Spain 1º Bachillerato Sculpture and Volume
Chapters: 4
1. Shaping techniques and materials
3D materials and tools · 3D shaping procedures
- Sculpture Techniques – Sculpture is art in three dimensions. It can be relief (attached to a background: low or high) or in the round (free-standing, seen from all sides). There are four main ways to make it: subtractive carving (remove material from stone or wood), additive modelling (build up clay or wax, often over an armature), casting (pour a liquid such as molten bronze into a mould) and construction or assemblage (join parts). Sculptors plan with drawings and a maquette, choose a degree of realism from realistic to abstract, and use pose, direction and real motion to show movement.
2. Formal and spatial elements
3D forms and their language · Spatial composition and proportion · Form and structure · Relational elements · Movement in sculpture · Light shaping form and space · Expressive qualities of 3D works
- Elements of Art and Principles of Design – The elements of art are the building blocks an artist uses: line, shape, form, colour, value, texture and space (many teachers also add the point). The principles of design are the rules for arranging those blocks: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, rhythm and pattern, proportion and scale, and unity with variety. Knowing both helps you make art on purpose and talk about any artwork clearly.
- Sculpture Techniques – Sculpture is art in three dimensions. It can be relief (attached to a background: low or high) or in the round (free-standing, seen from all sides). There are four main ways to make it: subtractive carving (remove material from stone or wood), additive modelling (build up clay or wax, often over an armature), casting (pour a liquid such as molten bronze into a mould) and construction or assemblage (join parts). Sculptors plan with drawings and a maquette, choose a degree of realism from realistic to abstract, and use pose, direction and real motion to show movement.
3. Analysis of three-dimensional representation
Sculpture in artistic heritage · Gender and intercultural perspectives · Object art, conceptual art and installation · Degrees of realism in sculpture · Creative use of 3D language · Intellectual property: inspiration vs plagiarism · Sources for studying 3D works
- Art History: From Cave Walls to Today – People have made art for at least 40,000 years. Prehistoric art shows animals and hands on cave walls. Ancient civilisations made art for rulers, gods and the afterlife. Classical traditions arose in Greece and Rome, India, China, Africa and the Americas. The Renaissance brought perspective and realism; modern art (from about 1860) broke those rules; contemporary art uses any material. To appreciate any artwork, describe it, analyse its elements, interpret its meaning in its context, and judge why it works.
- Art and Society: How Art Shapes the World Around Us – Art is not only something to hang on a wall. It is a language of feelings that people use to express what words cannot say. It can be individual, one person's view, or collective, made by and for a group, carrying a community's memory and identity through murals, folk art, songs and festivals. Art can point at problems and push for change, which is why it has often been censored; freedom of expression and its limits are still debated. Art also shows who holds power: who gets to make it, who is shown, and whether stereotypes are repeated or broken. Finally, art connects with every other field, from science and technology to music, dance and town planning. To understand a work in its society, ask: who made it, for whom, why, and what did it change?
- Installation Art: The Work, the Space and the Viewer – In installation art the whole room is part of the work. The artist's body and gesture may leave marks or be part of the act. The work takes up real space, so the viewer can walk round it. Its size, the path the viewer takes, the lighting and the place of display all change what we feel. Digital screens and light can join physical objects.
- Sculpture Techniques – Sculpture is art in three dimensions. It can be relief (attached to a background: low or high) or in the round (free-standing, seen from all sides). There are four main ways to make it: subtractive carving (remove material from stone or wood), additive modelling (build up clay or wax, often over an armature), casting (pour a liquid such as molten bronze into a mould) and construction or assemblage (join parts). Sculptors plan with drawings and a maquette, choose a degree of realism from realistic to abstract, and use pose, direction and real motion to show movement.
- Creative Thinking, Thought and Language – Creative thinking produces ideas that are new and useful. It passes through preparation, incubation, illumination and verification, and mixes divergent (many ideas) with convergent (one best answer) thinking. Thought and language are closely linked (Whorf, Piaget, Vygotsky). Children develop language in fixed stages, helped by learning and by an inborn readiness.
- Data Protection and Intellectual Property Rights – Intellectual property (IP) is a creation of the mind, such as a story, song, program, invention or logo. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) give the creator control over its use. Copyright protects creative works (text, music, art, software code) automatically once created; a patent protects a new, useful invention for about 20 years and must be applied for; a trademark protects brand names, logos and slogans. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as your own without credit. Infringement is using protected IP without permission (copyright, patent or trademark infringement). Public licences let creators share on their own terms: Creative Commons (BY, SA, NC, ND) for creative works, and software licences such as GPL (copyleft: modified versions must stay open) and Apache (permissive: can be used in closed products with notices).
- Research Skills: From a Question to a Finished Project – Research is a careful way of finding an answer. You ask a clear, focused question, plan how to answer it, find information and check that each source can be trusted, collect and analyse your own data, draw a conclusion that the evidence supports, and share it while crediting every source you used.
4. Volume in three-dimensional projects
Principles of 3D design · Types of volumetric forms in design · Project methodology for 3D design · Modular 3D structures · Producing volumetric artworks · Teamwork and shared leadership · Sustainable and inclusive design · Personal and professional opportunities · Intellectual property
- Elements of Art and Principles of Design – The elements of art are the building blocks an artist uses: line, shape, form, colour, value, texture and space (many teachers also add the point). The principles of design are the rules for arranging those blocks: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, rhythm and pattern, proportion and scale, and unity with variety. Knowing both helps you make art on purpose and talk about any artwork clearly.
- Managing an Art Project: From Idea to Review – An art project moves through stages: idea, research, plan, make, show and review. Good management means choosing one idea, planning tasks and time, sharing work in a team, recording every step, showing the result and learning from it.
- Data Protection and Intellectual Property Rights – Intellectual property (IP) is a creation of the mind, such as a story, song, program, invention or logo. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) give the creator control over its use. Copyright protects creative works (text, music, art, software code) automatically once created; a patent protects a new, useful invention for about 20 years and must be applied for; a trademark protects brand names, logos and slogans. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as your own without credit. Infringement is using protected IP without permission (copyright, patent or trademark infringement). Public licences let creators share on their own terms: Creative Commons (BY, SA, NC, ND) for creative works, and software licences such as GPL (copyleft: modified versions must stay open) and Apache (permissive: can be used in closed products with notices).