Course Description and Structure
This course will explore the conventional association of ironwork with power and the male gender, focusing on the formal elements of sculpture and presentation. Using iron as the core sculptural medium, students will learn various methods of altering the material including rolling, cutting, welding, and bending, as well as the use of conventional power tools. We will be applying Eugenia Herbert’s, Iron, Gender, and Power (1994), which discusses the rituals, beliefs, and exclusivity in African material culture, and other theoretical texts to frame this practice. Students will explore and learn to recognize moments of uncertainty, vulnerability, and power, not only when working in the metal shop, but also throughout their art making practice. We will question gender norms and challenge dichotomies, not only in society and other cultures, but also in art communities and modes of making. In this class, you will gain an understanding of how to manipulate a material, and insert an identity an/or a narrative that may be congruent with specific types of manipulations.
The main objective of this course is to create a body of work which allows each of you to build upon your existing knowledge of sculpture and expand your thoughts on how you see and produce work. The course consists of three main projects and will be supplemented by several assignments and exercises in between each critique.
The piece in the center was a patina collaboration. Each student had one panel and a few students designed the assembly method.
In this class, students will use mold-making as a way to reproduce sculptural forms. We will research elements of repetition in film, fashion, sport, .gifs, to numerous artistic practices. We will also discuss repetitive behaviors found throughout superstitions, traditions, and mental disorders, and question the value of a single precious object verses many. Artists who work within these themes — Charlie Chaplin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Anne Hamilton, and Tehching Hsieh, as well as Olympic athletes — offer inspiration for student concepts and practice. The basic open face tile mold using paper pulp will start the discussion of multiples and lead us to plaster and silicone two-part molds, where each student will choose an object to develop further. Themes of cultural memory, identity, and reenactment will also be visited.
Cast plaster and wax.
Cast concrete, print.
Cast bronze and found photographs.
Made using the lost wax technique in an investment mold.
Cast paper.
Cast cotton paper, metal, thread.
Cast paper, metal, string.
Cast plaster using alginate molds.
Installation image.
In this class, students will create a working definition of what an apparatus is in relation to their body and relate it to the study of ergonomics. We will study the plasticity of the word “apparatus” while pursuing the craft of performance and of construction. From this broader understanding, students will explore construction methods in building their first apparatus, a simple box, which will serve as their stage. Based on the of embodied memory, ritual, and range of motion, students will evolve their understanding of the apparatus as they interact with it as their performance partner. We will focus on the bookends of performance, timing, and how to engage the audience, as well as how to display performative ephemera and residue.
Course Description
In this class, students will use a variety of materials to study the way in which sculpture can shape space. We will examine and apply design principles and elements in every endeavor. We will also discuss the practice of gestalt and have a brief unit on land art and site specificity as well as metal working. Artists who work within these themes such as Tara Donovan, Ann Weber, Andy Goldsworthy, and Martin Puryear offer inspiration for student concepts and practice. The emphasis is on teaching students how to synthesize the rules of design in order to create visually and conceptually meaningful work.
A piece from the land-art unit.
A piece from the land-art unit.
In this class, students will use a variety of materials to study the way in which sculpture can shape space. We will examine and apply design principles and elements in every endeavor. We will also discuss the practice of gestalt and have a brief unit on land art and site specificity as well as metal working. Artists who work within these themes such as Tara Donovan, Ann Weber, Andy Goldsworthy, and Martin Puryear offer inspiration for student concepts and practice. The emphasis is on teaching students how to synthesize the rules of design in order to create visually and conceptually meaningful work.
These were students with a wide range of levels and experiences. Most students were continuing education students and had previously only worked in clay. Many students had limited resources in terms of financial and technical support. Facilities were also limited to mostly hand tools with a couple power tools. Projects spanned from cardboard, found object, personal narrative, and finally a digital and physical realization of a site-specific, large-scale sculpture.
In this course, students will explore the connection of traditional handcrafting techniques or forms with new and innovative concepts, materials, methods, tools, processes, and approaches. Students will take part in traditional and experimental pattern generation in the form of found and created objects using 3-D printing technology, computer modeling software, 3-D scanning, laser cutting and fabrication using a variety of sculptural materials.
