What is composition in a sculpture

Continuation of Visual Art Term List from Unit One Formal Elements - continued: Another ability of the human eye is to use the texture in the world to judge distance. A tree that is close has leaves that are defined with detail; a tree in the distance loses the detail and the leaf becomes more of a shape. This ability to see two different versions of imagery from the same object allows the human eye to see distance. On a two-dimensional plane such as a piece of paper or canvas the artist uses texture to create detail for close-up views of an object such as bricks in the road, and less texture as the road diminishes in the distance The change in size and detail allows the brain to read the illusion of space on the flat surface. Texture can be created by applying different types of brushstrokes or spattered paint in painting; or by using crosshatched marks in drawing and printmaking. Marks on a two dimensional plane are implied texture. The human brain reads the marks as information about an object or space. With impasto painting (thick application of paint) the mark made can be three-dimensional. Actual texture is used in three-dimensional work where the surface of clay or metal or any other sculptural medium is distressed or scratched to create physical surface texture. Ursula von Rydingsvard uses a chain saw to put texture on her wood sculptures. Ursala von Rydingsvard, Bowl with Fingers, sculpture Using words to describe spatial qualities is somewhat humorous. When you first hear of it, the phrase negative space can sound ridiculous. In art work there is positive space and negative space. Imagine a table against the wall with a great big pumpkin sitting on top of the table. You are looking at the table straight on, everything parallel and perpendicular, the table and the pumpkin are considered positive space. They are physical objects that take up space; but everything around them is negative space. On a reproduction of some paintings or photographs, one can draw a shape that depicts the positive space and another shape that is the negative space. The wall, because it is parallel to the table and equal to the two-dimensional surface of paper or canvas, can become, in a sense, less visible or more atmospheric. The wall although it blocks our view of anything else can appear to have less substance. Even though the wall is a physical object, if it is shown without edges it can be negative space. Jean-Simeon Chardin, Still Life with Copper Pot, Cabbage, Pestle and Stove, painting The painter Jean-Simeon Chardin uses the little shadow of the copper pot handle to hold on to the wall and give the viewer a sense that there is a wall. But you can still break the painting down into negative and positive space. A definition of space in an artwork is the distance extending without limit in all directions; and the distance, interval or area between or within things. Space is pretty comprehensive. You'll notice that with two dimensional mediums (painting, drawing, printmaking) there are two spatial qualities to discuss and in three dimensional mediums (sculpture, installation) there are three spatial qualities. These 3D qualities are space, mass and volume. In three dimensions space can be thought about in the same way as negative space in two dimensions and mass can be thought about in the same way as positive space in two dimensions. To accommodate the third dimension which is depth there is a new word and description that, is called volume. A difference between a bas-relief such as an ancient Persian frieze and a Richard Serra sculpture is their quantity of depth or the amount of volume. Lion Frieze, Persian, Glazed stone brick Richard Serra, Intersection II, sculpture An artist who played with a sense of scale in his work, is Claes Oldenburg. He would increase the scale of an object so that it was enormous and place it in an interior space or a landscape. See the scale of the clothespin below. Other artists have made tiny objects, reducing the scale and placed them in space. In the case of a miniature artwork, the space has a different feeling, thereby the artist has increased our ability to be sensitive to the space. Claes Oldenburg, Clothespin, sculpture When you speak about scale you are talking about the relationship of one object to another or an object to its environment. The clothing and furniture that a very tall human needs is different from the clothing and furniture that a short person needs. The differences in clothing and furniture are more commonly called size.