Analyzing Sculpture as One of the Major Medium of Art - Essay Example

Task: Sculpture The faculty of visual art and studies is one of broad s in various matriculation s that offer the course. The course consists of a unit referred to as mediums of visual arts. Medium of art refers to a material used by a designer or artist to create any work of arts. There are several mediums of art. These are sculpture, ceramics, painting, mixed media, installation art, digital art, video art, and ceramics. This paper, however, will focus on analyzing sculpture as one of the major medium of art. Sculpture is an artwork, normally three-dimensional and is created through a combination of hard materials, for instance, typical stones like marble, glass or metal and wood. A professional artist ensures that he or she has all the essential materials before commencing into any work of arts. Any person who has ever worked on a newspaper printing station will understand this best. Space is a fundamental factor in sculpture (Slobodkin 118). The same principle applies to sculpture. An artist should also accustom and remind themselves of terms like bottom-heavy and top-heavy. He or she should also be aware if the object in the visual field is correctly and well distributed to easily give a sense of balance. All these fall under composition, that is, the wise use of space and balance in artistic works. The next concept that artists need to know is to move into any position that will distribute the visual information in a wise manner. They may also need to add a background material in order to get everything balancing well (Slobodkin 119). An example is the existence of a pair of slippers beneath every female nude. Another consequence of this is the way with which the shapes of the formed objects line up with each other. They look like a piece of the puzzle. Despite the fact that the object always appear in a 3-dimensional space, much consideration is put on how 3-D visual information manages to impact on a two dimensional plane. Through this, any two dimensional shape can easily interact with a three dimensional form in a perfect manner. Artists sometimes use basic forms of sculpture and ensure that they echo them in various places in the same visual field. Moreover, artists sometimes increase the variations such as a fugue by the Bach. An example of this type of a compositional dance is the great Newberry’s Blithe, in which two-dimensional tapestry behind a woman echoes and reflects the curves on her body. Another important concept of a sculpture is the sweeping forms. Some sculptures look as if they are about to fall or move. Such sculptures make viewers feel as if they will fall or move behind their backs (Slobodkin 120). Such sculptures hold the eyes and make the viewers watch them with a lot of suspicion and probably wait for something to happen. The eyes flow over the cascading limbs and muscles. The key to comprehending this effect is trying to locate the eye-catching points. Such points include feet position, kneecaps alignments, hands location, finger directions, waist and chest axes, limb joint position, hair strands, and the eyes. After the location of these points, they are connected to the sweeping and twisting lane. The intensity of this plane normally varies across figures but it usually grows in a uniform direction of movement. There may be an expansion of twisting lines of contact or intensity, depending on the existing pieces. There is a sequence of events in every sculpture. This sequence exits in time but are sometimes held stationary by the bronze. This movement comes from the viewer’s eye motion, as they tend to follow these striking features. In a very short time, an individual is able to experience subconsciously this sweeping form without the ability to identify and determine the direction consciously. However, taking the eyes and carefully moving them over the piece enables an individual, one is able to watch and see how the sculpture is generated, built up and explodes in denouement, and in a resolution of various interacting forms. The forms sometimes look very straight like arrows. It may also be upward spiral, loop-de-loop, or an arc (Slobodkin 118). However, the result of all these are anticipated movement. A viewer always feels as if the sculpture is guided or aimed towards a single direction. An individual will automatically thinks that the sculpture will move to the single direction. The history of sculpturing is wide and is made up of great artists although many are unknown; their works still show their visual amazement and continue to live with us to the present. Their works are exemplified by great marble statues, stone carvings and long lasting bronze sculptures. The history of sculpturing started in the Stone Age, despite the lack of an exact time. There are two known works of art that represent this age: the stone effigies of the Venus of  the Venus of Tan-Tan and that of Berekhat Ram discovered in the Golan Heights (Fowler 118). What is considered as the official emergence of sculpture as a form of art took place around 35,000 BCE, and was in the form of animals, birds and therianthropic forms. They were formed in the lower Perigordian periods and were found in the caves of Hohle Fells, Vogelherd, and Hohlenstein-Stadel in Germany (Fowler 132). The ivory carving of the Venus of Hohle Fels is considered to be the foremost figurative sculpture. Other early works include the minute obese forms referred to as Venuses of Willendorf, Kostenky, Moravany and Garagino. They were created from bones of mammoths, bone ash, ceramic clay and Eolithic limestone. These forms have been discovered across(Fowler 99). Mesolithic sculptures were made between 10,000 – 4,000 BCE. They were bas-reliefs and stood on their on. The most noticeable is the terracotta sculpture thinker of Cernavoda, which is a clear representation of cognitive ideas. Neolithic sculpture represents those of 4,000-2,000 BCE, and is famous for pottery, but also contained freestanding sculptures and bronze statuettes. This form is represented by the Egyptian pyramids. The demand in these forms of sculpture was fueled by growth of cities, the European Bronze Age and the creation of efficient tools. The Eastern Mediterranean sculpture (2,000-1,100 BCE) represented the Minoan culture in the island of Crete, known for its sculptures and metal work. This was followed by sculptures of classical antiquity (1100-100 BCE), which represent the Daedalic period, and were in line with chronology of Greek art covering three eras: the Archaic Greek sculpture was slow consisting mainly of trials with the Kouros being a notable sculpture of this period, Classical Greek sculpture represented the height of Greek art, with famous sculptors including: Myron, Polykleitos, Phidas, Lysippos, Praxiteles and Leochares. Hellenistic Greek sculpture is the age of widening of Greek culture. It marked the shift from classical realism to superior heroicism and expressionism. Works of art of this period include: Dying Gaul, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Laocoon and his sons and Venus De Milo. Although the Greek empire later lost its glory, its sculptures remained the grandest of all sculptures. Celtic metal sculpture (400-100 BCE) is represented by the Celtic Broigher boat and the Keltoi stone sculpture. The Roman sculptures (2000 BCE-200CE) were characterized by realism not idealism. They acted as symbols of roman might. Byzantine sculpture (330-1450 CE) was absent due to the religious nature which banned three dimension works of art. Early Romanesque sculpture (800-1050) led to the resumption of medieval sculpture by Charlemagne 1, ruler of the Franks. He closely followed the arts, and his architectural works were furthered by later Roman emperors. Romanesque sculpture (1000-1200) witnessed the development of Romanesque sculpture and stained glass. This period marked the founding of new carving shops, apprenticeships and acknowledgment of expert sculptors. Gothic sculpture (1150-1300) represented the introduction of brand architectural designs. They were characterized by high ceilings, pointed arches, lean walls and massive stained glass windows (Fowler 143). This form of art illustrated the height of religious architecture. Italian renaissance (1400-1600) was founded on respect for and rediscovery of works of art covering the period of Classical antiquity, and it focused on architecture and sculpture. These works of art were strongly laced with the belief in humanism and dignity of man. It started in Florence and was motivated by artists such as Fillipo Brunelleschi and Donatello. Early renaissance sculptors worked to better the gothic architecture while those of the high renaissance were mainly the works of Michelangelo, which were deemed to contain extraordinary qualities, and depicted the catastrophe of the human fate. His works include Pieta, David, Dying Slave and Galleria dell ‘Academia. Mannerist sculpture (1530-1600) depicted the turmoil in Europe at the time. Works from this period include The Rape of Sabines by Giambologna and Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini. Baroque sculpture (1600-1700) was noted for its efforts by the Catholic Church to reinvent itself by utilizing art to attract worshippers. Works from this period include The Vanquished Gaul killing himself and his wife by Bernini. Rococo sculpture (1700-1789) started in France and spread to Europe (Fowler 107). Self-awareness and lack of seriousness were among its characteristics. Guillaume Coustou was a prominent sculptor of this period. Neoclassical sculpture (1790-1830) represented altered Greek art by the addition of modern components. It focused mainly on architecture. Works of art of this period include the Pantheon, The Arc De Triomphe and the Capitol building. One of the pioneers of sculpture is Michelangelo. After undergoing apprenticeship at early childhood, Michelangelo joined Lorenzo’s art school in order to gain more. His first great artworks included Madonna of the Steps in Florence and Battle of the Horsemen (Crispino 98). He also did the completion of Dominic’s tomb, which had begun by Niccolo dell’ Arca before his death. He did two marble statutes; Bacchus and the Pieta. He also did the commission of David’s colossal figure. He was, therefore, a profound artist (Crispino 98). Work Cited Fowler, Harold. A history of Sculpture. New York, NY: Kessinger Publishing, 2005. Print. Crispino, Enrica. Michelangelo. Florence: Giunti Editore, 2001. Slobodkin, Louis. Sculpture: principles and practice. New York, NY: courier dover publications, 1973. Print. Read More