Blog Archives

Of sculpture, of time

6/22/2018

...of sculpture, of time arrested, of the power of simple form...

from Chapter 4. Space...And What Is In It, in The Sculptor's Eye: Looking at Contemporary American Art, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, 1993, Delacorte Press NY

Photo taken inside Audubon Society of RI Nature Center and Aquarium

Come into our language

6/21/2018

Our point of view in a work of art, our connection with it, depends on the position from which we see it. When it is set on a pedestal, we consider it from several vantage points, but it stays separate from us. This notion of separateness has come into our language–when we say we put someone "on a pedestal," we mean setting him or her above ordinary life....By putting us in the same space...the sculptor links us to it.

from Chapter 4. Space...And What Is In It, in The Sculptor's Eye: Looking at Contemporary American Art, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, 1993, Delacorte Press NY

Photo taken inside Audubon Society of RI Nature Center and Aquarium

Unexpected shift

6/20/2018

Proportion and Distortion. Artists are concerned with proportion, how the various parts of a sculpture relate to each other. An unexpected shift in proportion is called a distortion. It is used knowingly by the artist for emphasis and emotional impact.

from Chapter 2. What's The Subject? in The Sculptor's Eye: Looking at Contemporary American Art, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, 1993, Delacorte Press NY

Photo taken inside Audubon Society of RI Nature Center and Aquarium

Qualities that are vivid

6/19/2018

For a moment let's put aside our opinions and concentrate on describing what we see. At this stage we don't need to guess the meaning of the sculpture or evaluate whether it is good or bad. Ask only, "What do I see?" "What do I know is there?" Identify the subject matter, the material, the size, and some of the sensory properties of the artwork. By sensory properties we mean what we can perceive through our five senses: qualities that are vivid in terms of touch, sight, sound, and so on.

from Chapter 1. What Makes A Sculpture? in The Sculptor's Eye: Looking at Contemporary American Art, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, 1993, Delacorte Press NY

Last forever

6/18/2018

When Hark came into the room, holding a lighted lantern above his head, there was no one there. The Duke's sword lay gleaming on the floor, and from the table dripped the jewels of Hagga's laughter, that never last forever, like the jewels of sorrow, but turn again to tears a fortnight after.

from Epilogue in The 13 Clocks by James Thurber, illustrated by Marc Simont

<<Previous

Forward>>

Of sculpture, of time

Come into our language

Unexpected shift

Qualities that are vivid

Last forever

Archives

Categories