Module 6- Sculpture, Glass and Ceramics


Szenina Russo 

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
Through the eyes of the sculptor video discusses a stone sculpture and the steps that are taken to make sculptors. In France Emmanuel Fillion lived near a quarry and was surrounded by the objects first with craving with hammers and screwdrivers. Limestone is a huge contributor to the type of stone he would use, stone is wet when it comes out of the quart. A chainsaw is used to cut into blocks, this is used to make sculptures. He received an opportunity to work and restore sculptures away from his hometown. A sculpture must use tools to restore certain shapes or areas of a building or freestanding sculpture. Restoration is a commitment for carvers that takes skill and knowledge to do so. 
The sound is an indication to know when the limestone is good cut and to keep it. He would work on multiple at the same time of other materials such as marble and bronze as well. He has made freestanding sculptures, sculptures in fountains, sculptures in building and bridges. When commissioned he must use a model for figural studies to represent the human form as well as supports are used. Bridges are used to avoid fracturing or breaking of the sculptor. He begins by sketching, then clay, plaster and then into stone or marble. He goes back and forth between multiple pieces so fresh ideas are following, going back to pieces multiple times. Metal plates are used on the clay model, then plaster is places over the figure to avoid any obscure changes from happening. The silicone mold is used for the plaster model. 
In 1255 the town was owned by the Medici family and kept for the center of marble production, this is where Michelangelo quarried and made his sculptures. Italian teachers teach students from all around the world to learn from where this material, artist production as well as techniques have been practiced. Luna is responsible for the exploration of stone or marble. Marble of squares of about 20 tons are moved and shipped to sculptors. Older ways or modes of moving the stone in quarries down the mountains or landscape, were dangerous. Cables and logs were used to move the multi-ton stones on the landscape. Taken the position of their sculptor, is a common and useful technique to use as an artist sculpts. New tools that are powered by electricity are now used. When they are shipped back to Malibu in United States, the sculptors are finished in his studio. 

The other video, addressed glass and ceramic as an art form. Glass is made from sand composed of silicon dioxide when fluxes are added such as limestone or potash to avoid fluidity. When it is heated up, it can be shaped or manipulated to be blown. The glass maker collects the glass on the end of a rod, blows in to the rod to make a bubble and continuously moves the rod in a circular motion. The glass will cool down and then begin to harden. It is reheated to make it more durable. Engraving is possible with glass. Stained glass windows have to do with texture and color with glass design and production. Paint is added and a chemical reaction occurs and allows transparency. Small models are essential, then a cartoon, pieces are soldered together with lead and then installed. Ceramics used fire too and are made of clay from the Earth. The clay is heated and then the material hardens. Different degree of firing and stone used in clay produce diverse materials such as brick or fine china. Dry pressing is used, dry powder is placed in molds and then even pressure avoids distortion. Glazing is a coating for aesthetics and provides a shiny exterior. Designs or color can be added with glaze. Ceramic materials are used in medical instances as well as aesthetics in society. Modern society uses cremains in many instances Laminated glass is made in a serious and machinery process for glass. It is heated to soften, get rid of bubbles and then becomes transparent. Tempered glass shatters into tiny pieces but no sharp edges, glass is heated and then introduced to cold air. 
2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?
The text provides the terminology of sculpture as a whole such as high relief, low relief and sculpture in the round. Sculpture in the round is when the figure is free standing and completely carved out a stone material. High relief is when the figures protrude from the back ground more than low relief. Modeling is when the figure is completely carved and molded out of a material, contrasted with carving where a surface uses a subtractive method to take away at the surface. One example of low relief is The Churning of the Sea of Milk. Terra cotta is an Earth based clay used by antiquity that is fired clay, Figurines of a voluptuous lady is represented in terra cotta. Casting has to do with bronze or metal, a cast is produced and then the metal is heated and poured into the mold. The lost wax process is labor and time consuming. There is a clay core, with wax covered then the wax rods are placed in, clay covered the entire piece, wax empties, bronze or other metals are poured into the interior and then the clay model is removed. Ceramic is cast in a liquid called slip by mixing powdered clay clay, deflocculant and hen poured into a mold of plaster. There are terms intertwine with the videos and the processes that were explained. There are similar and new terms in the text than in the videos. 
Resin such as Whiteread’s, Daylight, is represented to example that sculptors can use a transparent, poetic material. It ca be tinted and manipulated by the artist. Carving is more intense than modeling because it is a subtractive process. Assembling is when pieces of a material are brought together to make forms, figures or other subjects. Materials such as stainless steel, wood and plastic are modern materials that can be manipulated, used and reconstructed by artists such as Paine, Puryear and Bhabha. The human figure is huge in sculpture. It has been with Romans, Greeks and other places in the Mediterranean from antiquity to now. Contrapposto is a way of placing the figure and weight distribution of the form. The body can be accurately represented and rendered or not by the artists choice. Nature is used as sculptures from the Serpent Mound to the artist Goldsworthy. 
Installations are a fun and experimental way of using materials to manipulate and transform spaces. This was not discussed in the videos but materials that they use were talked about in the video. Clay can be constructed through slabs or coils of clay. Porcelain or coarse ware are made through the type of filtration is made on the clay body. Glass is produced to make similar objects like clay but are a completely different material and process. Metal includes forging which is metal being shaped by hammer bows.  Wood and other materials are used to manipulate forms and objects so that the artist is able to represent a certain mood, tone or theme. 
3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics: Sculpture, Installation, and Craft?

The films were very informative on the process of making these materials and how to use them in artists contexts. The first film was very interesting on the old quarry of marble and limestone and the processes that they had to use to get the materials. Carving stone is a very labor intensive process that takes a lot of skill as well as time. I appreciated the knowledge it provided and the whole story about what the artists was doing and how he was going about it. I personally have never produced any sculpture, so i have a much greater appreciation for buildings, monuments and other important buildings with sculptor aspects. The installation of this process is very nerve racking, the marble could break, chip or shatter through transportation. 
The other video clearly stated the two processes of ceramics and glass production. Personally I thought that the discussion of the diverse glass that is produced for safety reasons was really interesting. I never knew that glass was produced so that if it was ever shattered, it forms into dull edges to avoid injuries. Laminate glass is also placed in schools or sports areas because it has a less tendency to break. Glass blowing is a very intense, but fairly quick process in contrast with working with limestone or marble. This material is derived from sand and is fragile once it is exposed to cooler air. Ceramics has been prevalent and used in societies since antiquity. Different sediment compositions produce different outcomes. Glazes make the exterior aesthetically pleasing and more durable as a product. Both of these processes rely on the regulation of water and color is a component. 

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