Elements of Art
and Sculpture
Inspiration
Before any work of art can be undertaken the artist must feel a
personal inspiration for the subject. This may sound obvious, but it is an
essential first ingredient if the artist hopes to capture the subject's
character; it will separate good art from mediocre. For example, an artist who
loves dogs and is intimately familiar with their anatomy and behavior can
also create an anatomically passable horse with little study; but that horse may lack the conviction and passion present in the artist's dog sculptures and
may be unmemorable and mediocre. Further, that same artist who has sculpted his
favorite old soul mate dog will most likely produce a work of such feeling that
every one who views the work will feel the love. This is not to imply that an
artist can not embrace many varied subjects; but each subject must be of such
personal interest that the artist is passionately motivated to become an expert
on the subject through intimacy and insight. This is the major reason that many artists will spend a career
exploring one type of subject.
Composition
For thousands of years, since the sculptures of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, mankind has attempted to identify and reduce to
a set of codified rules a definition of proper composition. Ultimately what we have learned is that memorable and meaningful art can not be codified without stiffing
individual inspiration and expression. While societies and movements have
been quick to embrace these codified definitions, individual
artists have continually rebelled and broken those rules and moved forward into new styles and techniques,
often with dire personal consequences such as burning at the stake. When one admires a work
of art, one is really experiencing the view of the subject filtered and defined
through the eyes, sensibilities, and soul of the artist, and that artistic soul must be
free to explore new horizons.
The lesson for artists is not to slavishly adhere to any
particular ideal defined by someone else, but to yield to his or her own
personal artistic vision. Certainly an artist's personal tastes can and
should be molded by
serious study of past art, making conscious and subconscious personal decisions
about what he or she likes or dislikes about other's art. Each individual can
then filter and interpret those experiences into his own work. In other words,
good composition cannot be learned or mimicked, it must flow directly from the artist's
personal sensibilities. This is not to say that the first stoke of the
brush or smear of clay will be to the artist liking, or that every work will be
successful and to the artists own satisfaction; however a work that is successful will be the end result of many many additions and subtractions, trial and error
until the final result "looks right" to the artist and hopefully
to the viewer.
Composition is a complex concept and is intertwined into every
aspect of a sculpture. A successful portrait bust has just as much reliance on
composition as does a sculpture group of several figures. A successful
bust is far far more that a collection of identifiable features such as a mouth,
eye or nose. Each individual has his or her own unique presence, the way
the head is held, the slope of the shoulders, the gaze of the eyes. In
fact most people can recognize a loved one from behind without even seeing the
face. This is an element of composition. A successful portrait must capture a
person's
character before the features are even considered.
Other aspects of a well composed bust would be the decision of
how much of the shoulders to retain and the position of those shoulders, how the clothes are presented, and how large
the work should be. Often the different personalities of the subject will
require different approaches to these questions. Is the subject meek or bold,
angry or jolly. These personalities must find their way into clay.
Size has its own considerations as these few
examples will illustrate. A life size bust is most effective when displayed
indoors; but outdoors, life-size seems small and puny to most people, so an effective
outdoor figure
needs to be larger than life. Conversely a half size cabinet bust is
appropriate for display on a desk, but a bust only 10% smaller than life utterly
fails, because the viewer spends all his time wondering if the person was really
that small and the viewers attention will be distracted from the point of the
composition.
Finally clothing deserves special mention in composition. The
object of clothing on a sculpture is not to show how clever the artist can be
in slavishly duplicating every tiny wrinkle and fold, but to enhance the
structure and movement of the body beneath. In clothing, what an artist leaves out is as
important as what is included. While it is important that the character, flow, and
fold of the cloth is believable and enhances the figure, an overly detailed
drapery will distract the eye of the beholder from the work and destroy it's composition. Many
artists have avoided this challenge by simply modeling a disembodied head and
calling it a bust.
Style
Style is closely related to composition and deals specifically
with the recognizable individual approach of the artist to the medium and
subject. The level of realism, abstraction, surface texture, implied
motion, repose, emotion, and general feel of a work of art are all elements of
style. The most important consideration of style was best expressed by
Cornell University English Professor Will Strunk Jr. (1869-1947) in his timeless
book Elements of Style: "To
achieve style, begin by effecting none." Although Professor Strunk was
addressing creative writing, his words are immensely profound and apply equally
to all forms of artistic endeavor from music to sculpture. In other words, if an artist follows
his own vision, and makes every decision for his own tastes and sensibilities,
then his own personal unique style will eventually emerge without consciously
trying to effect any particular style. A personal style therefore must flow
honestly and naturally from within and not be the result of intentional
invention or mimicry of another artist.
Draftsmanship
Draftsmanship is defined by how well an artist can see a
subject either in his own mind or from a model then interpret and transfer that
mental image to a medium. There is very little difference between
mediums when it comes to draftsmanship. An artist uses the same mental facilities
to draw a picture or model in clay. Much can be learned by study and
practice. One of the
greatest lies in modern art insists that draftsmanship is unimportant. The
faulty reasoning is that since a work of modern art is non representational then
there is no need to be able to represent. If free artistic expression is running
then skill and draftsmanship is walking. One needs to walk before running.
On the other hand, superior draftsmanship alone without inspiration and
without sensitive composition will result in a boring mediocre work of art. True believable and inspiring art comes from a sensitive
blend of draftsmanship, inspiration, technical skill and composition.
Technical Skill
There is an
endless array of techniques and skills associated with the production of art and
sculpture. Much can be learned from others or from books and refined by
the artist to fit his or her own temperament and style, but each artist
eventually finds
his own way by trial and error. Subjects of importance to artists
would include: anatomy, knowledge of the mold making and casting process,
manipulation of tools and materials, skill at welding, and knowledge of chemical
patina application. Even if an artist contracts many of these jobs to
others, a solid understanding of the processes is essential to communicate
intent and to supervise.
Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship can be defined by simply one
question. Is the artist proud to sign his or her name to the work?
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