3-D Art

For this project, you will be creating a subtractive sculpture out of plaster. You will be making a full round sculpture (also known as a free-standing sculpture). Full round sculptures can be viewed from any angle. The subject matter for this sculpture will be an abstract human figure.

Jean Arp


Abstract sculpture: sculptures that may be based on actual objects, but where the objects have been simplified, stylized, distorted, or otherwise altered to the point were they may become difficult or impossible to recognize.

In this blog post, we will be looking at the work of three modern artists that are known for their abstract sculptures of human figures-- Henry Moore, Jean Arp, and Barbara Hepworth. These sculptures were created over several decades in the 1900s.

After you look at the pictures below, there will be a few questions for you to answer-- answer by making a comment down at the bottom of this post.

(Sorry-- I don't have titles for these sculptures-- they are numbered for your convenience so that you may refer to individual pieces in your answers to the questions.)

Henry Moore
1898-1986

British sculptor Henry Moore is probably the most well-known of the three sculptors we will be looking at. Moore worked in stone, wood, and bronze, and plaster.

Note the progression of style in his sculpture, how he moves from figures that are stylized but recognizable to figures that become increasingly abstract.

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Barbara Hepworth
1903-1975

Also from Great Britain, Hepworth and Moore met in college, and remained friends throughout their lives. Together, they played a major role in defining modernism in sculpture.

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Jean Arp (a.k.a. Hans Arp)
1886-1966

French/German artist Jean Arp came out of the Surrealist movement in the earlier twentieth century, and was a member of the movement known as Dada. Arp was a sculptor, painter, and poet.

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Questions:

1. What kinds of things did Moore do to simplify the human figure and make it more abstract?
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2. Look at the picture of Hepworth carving a block of stone. What exactly is she doing, and how is she doing it?


3. Would you say that Hepworth's gender (female) has anything to do with the appearance of her work? If so, what? If not, why not?

4. Compare and contrast-- How is Arp's and Moore's work similar? How is it different?