Sculpture is defined as three-dimensional artwork that is created through various processes such as carving, modeling, casting, constructing, and assembling. Historically, sculpture was representational and static, but modern sculpture has expanded to include both representational and abstract forms that can be static, kinetic, or interactive. The main types of sculpture include works that are carved, modeled, cast, constructed, assembled, kinetic, site-specific/environmental, and installations. Sculpture is created using a variety of materials and techniques.

1. Overview of Sculpture
“Sculpture is the only branch of the
visual arts that is specifically concerned
with expressive three-dimension form."

2. Definition of Sculpture:
• Three dimensional forms created by
modeling, carving or assembling
• Three dimensional = having height,
width and depth
2D 3D

3. Sculpture is the largest category
of three dimensional artwork.
• During the 20th
century, the definition of
sculpture has widened a great deal and has
become an ever-expanding art form that is
constantly evolving and redefining itself.
• This is because of developments of new
sculptural tools and technology.
• Contemporary works now exhibit a huge
variety of new materials and techniques.

4. Past Characteristics
1. Representational
2.One solid mass with no movement.
3.Only carved or modeled (carved directly
from stone, wood, marble or built it up
from the inside using clay, plaster, wax,
etc.)

5. Modern Characteristics
1. Representational & abstract
2.Solid, static or use empty space in an
important way & capable of movement
(kinetic)
3.Carved, cast, modeled, assembled or
constructed in a variety of ways.

6. Two Basic Sculptural Forms:
1. Sculpture in the round (free-
standing sculpture) = art meant to
be view from all sides
2. Relief (high vs. low) = Sculpture
that projects from a background
surface.

7. Relief Sculpture Examples

12. 8 main ways to make sculpture:
1. Carved
2. Modeling
3. Cast
4. Constructed
5. Assembled
6. Kinetic
7. Environmental
8. Installations

13. Carved
• Sculptures made from wood, stone,
marble which are shaped by
removing the material

16. Modeling
• Sculptures made by shaping forms
from soft, workable material
Modeling

19. Cast
• Sculptures created by hollowing a
mold and filling it with material
that hardens.
–Plastics, plaster and concrete
mixtures
Casting

22. The Thinker, Rodin, 1902

23. Constructed
• Sculptures built from traditional or
industrial materials shaped by the
artist. The parts may be of a single
material, such as metal or a variety
of material.

27. Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi

28. Assemblages
• Sculptures constructed from a
variety of ready-made materials
and objects not often intended for
making art.
Assemblages

32. Joseph Cornell

34. Kinetic
• Sculpture that moves, either from
wind, falling water, temperature
changes, springs, air pumps, pull
strings or computers.
Kinetic

37. Environmental
• Sculptures that interact with, but do
not alter, the natural environment,
and works that involve a human-
made environment.
Environmental

40. Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England, prehistoric monument,
3500 BC

43. Installations
• Sculptures using various materials
that can be permanent and are not
confined to gallery spaces. Often
they interact with public
environments.
Installations

44. Recent climate change campaign at Berlin by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo was
extremely creative and dark. It was an installation art consisting of 1000 tiny ice
sculptures of men sitting on the steps of Berlin concert hall. This artistic
installation on the occasion of release of the report entitled Impact of Global
Climate Change was sponsored by WWF

46. A large jellyfish moves slowly, driven by the wind over the Phoenix Park homonymous city in Arizona. The creator of
Her Secret is Paciencia, out of scale and natural environment, Janet Echelman, no American artist to experiment with
new textile sculptures.
On the water of the Richmond Olympic Oval (British Columbia (CA), for example, has recently opened Water Sky
Garden, suspended structure made of PTFE.
The works are adapted to their natural rhythms of the turn of day and seasons. Reflections on the water which multiply
the embodiment of the installation, beautiful dress for the night light that illuminates the sky.

48. Brian Goggin, an artist of infinite sculptural jest, has left his mark on the West
Coast with his whimsical and vibrant layering of found objects and chaos-
provoking sculptures.