportunity to develop your ideas and skills in an individual manner. The assignments are aimed at enabling you to develop an individual sculptural language, linked with the acquisition of skills and techniques experienced in the projects. Linked with your practical sculptural practice, it is of major importance that, as a student of sculpture, you have an insight and acquire knowledge of the history of the subject. This knowledge can be gained by visiting art galleries, museums and sculpture parks as well as individual reading and Internet research. The set book Herbert Reads’ ‘Concise History of Modern Sculpture’ is referred to throughout the course and it is important that you purchase a copy so that you continually have it has a reference in your studio. Within the course book you will find a historical time line of 20th century art movements that were influential in the development of sculpture. This includes a description of the major movements and sculptors of that genre, which will be referred to within the set projects and assignments. There is also a reading list that includes books and publications that will be a help to you in your

understanding and research into artists and movements that dealt with sculpture during the 20th century.

1: Construction reliefs

At the beginning of the 20th century, a radical departure took place in sculptural practice. Artists began to use new materials and move into new aesthetic domains. Previously, throughout history, sculptors used materials that were either modelled, carved or cast in metal, giving them a timeless permanence, but now, with the development of new materials, available to them, sculptors were now technically able to construct things which were not possible in earlier years. Until the

Ben Nicholson,

20th century, sculpture had been

Relief 1935

‘solid’, it stood permanent and timeless, made from materials such as carved marble and stone or in cast bronze. Sculptors began to question its physical basis and a change occurred in the evolution of sculptural form. By the beginning of the 1920s sculptors were using new materials and techniques of construction, some of which were becoming commonplace, for example plastics had become readily available and the process of welding had developed giving the artists an opening into a new language of three-dimensional form. If we look at the photographic illustrations in Concise History of Modern Sculpture: Picasso’s ‘Construction in Wire’ 1930 (plate 66), Gabo’s ‘Monument for a Physics Observatory’ 1922 (plate 102) and Tatlin’s ‘Monument to the Third International’ 1919-1920 (plate 96), sculpture had become like drawing in space.

The major sculptural art form of this period was termed ‘Constructivism’ and is used to define a type of totally abstract (non-representational) art which included relief constructions and sculpture. The works produced were ordered, rational, minimal, geometric and special. The works produced were extremely experimental in the use of the industrial materials of the time. It is suggested that you look at the works of: •

Naum Gabo (1890-1977)

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Antoine Pevsner (1884-1962)

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Laslo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946)

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Vladimir Tatlin (1885-1953)

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Kasimir Malevich (1878-1953)

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Ben Nicholson (1894-1982)

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Victor Pasmore (1908-1998)

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Pablo Picasso (1881 -1973)

Your first project is to research into constructed sculpture through books and the internet if it is available to you. Look into the movements and sculptors who you think produced work in this manner. Examples can be found in Herbert Read’s Concise History of Modern Sculpture. Make notes and drawings of the ones you find most inspiring, note what materials were used and the methods of construction etc. We would like you to collect as many different materials as possible for this and later projects. The more materials you can obtain the better as a diverse selection will enable you to make choices and alternative decisions. So collect far more than you immediately need. These should include various lengths thicknesses and blocks of wood in various sizes, plywood and block board of various thicknesses, wooden mouldings, pieces of metal sheet – plain and perforated, dowel of different diameters, cardboard, flexible plastics, pieces of carpet, polystyrene packaging, plastic objects and bottles etc.

Health & Safety Your personal safety as a sculptor is paramount and certain common sense rules should be observed when working in your studio or workspace for your own personal protection. In this set of projects your personal protection equipment (PPE) is quite minimal in relation to the tasks you will be performing. From the outset of the course it is highly recommended that when you are working on the projects that you always wear safety boots – even a dropped hammer can break a toe! When using power tools such as an electric jigsaw, always wear eye protection in the form of safety glasses or goggles. When handling timber, especially unplanned or old, safety gloves are recommended. With all adhesives read the manufacturer’s instructions in relation to cleaning your hands etc.

BE ORGANIZED! A TIDY WORKPLACE IS A SAFE WORKPLACE.

Project 1: Shallow geometric relief sculpture Introduction Once you have purchased and collected your materials and have them in your workspace we would like you to start with your first constructed project, a geometric relief sculpture. A relief sculpture is an intermediate between a painting and a sculpture and usually hangs on a wall. For this project you will need: •

base board of plywood or block board 600x300 mm approximately. The size and dimensions are your choice, you could even use a square or triangular format

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a number of pieces of plywood, cut to different lengths and shapes e.g. squares, triangles and circles. If you want thicker pieces these can be laminated together with adhesive.

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tenon or cross-cut saw, a jigsaw for circles and irregular or organic shapes.

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sandpaper of various grades.

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adhesives such as Evo-stik.

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undercoat paint, matt emulsion paint (white).

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one-inch paintbrush.

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small screwdriver.

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mirror plates and appropriate screws.

Once you have decided on the size and proportions of your base board, begin by selecting and arranging your low-relief block forms within the confines of the edge of your board, looking for pleasing arrangements of the forms (the composition). Do not accept your first arrangements. Take time to look, arrange and re-arrange.

Make drawings of the different arrangements that you have made in your sketchbook. It is all part of the decision-making process. When you have made the final decision for your composition, glue the pieces to your base board using your adhesives. The use of these adhesives will give you time to ‘fine tune’ your composition. When the adhesive is dry, sandpaper the work to remove rough edges and give the surface a ‘key’. Paint all surfaces with undercoat and finish with matt white paint. Stand or fix your completed relief to your studio wall with screwed mirror plates. Now appraise your work in your learning log. Did you achieve the composition you intended? If you have a work light, such as an angle-poise lamp, light the relief construction from different angles to see the effect of light on your finished relief sculpture and make a series of tonal drawings.

Sue Goode(Student) ‘Facial Relief’, Wood