Terry Reynoldson

Art Instruction, 1996 to 2021

Selected, Students' 3D-Artworks, Page 3: Sculpture, Design Principles, 3D-Art Fundamentals

Automated Sculpture Project

Assignment (above), THEORY: In 1914, Clive Bell (a British, aesthetics philosopher) wrote about the transcendent beauty and supreme power of "Significant Form" in art. His contemporary, Roger Fry (a British artist and fellow member of the Bloomsbury Group) wrote about the importance of the Formal Elements in Modern Art. Sometime later, the American art critic and theorist, Clement Greenberg (active in the mid-twentieth century) popularized the notion of medium specificity: essentially, the categorization of art-making into narrow, medium-specific regions of activity. Although it's a gross simplification, it appears that Greenberg was familiar with Fry's writing, who in turn was inspired by Bell (click here to learn more about the theory of Medium Specificity).

Allowing ones materials to give direction and momentum to the creative process seems, on its face, to be a formalistic strategy, aimed at eliminating all narrative content beyond reference to the physical properties of the artwork itself (i.e., art for art's sake). There is, however some deeper wisdom going on here, as pointed out by Robert Morris who described the value of allowing other forces (especially those forces that are implicated by means of the artwork's materials and method of creation) to control a part of the art-making process.

One may loosely refer to the mindful collaboration with ones materials and the forces that act upon them as "automation". Automation proves to be a powerful tool for discovering unique imagery and new techniques, which are almost always the ingredients for a creative breakthrough (click here to learn more about the theory of Automation).

OBJECTIVE: Use plaster, balloons, clamps and rope to explore the automating process of "deformation with binding". The resulting non-objective form (i.e., having no discernible connection to subject matter beyond the work itself) MUST AVOID any and all narrative allusions and remain fixed on only the formal elements of shape/volume, mass/space, texture and colour.

Follow this link to see the lesson: Automated Sculpture Project.

Found Object Project

Assignment (above), THEORY: Today, many artists are appropriating and modifying well-known objects. Some of these objects, fashion dolls for instance, are loaded with implicit meaning: messages that originate within a cultural context of related values and expectations. Once the artist modifies the object, often through parody or satire, an alternate meaning emerges. This process of deconstruction shines a sober light on the socio-political context within which the object exists. The values that gave rise to the object in the first place are now explicit, allowing the viewer to examine their relative merit.

OBJECTIVE: Create an artwork using one or more deconstructed and recontextualized found objects.

MATERIALS: One or more found object(s) with a well-established meaning in North American culture. Any materials necessary to embellish or modify the object(s). Any accessories needed to present or exhibit the object.

PROCEDURE:

Step 1 - Find and then alter a found object to expose the underlying assumptions, values and expectations that are attached to it.

Step 2 - Write a paragraph (of no more than 150 words) that supports your idea. Explain the history and cultural context of the object you've chosen. Your paragraph should answer the following questions:

What are the unspoken assumptions or ideals in which the object is embedded (i.e., describe the sociological or political context surrounding the object)?
How do these assumptions or ideals reveal themselves through the object (i.e., explain why the object appears as it does)?
Describe the observations or personal understanding that brought you to see the object differently than what its maker intended?

Step 3 - Present your work to the class with a short presentation.

Follow this link to see the lesson: Found Object Project.

Naturalistic, Clay-Bust Project

Assignment (above), THEORY: Pythagoras, Da Vinci, Galileo and Goethe are but a few of the many brilliant thinkers in human history who believed that careful observation is vitally important when trying to understand the world around us. In ancient Greece, sculptors like Polykleitos, Praxiteles and Lysippos metaphorically transformed stone into flesh by carefully observing the human form while they carved figures from blocks of marble. There is much to admire about the accomplishments of these sculptors, who've inspired countless others, down through the centuries: artists such as Michelangelo and Donatelo, perhaps two of the most recognized sculptors of the Italian Renaissance.

OBJECTIVE: Use careful observation and clay in an additive process to create a naturalistic bust of yourself or a classmate.

Follow this link to see the lesson: Naturalistic, Clay-Bust Project.