Sculpture
Questions and activities
- Sculptures can be made in many different ways and with many different materials. A sculptor also needs to consider space, form and balance as well as the subject of the work. Organise a sculpture competition and see who can create the tallest sculpture using only everyday objects. Discuss why certain approaches were successful and some were not.
- Identify which of the sculptures listed here from the Gallery’s collection use assemblage, carving or casting techniques. Research these techniques and create a visual timeline from 1900 to today showing the variation of approaches to sculpture.
- Consider Angus’s Bugatti type 35 and Gascoigne’s Metropolis. How have the conventions of sculpture been challenged in these works? How do they reflect contemporary practice?
- Why do you think Klippel used a number for the title of his work? How does this affect the way you view the work? Develop a case study on this artist and his approach to artmaking. Research other works by Klippel in the collection to support your point of view.
- Select a work from those listed here and discuss its use of mass and negative space. Are these elements of equal importance? How do they work together to create the overall effect? Create two drawing studies of the work: in the first, only draw the work’s mass; in the second, draw just the space around it. Juxtapose these images to form an abstract composition in 2D or 3D form.
