Chapter 3 - 10

10 Art History

Listen to a discussion in an art history class. Fill in the diagram with the information that you hear.

M: All right, everybody. We’ve taken a look at a lot of sculptures lately, but consider how they were made for a moment, instead of just their beauty.

Today we’re going to talk about the different methods that can be used in sculpture. Specifically, we’re going to discuss−uh, modeling, carving, assembling, and casting.

We’re going to talk about how to distinguish between them. Anyway, I want to talk to you about the different types of additive and subtractive methods, and then consider a few famous pieces of sculpture.

Oh, um, additive just means that you add things one by one, and subtractive means that you start with a big chunk of something and remove pieces. We’ll go ahead and talk about the additive ones first.

First off, modeling. Modeling involves the use of clay and, well, the basic idea of modeling is to continue adding a material until you have a finished product.

So, in the case of clay, the process always starts with something to work the clay around. It’s usually some kind of core… or some kind of framework to give the sculpture its structural strength.

Then, the clay is formed into a representation of, say, a person or something. People have used modeling for thousands of years. Anybody have any ideas of some kind of famous sculpture that was modeled?

W: What about those terra cotta soldier statues found in the ground in China? Were they modeled?

W: They sure were. Generally, you can tell if a sculpture was modeled−and therefore, additive−by how it was made. For example, if the sculpture has a core and it was made of clay, it was mottled.

Terra cotta is clay that has been baked in a special oven, so it was modeled. Is everyone ready to move on to the next one?

OK, the next additive method is called casting. It’s actually very similar to the modeling method in one important way: casting first requires a model. OK, so casting involves a mold, which is basically just the outer shell of what the sculpture will look like.

Then, some sort of material is poured into the mold and allowed to solidify. These materials can include a lot of different things: metals, sand, concrete… It’s a very versatile sculptured method.

Once the material has hardened, the mold is removed and the sculpture is complete. OK, so does anyone want to offer an example?

W: There’s a statue in Venice, Italy of a man on a horse. I learned about it in another class, but I forget what it’s called. I’m pretty sure it was made with a cast, though.

M: You’re right. It’s called the Equestrian Monument of Colleoni. The sculpture was made with bronze. The melted bronze was poured into a cast, it hardened, and the sculpture was complete.

OK, let’s go ahead and move on. We’ll talk now about assembling. It’s an additive process that is characterized of map−by materials being used together to form something.

W: Wait, I thought that was modeling.

M: Oh, I guess I should clarify. Now, while modeling involved a core and one material, assembling just… let me think of the best way to say this… it really just puts different materials together.

This is actually done quite often with metals. The metals are actually fastened together or sometimes just placed on or near each other. Does anyone want to try to give an example of assembling?

W: This might be a long shot, but I’ve seen a lot of art from a guy−David Smith was his name, I think. And he would just take a bunch of stuff−stuff from a junkyard, garbage basically−and he’d put it together and make a sculpture out of it.

M: Yes, actually, David Smith is a great example. He actually has an interesting story: after learning about welding in an automobile factory, he decided to apply that knowledge to art.

So he began putting old metal parts together to make art. Now, he’s one of the most famous sculptors of the 20th century. OK, let me move on to the last one. You all know what carving is, right?

Basically, you start with a big piece of material−wood is very common−and you use some sort of tool to take pieces away. This, of course is a subtractive method.

And, well, I’ll offer an example this time. Do you know Michelangelo’s famous statue David? That was made using a big piece of solid marble, and Michelangelo just chipped away at the block.

That’s right! There are a number of important sculptures in history that were made using carving, and David is one of them.

1) Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.

We’ve taken a look at a lot of sculptures lately, but consider how they were made for a moment, instead of just their beauty.

Why does the professor say this: instead of just their beauty.

2) Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.

Generally, you can tell if a sculpture was modeled−and therefore, additive−by how it was made. For example, if the sculpture has a core and it was made of clay, it was mottled.

Why does the professor say this: and therefore additive

3) Listen again to part of the discussion. Then answer the question.

That’s right! There are a number of important sculptures in history that were made using carving, and David is one of them.

What does the professor mean when he says this: There are a number of important sculptures in history that were made using carving, and David is one of them.