VCE A RT
Larissa FENG

SCULPTURE/INSTALLATIONS:
The techniques and materials used by
contemporary artists often question
longevity and the artist as the sole
creator. Discuss with relevance to the
work of artists.
SCULPTURE

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork
created by shaping or combining hard
materials, typically stone such as marble,
metal, glass, or wood, or plastic materials such
as clay, textiles, polymers and softer metals.
The term has been extended to works
including sound, text and light.
SCULPTURE

Sculptors have generally sought to produce works
of art that are as permanent as possible, working
in durable and frequently expensive materials such
as bronze and stone. More common and less
expensive materials were used for sculpture for
wider consumption,
including glass, hardwoods, terracotta and
other ceramics, and cast metals.
SCULPTURE

Many sculptors seek new ways and materials to make
art. Jim Gary used stained glass and automobile parts,
tools, machine parts, and hardware. One of Pablo
Picasso's most famous sculptures
included bicycle parts. Alexander Calder and other
modernists made spectacular use of painted steel. Since
the 1960s, acrylics and other plastics have been used as
well.
SCULPTURE
Pietà by Michelangelo
Crinkly avec disc rouge by Alexander Calder
I NSTALLATION

ART
Installation art describes an artistic genre of
site-specific, three-dimensional works
designed to transform the perception of a
space.
I NSTALLATION

ART
Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas
exterior interventions are often called Land art; however the
boundaries between these terms overlap. Installation art can
be either temporary or permanent. Installation artworks have
been constructed in exhibition spaces such as museums and
galleries, as well as public and private spaces. The genre
incorporates a very broad range of everyday and natural
materials, which are often chosen for their evocative qualities,
as well as new media such as video, sound, performance and
the internet.
I NSTALLATION
Embankment by Rachel Whitread at Tate Modern in London
ART
R ICKY SWALLOW
R ICKY
SWALLOW
R ICKY
SWALLOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CIHmuk6nzk
R ICKY

SWALLOW
Analyze how the artwork’s formal
elements and principles contribute to
its meanings to messages based on the
information provided in the video
clips.
R ICKY
SWALLOW
R ICKY
SWALLOW

“This piece is called ‘Model for a sunken monument’. It is basically an
enlargement of a 3d puzzle which I've scaled up out of proportion to
look like it’s quite monolithic or monumental. I've used Darth Vader
as a subject before and I'm interested in him because obviously he is
quite a popular reference to people of our generation. But also it is
quite a minimal character - I like the idea of softening his surface or
making him kind of more malleable or molten if you like.”

“This was a more ambitious piece for me - I had to get people in to
help me, just because of the pure size of it. And basically cut it out of
MDF wood, I think it is about 87 pieces all together and they were
screwed together as sections which lock into each other. I like the
idea that is much heavier than it actually looks. All the detail is
achieved by the changing sizes of the layers. And what I said about
the last piece being interested in alternative histories I guess with this
again …also is a reference to the end of Planet of the Apes where they
find a Statue of Liberty sunken into the ground as a kind of hint to
the lost civilization that is going to be marooned or turned upside
down.”
R ICKY

SWALLOW
Discuss the contemporary
characteristics related to Swallow’s
work Model for a sunken
monument in pairs.
PATRICIA PICCININI
PATRICIA
PICCININI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7ikHI8gX4Y
PATRICIA
PICCININI

Summarize Piccinini’s personal
interpretation of the meanings and
messages within her sculpture and
installations according to the video.

Write down your personal
interpretation of Piccinini’s works.
PATRICIA
PICCININI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrNVHGHr5w
PATRICIA

PICCININI
Piccinini combines two important influences in The
Gathering – popular culture and art history. The
opening vignettes and the unusual soundtrack are
reminiscent of the techniques used in suspense and
thriller movies. Like most suspense films made in
the past fifty years, the setting for The Gathering is
far removed from the Gothic mansions of earlier
traditions. The sense of suspense is heightened
when the strange and unexpected threatens the
everyday or commonplace.
PATRICIA

PICCININI
The Gathering exemplifies the notion of
the ‘uncanny’, first discussed by Sigmund
Freud in 1919. Freud linked the uncanny
specifically to the home, hence for Freud
the uncanny was experienced when the
home or something familiar is rendered
unhomely and unfamiliar.
PATRICIA

PICCININI
The Gathering also references Surrealist
painting traditions. The dramatic focus on
everyday details within the house renders the
familiar, strange. This tendency to make the
home unfamiliar or ‘uncanny’ is found in the
work of many Surrealist artists including
Dorothea Tanning and Pierre Roy who also
stage unexpected encounters within the home
environment in their paintings.
PATRICIA

PICCININI
In groups brainstorm the cultural
influences upon The Gathering.
D ISCUSSING & DEBATING

Discuss in groups: Do you think the
role of the artist has changed? How
do you feel about Ricky Swallow
crafts most of his works by himself,
while Patricia Piccinini has people to
produce her works? Clarify your own
position about this issue based on
the information provided today.
H OMEWORK