Republic of the Philippines

CEBU ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL COLLEGES

Bogo City, Cebu

College of Teacher Education

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LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET # 1

Course Title : Art appreciation

Type of Activity : Crayon Etching
Activity Title : Sculpture
Duration : 3 hours
Learning Target/s : Understand the three types of sculpture
Reference/s : Introductory Reading on Humanities Focus on Philippine Art Scene

A. Concept Digest

Sometime during the past few centuries, one could argue that the knowledge and appreciation of art surpassed that of
religion for the educated classes. Sure, people still associate and practice the many forms: Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, to name a
few. But for many more, perhaps, it is art that they look upon religiously. And while commissioned public artwork has been part
of our culture for centuries, it now seems more omnipresent than ever. The meaning, and therefore, impact of a commissioned
work can change the fabric of a street corner or city (think of Chicago’s famous Bean or New York’s iconic Knotted Gun). From
the bustling streets of major U.S. cities to quieter corners of the globe in Howick, South Africa, and Las Colinas,
Texas, Architectural Digest surveys 28 of the world’s most fascinating public sculptures.

B. Examples

A. SCULPTURE

Sculpture comes from the Latin word “Sculpter” which means “to carve.” Technically all sculptures are three (3) dimensional
images which set it apart from the form of visual arts. It is defined as the art of carving or molding which also includes the
process of cutting or hewing wood, stone, metal to make a desired 3-d presentation of the subject. It could be in the form of
statues, ornaments in any material that could be worked on by the sculptors.

B. Three Types of Representation of a Sculpture

Sculptures possess three types of meaning:

1. Dominant hegemonic meaning – the meaning that the maker wants to convey;
2. Oppositional meaning – meaning derived from the viewer’s perspective opposite the maker’s meaning;
3. Negotiated meaning – it comes from both the maker and the viewer.

C. Sculptural Techniques

There are two major sculptural techniques:

 Additive
 Subtractive

Working on the marble and wood would require “subtractive process “where in unwanted and unnecessary portion of the
materials are chipped off using a chisel and hammer for the desire image to come out.

While “additive process “ it was considered when working on a clay or terracotta figurine. It does not require a chisel or
hammer, instead the hands of artist would work on a soft mold which are shaped into the desired image by simply adding and shaping
the material.
Other process includes:

 Carving – is a procedure that dates back from pre-historic time wherein the craftsman or artist cuts away undesired portion
of the material until the desire image comes out.

 Molding – it is a process of building up of form where a soft materials could be easily shaped, bent or twisted to enable to
achieve durability, like clay or terracotta figurines.

 Casting – is a process that seeks to produce an exact replica of a sculpture and is accomplished in two stages. First an
impression or negative mold is formed in a clay model to replicate the original sculpture. Second positive cast or a
reproduction is made out of the mold. The process could be repeated to desired number to create as many replicas as an
artist wishes to make.
  Assemblage – this process originated from the collage of Picasso and Baroque artist where three dimensional painting are
made out of assembling pieces of different materials. It gives other sculptor an inspiration in their work and pieces of
materials are put together or assembled by glue, soldering or screw to create interesting works as a shoebox filled with
surrealism or junk and metal scrap art of Marikina City.

D. Materials in Sculpture

The two preferred materials in sculpture are marble and bronze. Some artist fashioned with other materials like:

1. Stone
2. Wood
3. Plastic
4. Clay
5. Terracotta

Few artist however argue that almost all materials could be shaped and molded this there is no limitation to the material that
could be employed by sculptor.

E. Types of Sculpture

There are three different types of sculpture according to emphasis:

1. Pictorial – the emphasis of the sculptor is the details of the design than the method or materials that is used;
2. Sculpturesque – primarily the artist is more concerned with the strength, durability, and solidity of the materials
that is used than the details of the work;

3. Built-up – is the combination of pictorial and sculpturesque type, wherein the artist is concern with the details
and the material that is used. A fine example of the third type is Michael Angelo’s Pieta.
F. History

 Egyptian – sculptures are idealized representation of the gods/goddesses and the holy, the feature is immobile and always
frontal in pose. There is a strong geometric emphasis to the body, with the shoulders chest plane resembling an inverted
triangle.

 Mesopotamian – Sumerians are noted to carve small marble deities with wide, staring eyes. Other details are schematically
treated and similarity between sculptures to other is likely.
 Greek – there are two major developments in Greek sculpture:
1. 7th and 1st centuries bc– working on a monumental scale, they almost perfected depiction of the human form;
2. 5th and 4th centuries bc – naturalism was attained and images were well proportioned and there were signs of movement.
Faces remained immobile. Gods and athletes were favorite subjects during this period.
 Roman – Romans are known to be an avid collector of anything that is Greek from whom they also inherited and imitated
their sculptural styles and technique. The distinct contribution of the Romans in sculpture is realistic portraiture.

 Early Christian Sculpture – sculptures dating back from the 4th century where stylistically no longer corresponded to the
classical ideal of beauty but centers on representation of the character in the Bible.

 Gothic Sculpture – In the Gothic Period, remarkable sculpture was produced in France, Germany and Italy. Most sculpture
were made in conjunction with the church architecture. Some were also found on tombs, pulpits, and other church
furnishings.
  Renaissance sculpture – there are two principal components of renaissance style:
1. Revival of the classical forms originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans;
2. An intensified concern with secular life,

 Baroque sculptures - roughly spanning the 17th century they were characterized by dynamic intensity and emphasis on the
movement and emotion.

 Neoclassical – inspired mainly by the excavated figurines and sculptures in archeological sites of Greek and Roman colony,
some sculptures revived the Greek and Roman tradition in its purest form.
 Romanticism – a major movement in 19th century that happened when sculptors freed themselves from past models and their
new works were created on their imagination and appealed to the emotions of the audience.

 20th century – there was a revolution in sculptural techniques, methods, subjects, and materials that was employed by the
sculptor in the 20th century. It was parallel to the changes in painting and most of the times bearing the same name to identify
the different forms like cubism, futurism, constructivism, dada, and surrealism.

C. Exercises

 Exercise #1 Crayon Itching