Sunday, 2 May 2010

Incredible Underwater Sculptures

These incredible underwater sculptures are the work of British sculptor, Jason Taylor. Found 25m under the sea of Moliniere bay in Grenada, West Indies, Jason’s art depicts Grenadian people and their history. Jason beleives the Sculpture Park explores the relationships of Art and the environment, providing a unique and fascinating marine park for scuba diving and snorkeling.The sculptures are cast in concrete and steel and then fixed and secured to the ocean substrate.“The aim of the Sculpture Park is to create a unique space which highlights environmental processes and celebrates local culture.



Baroque Sculptures



In Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and there was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms— they spiraled around an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into the surrounding space. For the first time, Baroque sculpture often had multiple ideal viewing angles. The characteristic Baroque sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for example, concealed lighting, or water fountains.


Classical sculpture

Classical sculpture refers to the forms of sculpture from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and the Hellenized, and Romanized civilizations under their rule or influence from about 500B.C. to fall of Rome in AD 476. It also refers stylistically to modern sculptures done in a classical style. Classical sculptures have been popular since the Renaissance. Only those works that closely followthe canon of classical forms would fall under the term.



Stone Sculptures

Stone sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone. Carving stone into sculpture is an activity older than civilization itself. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the Venus of Willendorf and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and abstract forms in stone. The earliest cultures used abrasive techniques, and modern technology employs pneumatic hammers and other devices. But for most of human history, sculptors used hammer and chisel as the basic tools for carving stone.


Environment Sculptures











The term environmental sculpture is variously defined. A development of the art of the 20th century, environmental sculpture usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually enter or pass through the sculpture and be partially or completely surrounded by it. Also, in the same spirit, it may be designed to generate shadows or reflections, or to color the light in the surrounding area.


Mannerist Period Sculptures


During the Mannerist period, more abstract representations were praised, (such as the "figura serpentinata" or "twisted figure") giving more thought to color and composition rather than realistic portrayal of the subjects in the piece. This is exemplified in Giambologna's Abduction Women, where the figures are not positioned in a way which is at all comfortable, or even humanly possible, but the position and emotion still come across.

Modernist sculpture



Modernist sculpture movements include Cubism, Geometric abstraction, De Stijl, Suprematism, Constructivism, Dadaism, Surrealism ,Futurism ,Formalism Abstract expressionism , Pop-Art, Minimalism, Land art, Installation art among others. In the early days of the 20th century Pablo Picasso revolutionized the art of sculpture when he began creating his constructions fashioned by combining disparate objects and materials into one constructed piece of sculpture, - by addition. Picasso reinvented the art of sculpture with his innovative use of constructing a work in three dimensions with disparate material.

Saturday, 1 May 2010

Ancient Egyptian Sculpture


Ancient Egyptian refers to the style of painting, crafts and architecture developed by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Ancient Egyptian sculpture was expressed in paintings and sculptures & was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. Ancient Egyptian sculpture forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of human beings and nature, and were intended to provide company to the deceased in the other world. Artists endeavored to preserve everything of the present time as clearly and permanently as possible. Completion took precedence over style. Some art forms present an extraordinarily vivid representation of their time and the life, as the ancient Egyptian life was lived thousand of years before.

Chinese Sculptures




Artifacts from China date back as early as 10,000 BC and skilled Chinese artisans had been active very early in history, but the bulk of what is displayed as sculpture comes from a few select historical periods. The first period of interest has been the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050-771 BC), The period now considered to be China's golden age is the Tang Dynasty, coinciding with what in Europe is sometimes called the Dark Ages.

Ice sculpture


Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw matrials. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because of their limited lifetime.

The lifetime of a sculpture is determined primarily by the temperature of its environment and thus, a sculpture can last from mere minutes to possibly months. There are several ice festivals held around the world, hosting competitions of ice sculpture carving.

Greek Sculptures

The origins of Greek sculptures have been ascribed to the wooden cult statues described by Pausanias as Xoana. No such statue survives, and the descriptions of them are vague despite the fact that some were objects of veneration for hundreds of years. The first piece of Greek statuary come down to us is probably the Lefkandi Centaur (Eretria Mus.) found on Euboia. This terra cotta statue of circa 900 BC was constructed in parts before being dismembered and buried in two separate graves. Greeks made art to show how wonderful, and beautiful the gods and goddesses are.


Handmade Dall Sculpture

This handknit sleeveless sweater for Blythe is made from self-striping wool yarn; it shades from light spring green to dark sage green, and on to teal. Four cables on the front and snap closure in the back. Wonderful colors! Yarn is wool; handwash; lay flat to dry.

Marble sculpture

Marble sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional forms from marble. Sculpture is among the oldest of the arts. Even before painting cave walls, early humans fashioned shapes from stone. From these beginnings, artifacts have evolved to their current complexity. The finest marbles for sculpture have no or few stains as some natural stain can be seen in the sculpture shown at left, which the sculptor has skillfully incorporated into the sculpture.

Mask Sculptures


Masks of deceased persons are part of traditions in many countries. Ron Mueck is one of the famous mask sculpture in the world (born 1958) is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom. Mueck's sculptures faithfully reproduce the minute detail of the human body, but play with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. To make a good mask of your creature, it's important to take some time to make a plan. The plaster face mask is often just the base, to which we add ears, horns, beaks, and noses. Compare your face shape to that of your animal. In many cases, it is easier to make a mask by using a headdress or hat mask which can be easily shaped to resemble your animal. Younger children often enjoy the simplest of colored paper or plaster masks.


Japanese Sculptures


The sculpture of Japan started from the clay figure. Japanese sculpture received the influence of the Silk Road culture in the 5th century, and received a strong influence from Chinese Sculpture afterwards. The influence of the Western World was received since the Meija era. The sculptures were made at local shops, used for sculpting and painting. Most sculptures were found at areas in front of houses and along walls of important buildings. Most of the Japanese sculptures derived from the Idol Worship inBuddhism or animistic rites of Shinto deity. In particular, sculpture among all the arts came to be most firmly centered around Buddhism. Materials traditionally used were metal—especially—bronze and, more commonly, wood, often brightly painted. By the end of the Tokugawa Period, such traditional sculpture - except for miniaturized works - had largely disappeared because of the loss of patronage by Buddhist temples and the nobility.



Stainless Steel Sculpture



In metallurgy stainless steel, is called corrosion-resistant steel or CRES when the alloy type and grade are not detailed, particularly in the aviation industry. There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit the environment to which the material will be subjected in its lifetime. Stainless steel is used where the properties of steel, and resistance to corrosion are required. For present high quality product stainless steel sculpture, we found all over the world.

Gothic sculpture

Gothic sculpture continued tasks of sculpture as defined by the Romanesque period, i.e. sculptural decoration, gates and tombs, but it created new genres, too, e.g. ecclesiastical statues, winged altarpieces and heraldic stones. In the third quarter of 13th century, the prevailing style of the French court influenced architecture, e.g. life-like floral ornaments in sculptural decoration. Classical Gothic ornaments with vine leaves in the Church of Our Lady in Buda date from the 1270s. Ornaments with leaves in the Franciscan Church in Sopron and the Cathedral in Gyulafehérvár both indicate the presence of classical Gothic style. Floral ornaments of Porta speciosa in Pannonhalma are related to the period.







Garden Sculptures

The predominant garden types in the ancient world were domestic gardens and sacred gardens. Sculpture of gods and kings were placed in temple compounds, along with sacred lakes and sacred groves. It is not known whether statues were placed in Greek domestic gardens but the Romans transported a great many statues to Italy and placed them in gardens for ornamental reasons. When the Roman Empire became Christian these statues were regarded as pagan and removed from sight. During the renaissance these same statues were excavated and re-placed in gardens. Sculpture then became an aspect of art and gardens have been a favored location for displaying outdoor works of art.

Ceramic Sculpture


In Ceramic Sculpture, creative clay artists reveal their techniques and their inspiration for imaginative sculptural works. Some of the work is monumental, some intimate, some site specific but all of it influenced by clay. With each artist providing some aspect of the sculptural process from conceptualization to forming and finishing to the final installation, we will find the range of ideas and techniques informative and inspiring.


Bangladeshi Sculptures

In our country bangladesh, we have many historical sculptures. Most of these are made to glorify our historical independence and liberation war. The most commonly seen sculptures are seen in Dhaka University area.
Raju Vashkarjo is one of the sculpture located at TSC. Another sculpture is Doyel chatter beside science faculty and the Oporajeo Bangla is in front of Arts Bhaban.

African Sculpture

In West Africa the figures have elongated bodies, angular shapes, and facial features that represent an ideal rather than an individual. These figures are used in religious rituals and the surface is often coated with materials placed on them in ceremonial offerings. In contrast to these sculptures are the ones of Mande-speaking peoples of West Africa. Their sculptures are made of wood and have broad, flat surfaces while the arms and legs are shaped like cylinders. Eastern Africa is not known for their sculptures but one type that is done in this area is pole sculptures. These are a pole carved in a human shape and decorated with geometric forms.

Indian Sculpture










The first sculptures in India date back to the Indus Valley civilization, where stone and bronze carvings have been discovered. This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world. Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism developed further, India produced some of the most intricate bronzes in the world, as well as unrivaled temple carvings. Some huge shrines, such as the one at Ellora were not actually constructed using blocks, but instead carved out of rock, making them perhaps the largest and most intricate sculptures in the world.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World, dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. It represents a woman wearing a stola, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch in her raised right hand and a tabula ansata, where the date of the Declaration of Independence JULY IV MDCCLXXVI is inscribed, in her left arm.