Today, We started a discussion about the many strategies that sculptor's employ in order to engage their viewers. We touched on the following- representation, scale, abstraction, curiosity/the unexpected, and content/narrative. It is important to keep in mind that sculptors don't usually use these strategies in isolation. Rather, sculptors use a variety of strategies together in order to hook their viewers. As the term goes on, we will explore these strategies through our in class projects and we will certainly uncover and talk about other way that sculptors create interest in their work.
For our first project, we will be focusing on representation. In preparation, take a look at the images in this post. Top to bottom the artists are Joseph Wheelwright, Dai Yun, Duane Hanson and Nina Levy. How have the sculptors used representation to engage their viewers? Is representation the key aspect of the piece or are other strategies at play. Post a comment on sculpture space and offer your thoughts. Try to use the vocabulary we covered in class. Go back to the site at least once before class and see what your classmates have said. Jump back into the conversation if you would like to.
13 comments:
In these sculptures, representation is used on various levels. Think about it: in all sculptures, representation is used? Why would the sculptor create the particular sculpture if it weren't to represent something? In the 2nd sculpture of the two adults sitting on the bench, the sculptor uses hyper-realism to engage the viewers. In the third sculpture, as we talked about today, the sculptor represents a storyline by using scale, narrative/content, etc.
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I really like the sculpture of the washing machine. it uses representation but is made out of a material a real washing machine would most likely not be made out of. the two people sitting on the bench look like actual people sitting there(hyper-realism) then the picture with the babies head and two people missing heads uses representation a little different. this sculpture really makes you think more, it makes you curious about why he choice to make that sculpture the way he did.
In all of these sculptures, there is one common thing, and that is that they are all representational sculptures. Although some of the sculptures materials are not the same or look the same as the actual object, it has the same details and look of the real thing. But, no sculpture can be exactly the same as the object it is representing. For example, the sculpture of the two people on the bench, from the photograph, they look exactly the same as real humans, but does not use human skin. This sculpture is the most realistic of all. Another sculpture to take a look at is the washer made of bricks. Of course, washing machines are not made of bricks, but in this sculpture, it has the same details a washing machine would have, including the knobs, but the material is different.
The artists have used representation to engage there viewers by doing the unexpected. It is not common to think of a washing machine made out of bricks, or making to headless people attached to one big head. The artists also engages the viewers by the story, why are these two people sitting on the bench, what is there relationship. Why are two headless people attached to one big head. In the sculpture with the big head the artist uses scale, and that also attracts the eye of the viewers. All these sculptures put some everyday objects of actions into a very different perspective.
In the first sculpture the most significant aspect of the piece is representation, followed closely by curiosity. Curiosity is one aspect of this sculpture because no one looking at this picture should expect to see a washing machine made out of bricks, it one of the reason it draws your attention. But this is definitely a representational sculpture because it represents a real washing machine with a brick one. The second sculpture reminds me of what Mr. Brooks was telling us about sculptures, they are pieces of art that takes up space in our world. This piece of art really shows that idea behind a sculpture because it is one that people can really interact with because it is very realistic. The only strategy used to create visual interest is representation because the sculpture is representing real people, which are actually made from wax. The final sculpture is also representational but has scale and curiosity aspects. The scale of the child's head creates interest as soon as you look at it and curiosity is also a large factor because the child has no body and the other two people have no heads. I believe Scale is the key aspect of this sculpture though because it is the biggest factor in grabbing your attention.
All of the sculptures use representation. They all depict a real object. However, some of these sculptures also use other strategies to catching the viewer's eye. For example, the piece by Joseph Wheelwright uses scale. I would also say that all of these sculptures use curiosity. My favorite out of the sculptures is two people sitting on the bench. Whenever I see it, I cant help but wonder what the story is behind it.
Nice job guys!!! I am really pleased with all of your comments!!!
i really like all of these sculptures but my favorite has to be the brick washing machine. I especially like that one because it looks like the appliance but it also looks like a completly different thing. My second favorite is the tourists on the bench. They are so real, hyper realistic, and I love that thy aren't stick thin like the other hyper realistic sculpture we saw before. I really dont like the one with the giant baby head, it just freaks me out because of the giant head and the headless people.
In these three sculptures that I see, it shows how each artist conveys and tends to catch their viewers attention. I notice how in all three each artist uses a different elements which we will be able to utilize as well. I found the washing machine image the most intresting because it is made of bricks, which is a item that is obviously not meant to make machines. The image of the two people is as well intresting because not only is it realistic, but shows how you can use different elements to portray a image like this
Although everyone else thought that each scultpture showed or was an example of representation, I agree with them. For the washing machine, the sculpture used certain materials to bring it more to life and to make it seem real. In the sculpture with the two people sitting down together, the artist also used certain materials to make it look so real as if to fool you. And lastly, in the third sculpture, the artists uses human like traits to tell some kind of a story whether that is about divorce, or some sort of stretch between somethings.
I really like the uniquness that the artists used for these pieces of work. They all used some bit of realizim. The first one, with the head, caught my attention because it was real yet it was missing parts. I think that all of the scupltures symbolize something and the artists want the viewers to find out what that is.
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