sculpture class
The use of color in sculpture is a very difficult issue–
—as can be seen last not least e.g. at the discussions about wether one should give back color to old greek statues. Color may distract from the threedimensional experience, however this can be intentional or not. For example the american painter/sculptor Frank Stella was emphasizing the role of a picture (like an acrylic painting etc.) as being the picture-as-object, rather than the picture as a representation of something. His later painted metall objects are rather regarded as sculptures than as paintings. Likewise reliefs or tromp l’oeil paintings (e.g.) (which in older times sometimes included the use of stucco) are per se likewise a “something in between”.
Virtual sculptures or augmented sculptural properties are an equally difficult subject. Already the question wether a virtual sculpture can have a “presence” is in my view nontrivial and thats why I asked Matthew Barney about it. In particular Matthew Barney found that “when sculpture becomes an image it looses its presence”. (Thats what is in my notes, no guarantee).
May be he would think that the 2D online version of manicone has no presence as a sculpture. I would agree with that to a great extent, also if the term “presence” needs to be made more precise first – since – the geometrical and appearance attributes of the virtual sculpture are in fact physically present! They are stored as electronic states in the computer (usually next to you) and you can’t perceive them directly due to the nowadays still common 2D display (For 3D display see e.g. here, here or here) (or for the more futuristic oulook here or here).
The 2D appearance of the manicone online version was also the main reason, why I colored it. In 2D you “feel” more the “image” than the “sculpture” and I liked to emphasize this. The 3D information is something the brain has to recover in this case cognitively.
We will try to show manicone in the PORTAL as well. In the 3D version the colors will be probably different. But this has to be experienced first. See also e.g. here)
Below are images from a sculpture I did in a sculpture class with the theme “inside-outside” and where I experimented with 3D forms and color. It is a white painted cardboard box with a hole on top and a hole at one side and with a dried red acrylic paint in between. I had to run several experiments since I wanted the paint to dry with a drop 1 cm before the side hole in the middle.
December 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
haha close! you ALMOST made a michelangelo sculpture