The torsos and the life-size sitting female, shown here, were study pieces to learn the "slab" method, which allows me now to create large size, hollow, ceramic sculptures. Small solid clay maquettes, hollowed out before firing, were created in live modeling sessions and were used as reference points while building the larger structures. The torsos are built in two pieces, the top and bottom each have a joint, designed for the segments to fit together and not weigh too much. Because each piece can be fired separately, it allows me to build larger work. The life-size sitting female is made of six interlocking segments.
Prior to working this large, I also sculpted figures in plasticine, sometimes making plaster molds to create a wax positive and then investing the wax sculpture, and pouring the bronze, as in the lost wax method.
Although I have many books on anatomy, sculpture and some on art history, I have only recently been reading more intently about the female nude, inspired by a short article in Ms Magazine about women artists and their current work - The Eccentric Body Show at Rutgers University.
So, I reviewed the work of the artists who participated in this show, and then began by reading a standard on the subject: The Nude, a Study in Ideal Form, by Kenneth Clark, art historian. Mr. Clark participated in the A.W. Mellon Lecture Series in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. in 1953. It is an impressive work, however, there was one sentence in this book that I found disturbing, especially as a middle-aged woman. And I quote: "The drift of all popular art is toward the lowest common denominator, and on the whole there are more women whose bodies look like a potato than like the Knidian Aphrodite."
I became more critical of the text and more curious about my responsibilities as a female sculptor in expressing the female nude and wanted to know more. I found more books, articles, and art written or made by women. I have particularly enjoyed reading The Female Nude, Art, Obscenity and Sexuality by Lynda Nead (London, 1992).
I am drawn to sculpting the human body, I believe that it, unlike any other form, trains my hands to see better. This exploration has been an on-going and all-consuming process, which I have found quite liberating and troubling at the same time. I believe I now have a better understanding of the development of arguments and theories about the female nude. It has been an eye opening experience and I cannot wait to see how it will influence my work.
Prior to working this large, I also sculpted figures in plasticine, sometimes making plaster molds to create a wax positive and then investing the wax sculpture, and pouring the bronze, as in the lost wax method.
Although I have many books on anatomy, sculpture and some on art history, I have only recently been reading more intently about the female nude, inspired by a short article in Ms Magazine about women artists and their current work - The Eccentric Body Show at Rutgers University.
So, I reviewed the work of the artists who participated in this show, and then began by reading a standard on the subject: The Nude, a Study in Ideal Form, by Kenneth Clark, art historian. Mr. Clark participated in the A.W. Mellon Lecture Series in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. in 1953. It is an impressive work, however, there was one sentence in this book that I found disturbing, especially as a middle-aged woman. And I quote: "The drift of all popular art is toward the lowest common denominator, and on the whole there are more women whose bodies look like a potato than like the Knidian Aphrodite."
I became more critical of the text and more curious about my responsibilities as a female sculptor in expressing the female nude and wanted to know more. I found more books, articles, and art written or made by women. I have particularly enjoyed reading The Female Nude, Art, Obscenity and Sexuality by Lynda Nead (London, 1992).
I am drawn to sculpting the human body, I believe that it, unlike any other form, trains my hands to see better. This exploration has been an on-going and all-consuming process, which I have found quite liberating and troubling at the same time. I believe I now have a better understanding of the development of arguments and theories about the female nude. It has been an eye opening experience and I cannot wait to see how it will influence my work.
