Picasso…The ground breaking sculptor?!

Head of a Woman(Fernande) 1909Exaggerating the features and planes to heighten the effects of light and shadow wanted see how natural light interacts with his cubist surface.

Traditional bronze.

Woman with Pears(Fernande) 1909

Chiaroscuro: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/;

from Italian: chiaro, “light”; scuro, “dark”

Technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects.

Late bronze age sculpture of a bull.

(c. 3300–1200 BC)

The Kiss 1889 August Rodin

Robby BurnsBronze Dunedin

Guitar – 1912Cardboard and string.

Same year as the first Papier Colle works.

‘Most radical change in sculpture since bronze casting’

Shifting from mass to plane, from closed volume to open construction.

Building up the form from component parts – constructing

Can quickly and independently develop his ideas. – not need the time and expense involved with bronze casting.

Guitar, Sheet Music, and Glass1912

Paper Collie

Why Guitars?!

Guitar 1914

Sheet Metal, pipe and wire.

•Sheet metal a readily available roofing material.

•Used rough shears to cut – not very round, he wasn’t concerned with good craftsmanship.

•All of the ‘workings’, the elements that hold the piece together are visible to the viewer.

Braque

Paper sculptures Circa 1911

Not named and exhibited and not preserved except for in some rare photographs and word of mouth. But it seems clear that Braque was also exploring cubist principles in three dimensions as was Picasso.

Guitar 1914

Glass of Absinthe 1914

BTW this is a thing – absinthe is served this way traditionally, it’s not a unique configuration. The absinthe is poured through sugar cube and slotted spoon into the glass.Incredibly alcoholic it was banned the year after Picasso made that work.

Painted wood and upholstery fringe

Still Life with a Snack 1914

Relief Constructions

Detail of the top of the wine glass in Still Life showing the recycled turned disc

Detail of the knife handle in Still Life illustrating the black painted outline around the three nail heads that simulate rivets

Pablo PicassoMandolin and Clarinet

1913Painted wood and pencil

Pablo PicassoViolin and Bottle on a Table 1915 Wood, string, nails, painted wood and charcoal

Note the wooden wheel on the base of the sculpture?

Nails incorporated into the sculpture forming part of the instrument – some tribal artifacts also incorporate nails in their design

• These constructions and were not publicly exhibited due to the start of the war – they were in the hands of Picassos dealer who had German citizenship – the work was all sequestered by the French authorities and was locked up until the 20’s when it was sold piecemeal so was never given a proper retrospective until much later

• they were seen by friends and colleagues and became an inspiration to contemporary artists.

• The use of ‘low’ found material and ‘ready made’ items is fundamental to sculpture practice today.

• These ideas were particularly and directly explored by the dada artists, in particular Duchamp…

Guggenheim in Bilbao – design by Frank Gehry 1997

Marcel Duchamp Fountain 1917 / 1964What is the role of the artist? Artist as Alchemist…

DuchampBicycle Wheel. New York, 1913/1951

In anticipation of a broken arm1915FROM Marcel Duchamp.

Bill Culbert

Daylight Flotsam Venice

2015

Florescent lightsPlastic bottles

Raiding rubbish dumps for discarded plastic containers, bottles, and other faded, semi-invisible objects, he injects them with light, and thus illuminated they become beautiful objects for contemplation.

Richard LongA Line Made by Walking, 1967

Carl Andre Equivalent VIII , 1978Artist as selector , displayer of materials...

Damien HirstThe Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living1991 Glass, painted steel, silicone, monofilament, shark and formaldehyde solution

Damian HirstFor the Love of God2007

Platinum, diamonds and human teeth

Janine Antoni, Lick and Lather, 1993