Nermina Hanjali- Brown

Index No.: 1329/2012

SCULPTURE

Sarajevo, 24.12.2012.

dr. Amira Sadikovi

The art of sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that is especially concerned with the creation
of expressive form in three dimensions.1
Starting from the prehistoric period until today, the art of sculpture has been one of the major
forms of expression and it had various purposes throughout history. Most of the sculptures can be
associated with religion and politics as well as architecture and decoration. Whether they are
small like Venus of Willendorf, or colossal like the Spring Temple Buddha, they all have one
thing in common they are tangible.
All the time up until the 20th century, the sculptures had only representational character, depicting
figures, portraits, or even battle scenes. They were mostly carved in wood, stone, ivory and gold
or even cast in bronze, and they all carry some symbolism within.
The prehistoric sculpturing was mostly that of a subtractive kind, involving techniques like wood
or clay carving. Only later did the stone carving come in use, both in making the sculpture inthe-round and the sculpture in relief types. It was not before the 15 th century that the artists began
to compose their sculptures in clay and then transfer the coordinates onto a block of stone or
marble (Michelangelos David). In the 20th century, the sculptors started taking more freedom in
the variety of materials used for sculpturing; some of them like Pablo Picasso, going as far as
using scrap metal and bicycle parts.
The ephemeral sculptures made of ice, sand, or some degradable material composed by
modernist artists nowadays for many of them symbolize ephemeral nature of land and life in
general. Some exhibits of a British sculptor Damian Hirst were even labeled tacky and vulgar
because of his portrayal of dead animals incased in formaldehyde.
The busts, like Thutmoses Nefertiti from 1345 BC, glorify the power and fame of rulers.
Ancient Egyptians used to decorate their buildings with the sculptures in relief, depicting the
scenes from everyday life (e.g. boat building scene). The similar low relief sculptures were
present in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Gothic period. During Renaissance, the relief
started expressing a more subjective understanding of space of the contemporary artists. Such are

1 Britannica Macropeadia 27, The Art of Sculpture, pg. 43

Lorenzo Ghibertis bronze doors that he composed for the Cathedral of Florence, and on which
he combined the low and the high relief thus approximating distance.
Nonrepresentational sculpture uses either nature or an artists manipulation of line and texture as
a source of ideas. Nonrepresentational reliefs are in most cases connected with architecture
because they serve as a form of decoration on a vast number of buildings.
The modern sculptors who belong to the movement of Constructivism have a completely
innovative approach to composition: instead of carving or modelling, they do casting, twisting or
welding. The form of their structure demands precision in calculation because their works of art
represent metaphors for industry and production. Vladimir Tatlin, the founder of Constructivism,
was criticised by words Either create functional houses and bridges or create pure art, not both. 2
Dadaists create assemblages from rubbish, pieces of wood or paper laying about (Kurt Schwitters
Rubbish Construction) and unlike Constructivists, they insist on rationality. One of the most
prominent Dadaist sculptors, Marcel Duchamp, had so-called readymades in his collection
referring to ready objects to which he would only add his signature.
The subject of the art of sculpture is vast and inexhaustible and it is probably the only segment of
visual art that can be understood and experienced by a blind person.

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_%28art%29

List of words:
sculpture in the round

free standing sculpture, possibly attached to a base (e.g.

statue)

sculpture in relief

sculpture attached to a surface

ephemeral

lasting only for short time, short-lived

tacky

ostentatious and vulgar

Bibliography:
-

Britannica Micropaedia 27, The Art of Sculpture, pg. 43

Web pages:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpture
http://www.ephemeralproject.com/an-introduction-to-ephemeral-art-andy-goldsworthy-

richard-shilling/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497046/relief
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damian_Hurst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadaist#Assemblage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp