Subtractive Biomorphs
Subtractive Sculpture:
If you recall the info from the beginning of the Ceramics and Sculpture I course in the Cardboard Lesson, I discussed the different types of sculpture. Subtractive sculpture is removing the unwanted material to create the form, as in wood or stone carving; however, you can use other materials, as well!
*NOTE FOR PLASTER: When using plaster in subtractive sculpture, you do NOT use the plaster strips but rather the wet plaster construction technique that requires Plaster of Paris powder. Remember, you need 2 parts plaster powder to 1 part cold water. It does not make a different what type of unit of measurement you use, but it must be 2:1 for it to work.
When you're working with a subtractive technique, it requires A LOT of planning! You have the block of material to carve away from and you must be able to determine from all sides what it will look like in the end. The way to do this is to sketch on the sides, the front, the back, and the top. Since subtractive focuses on removing material, you will not be allowed to add materials back on.
What is a Biomorph?
Biomorphs are forms and images resembling the abstracted embodiment of living forms such as human or animal figures and plants. They are organic and free-flowing, illustrating a sense of movement or rhythm within the work, providing an illusion or an indication that a biological entity is represented rather than a man-made architectural or engineered feature.
The word is derived from the Greek words "bios", meaning alive, and "morphe" meaning form. The term biomorph was first used in artwork back in the 1930s to describe the organic forms and movements in artwork by surrealist artists such as Jean Arp, Henry Moore, Joan Miro, and Barbara Hepworth (examples of Hepworth's work is shown in the Ceramics and Sculpture I Abstract Plaster project).
For more examples, please see the Tate UK Museum's website on Biomorphic forms and view the featured artists and their works. Be ready to discuss the one piece that stuck out to you the most and WHY, including the artist's name.
Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota was constructed using dynamite and the process called "honeycombing", which involved the workers drilling small holes close in proximity to each other, allowing the artists and workers to pull chunks away using just their hands. The hills are comprised of granite.
While Mount Rushmore depicts human figures, this is not an example of a biomorph; it is, however, an example of subtractive sculpture! No pieces were added back onto the mountain, which left room for very little error.
Dated approximately to 1,000 years ago, the Moai (native for "statue") were carved by the Rapa Nui people. The counted-to-date 887 heads have a variety of interpretive meanings, including the wide belief that they were built in honor of their ancestors. Only 14 of them were carved with basalt while the rest were carved from the volcanic tuff native to the uninhabited island, which is incredibly soft earthy material.
Materials commonly used in subtractive sculptures...
Stones and Minerals: for the sake of this project and the environment of the school, we will not be using stone for a potential medium; however, knowing how it works is very important! Carving with stone is not as simple as taking a metal tool and chipping away. Stone is a very resilient and sturdy element that is steadfast in its shape, except when it comes to extreme pressure or a lengthy exposure to the act of erosion. Using stone in a subtractive sculpture not for the beginner; however, it has been around for as long as we've had an awareness of anything resembling art. The paleolithic processes (approximately 800,000 years ago!!) to create the stone tools was known as knapping, stone work used to produce text is called lettering, and removing the stone from the Earth is called mining or quarrying. Some of the common stones and minerals used for carving are granite, basalt (an igneous, smooth, black rock that was used for statues of Egyptian gods, kings, pharaohs, and other royalty as well as the Easter Island/Moai heads) marble, alabaster (which isn't technically a specific stone, but rather a variety of stones that meet the soft, porous, and light color characteristics that is easy to carve [i.e. gypsum and calcite]), sandstone, and limestone.
Wood: carving into wood is a severely intricate and delicate process that involves deliberate planning. You have to draw on to the surface if you're inexperienced, you have to know when you chunk away with larger tools and how to carefully chip away with the smaller ones. When the sculpture is finished, wood matter is very elegant and can be sanded and stained to give a nice professional appearance. Just be patient!
Plaster: Plaster is more porous than wood, so it does carve easier; however, if you're not careful you could accidentally take away too much. The issue with using plaster is the powder residue that flies up as you're carving. Wearing a mask and goggles is necessary to avoid breathing in the plaster dust. Also, the plaster you use will be the Plaster Of Paris, NOT the plaster strips (carving into cheesecloth is not fun and really annoying).
Soap: Using soap is very doable; however, since soap is typically a smaller size, you don't have a lot of room to work with. Drawing on the surface can be tricky, so you would need to make small etched lines to indicate where you plan to carve. Smoothing out soap is simple: just add water!
Organic matter: this can be an interesting one mostly because of the decomposable nature of these materials. That means, if you choose a pumpkin, potato, apple, etc. then the object itself can decompose and rot away, sometimes within hours. It's a great way to learn about subtractive art, but time is literally of the essence!
Ice: while ice isn't an organic material like vegetables or fruit, it does have very specific parameters for the carving process to succeed. For one, it needs to be super cold, obviously! Plus, time is also very precious because if it is not cold enough for the ice to stay solid before, during, and after the carving, your artwork could literally melt all over you... very precarious and intricate...
Foam Block: the easiest of the materials to carve away from is also the easiest to make mistakes. Do not confuse the softness with simplicity and ease! Using a foam block, similar to the floral foam or chunks of Styrofoam, in a subtractive sculpture can be good to start with, but it squishes and squeezes a lot easier than the other sturdier materials. Yes, you don't have to apply much pressure with your tools, but that could be just as much part of the problem as the solution: beware of things SEEMING easy... they turn out to be the most frustrating and irritating...
Tools and Process:
Tools...
Point Chisel: large metal piece with a sharp point on one end and a blunt and broad striking area on the other side.
Tooth or Claw Chisel: chisel used for gouging with parallel lines in the medium.
Calipers: used for measuring out areas to be removed. Calipers are also used in ceramic works when deciding on the diameter of a lid for a bowl.
Pitching Tool: Wedge-shaped chisel with a broad flat edge. This tool is good for removing large areas of unwanted material and for splitting the carving medium.
Masons Driving Hammer: the hammer tool that drives in the chisels and pitching tools into the medium in order to carve away large chunks.
Rasp and Rifflers: small metal tools used for enhancing the detailed areas. Rasps are flat, metal pieces that have both a smooth side and a rough side (think large metal file) and the Riffler is a smaller version of that for tinier and more intricate details.
Emery: a sandpaper-like stone material that is used to finish off and smooth the areas for polishing (we typically call emery boards "nail files").
Process...
Idea: Take two interesting objects from home, which are approximately the size of your hand. Objects may be mechanical or organic (natural, Earthy objects)
Brain storm and Sketch ideas on how to abstract them and combine them.
Roughing Out involves the act of chunking away larger areas of the base block. This eliminates the tedious and unnecessary process of carving away small bits at a time. If you are able to safely and securely eliminate larger areas, it will save you in effort and time! BUT, do not over-carve... remember, you can't add back on!
Clay (air dry, modeling clay, ceramic clay, play doh etc.) may be used as a modeling/sketching tool: Sketches do not always start in the sketch book. This will assist you in developing the composition. Images of these moquettes (models) may be placed in your sketchbook and are valid sketches.
Use repetition, directional curves and form to create a sense of movement.
Develop a composition with movement that will draw the viewer around and into the form (this is 3D so it should be viewable from multiple angles and sides... remember: sculpture IN-THE-ROUND).
Use models, sketches and your own intuitive inspirations to create. Process will play a great part in your exploration as you learn the material, developing carving techniques and sensibilities.
Think about how these objects work together to create one form (unity) or how one may seem to dominate over the other, seeming to swallow or assimilate (emphasis or contrast)
Craftsmanship: Elegant form and a clean aesthetic should be a goal.
Pay attention to building a form that has interior definition as well as exterior (negative and positive space). Carving and modeling in the interior of the object will challenge your abilities, as always you are encouraged to push beyond the average.
Do not leave any indication of the container of your original form. Work the whole form... abstract it to the point to where it's borderline or completely non-objective.
Remember it's okay to go back to sketches drawn or sculpted to alter and redesign your composition as you work through the project. This is a part of the process... plans sometimes change, but this is where intentional design plays a key role. Everyone makes mistakes, but an artist knows where and when to keep them or change them to make the work better.
Since this is a subtractive form, you will not be able to add anymore material on to your form. Once it's carved away, it's gone... planning is the key!
Featured Artists who exhibit the Scope and Form of the goals for these plaster sculptures.........
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth is the first female artist of her generation to receive international prominence and accolades for her work during her life.
She was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK in 1903 and was an English sculptor that focused on Modernism that gathered inspiration from nature and natural forms.
She began her career working strictly in small wooden forms but then branched out to bronze and even larger, massive wooden structures that were more easily transferable from one location to the next.
Hepworth studied with fellow Yorkshire artist Henry Moore in the early 1920s at Leeds School of Art, where they both developed the artistic capability and sense of Direct Carving, which worked directly in to the material and avoided the step of maquettes and models like traditional artists.
In 1932, she began working closely with painter Ben Nicholson, and the two collaborated and drew inspiration from each other in their art. Later, they both traveled throughout Europe, meeting artists like Georges Braque, Piet Mondrian, and visiting the studios of Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, and Jean Arp and Sophie Taueber-Arp. As war broke out in 1939, her and her new husband Nicholson moved to St. Ives for the remainder of their lives, where she used the natural beauty of the surrounding terrain as a direct contrast to the brutality and chaos of the War. Hepworth began creating works centered on the natural element through the form of abstraction using themes of relationships: nature and man, chaos and peace, color and texture, and people at an individual and social level.
"The whole of this Yorkshire background means more to me as the years have passed. I draw on these early experiences not only visually in texture and contour, but humanly. The importance of man in landscape was stressed by the seeming contradiction of the industrial town springing out of the inner beauty of the country." - Barbara Hepworth
Here are some examples of Barbara Hepworth's subtractive biomorph sculptures.
Below are some examples of how to get started...
The plaster block getting started
You begin with your lump of hardened plaster, smooth it out, and then prepare for carving. Black marker lines or chalk lines can be drawn on the surface to map out where you plan to remove material.
Example 1
What shapes do you see? How do the textures balance each other around the space? The use of line, as well, is present and adds to the composition in an interesting manner, giving your eye a lot to look at.
Example 2
Movement is clearly evident in this example as the smooth organic appendage-like tendrils wrap around, pointing in either direction that leads your eye visually around the piece. It almost seems alive!
Example 3
Consider the use of negative space and texture in this example. The areas of complete removal add an interesting composition that is balanced with the carved textures.
Example 4
The semi-representational form shown here in this example has an abstractness that relates to a human figure, providing a sense of balance.
Example 5
In this example, we have smooth and undulating valleys of value yet an overwhelming sense of unity. It makes you want to look at the other side to see the balance.
Featured artists and websites:
Jean Arp (1886-1966)
Henry Moore (1898-1986)
Joan Miro (1893-1983)
Barbara Hepworth (see above)
Tony Cragg
Artists and websites used for plaster examples above: