Eyes of a sculptor

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

      In the Through the Eyes of the Sculptor video, I learnt that making sculptures is a very involved process that has to take into account both the artist’s style and the raw material he/she is working with. I learnt that the sculptor has to have a very precise and almost complete idea of what he wants his sculpture to look like before he even picks up a chisel. I also learnt that restoration of monuments is very important in training talented and aspiring artists. 

      This video traces the life of a statue from conception to completion and shows how the artist goes through each process to create conceptual unity that allows us to be able to reach our own interpretation of the work of art.

      Before the carving starts, the sculptor must make sure that the raw material he is using is as close to perfect as he can get. In the case of marbles, one way he does this is by tapping the stone to make sure it does not have any cracks or other imperfection. In the whole process, attention to detail is the most important thing.

      Another thing that is particularly important is to make sure that history, the modeling of the sculptor and the final shape all have to interact with the technical aspects that the sculptor is using. For example, in the sculpture of the two horses and the man, I found it interesting that the sculptor, by placing the horses on top of a pile of marble, was able to create a support for the heavy statue and also provide a sense of dynamism.

      Another concept that in the video is the use of casting to create statues. The artist first makes a model figure and then uses a silicon mix to make a mold which is then filled with plaster. The use of the three materials: clay, plaster and marble and how they interact throughout is very important because they all seem to be equally important to the artist’s final product. One of the models used in the process of statue creation said something I found to be very important: that the artist is trying to “dissect the soul” during the process. I find this to be the ultimate aim of the sculptor and of any process of making good art: to take the soul and spirit out of one thing and transfer it into another.

Richard H. Ellis - Free Standing Sculpture

     The second video, Glass and Ceramics is mainly concerned with the use of these materials and how they shape the world around us. The video explains what glass is and how it is made. I learnt that glass is not a true solid but rather a viscous liquid which stiffens when cooled. In fact the whole process of glassmaking seems to be nothing more than a heating and cooling of the material to form various shapes and forms.

      Unlike a glass maker who concentrates on creating shapes, a person who works with stained glass “seldom etches” his glass. His main concern is to modulate the effect of glass by varying the color and texture of the glass using previously colored pieces of glass. The whole process of conceptualization to final product does not seem to be much different than the process used to sculpturing.

      The glass artist has to know what he wants and then he has to sketch out his ideas before he starts working. Then piece by piece, he puts the small pieces of pre-cut glass together to create something totally different whose “beauty depends on the surrounding light.’’

   

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Similarly, much of what glassmakers do when working with glass is replicated in ceramics and both of these materials depend very much on heating and cooling of the material. The quality of the final product depends on the amount of heat and the quality of raw materials used. I was surprised to find out that some ceramics can be made to be harder than steel and that someday they might day be used to build whole car engines.

      The use of glass in architecture owing to its transparency is very important in our daily lives and is rapidly replacing traditional materials because of their ability to reflect and retain heat. The use of laminated glass to enhance safety in our daily life is something that I think is understated.

 2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

     The videos and the text both talk about the aesthetics involved in sculptures and the use of glass and ceramics in our daily lives. Also, both the videos and the text go into detail about the processes used to create the final products.

      However, the sculpting video concentrates on just two sculpturing methods (casting and carving) while the text book talks about other methods including assembling and modeling. Both the book and the video do talk about the importance of the human figure in sculpturing and the role it plays in sculptures and statues in general.

      In Glass and Ceramics, most of the attention is given to the process of glassmaking and ceramic shaping which is something the text expands on by giving a history of both processes. Both the video and the text have similar descriptions of stained glass and how it is made.

      All in all, to appreciate the importance of sculpturing and the importance of the materials of glass and ceramic, the video and the text complement each other rather well. To study one without the other would take away from both.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics: Sculpture, Installation, and Craft?

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     The films are very detailed without being tedious. The processes and materials are explained in details that even someone not an expert in art can understand. They add depth to the topic because they show what goes into the process of creating these forms of art from the artist’s thought process to visualization to the final product.

     My understanding of craft, for example, was enhanced by the section on stained glass which was shown in detail through the stages an artist follows to create his work. I now understand better that craft as an art form is made by hands as opposed to industrial art which is shaped and made by machines.

      Lastly, the videos, by giving a visual aspect to the processes of creating art, make it possible to go inside an artist’s studio and even in his mind in order to see exactly what he sees when creating his art. Both videos were a great complement to the text.