Key Concepts:
Sculptural Methods
• Carving
• Modeling
• Casting
• Assemblage
• Environments
Key Terms:
additive - In sculpture, the process in which form is built up, shaped, and enlarged by the addition of materials.
subtractive - In sculpture, the process in which form is discovered by the removal of materials, by such means as carving.
relief - Any sculpture in which images and forms are attached to a background and project off it.
low-relief or bas-relief - A sculpture in which the figures and objects remain attached to a background plane and project off of it by less than one-half their normal depth.
high-relief or haut-relief - A sculpture in which the figures and objects remain attached to a background plane and project off of it by at least half their normal depth.
in-the-round - As opposed to relief, sculpture that requires no wall support and that can be experienced from all sides.
carving - A subtractive process, in which the material being carved is cut, chipped, gouged or hammered away from an inert, raw block of material.
modeling - In sculpture, the shaping of a form in some pliable material, such as clay or plaster.
ceramics - Objects formed out of clay and then hardened by firing in a very hot oven, or kiln.
firing - The process of baking a ceramic object in a very hot oven, or kiln.
casting - The process of making sculpture by pouring molten material--often bronze--into a mold bearing the sculpture's impression.
lost-wax casting method - A method of casting which relies on melting away a thin layer of wax which has either been applied to the outside of a plaster cast and surrounded with a heat-resistant molding material, or to the inside of a hollow mold which is then filled with sand. By pouring molten metal into the space where the wax is, the metal replaces the wax and, once cool, provides a hollow replica of the original sculpture.
assemblage - An additive sculptural process in which various and diverse elements and objects are combined.
environment - A form of art that is large enough for the viewer to move around in.
installation - An environment that is indoors.
earthwork - A large scale, out-of-doors form of art in which the artist manipulates the natural environment.