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9
Creating Sculpture
aren’t attached to anything besides a base. Many of the sculptures you
may find around cities that
commemorate
famous people are sculp-
tures in the round.
Some artists practice relief sculpture. They start with a flat vertical sur-
face and either carve out an image or carve out the background. A bas-
relief is relief sculpture with an image that pops out of the background.
Think of the way a president’s head on a coin is raised up from the flat
background. Sunken relief sculptures are carved into the background, so
that the background is higher than the image.
Kinetic
sculpture is another type of three-dimensional art. Kinetic
sculptures are often freestanding sculptures, but they also move. Some
kinetic sculptures move with the wind, like mobiles. Others may move if
someone pushes a button or turns a gear. Some kinetic sculptures move
from the force of water. Fountains are examples of water sculptures.
Assemblage sculpture is a popular form today. Assemblage sculp-
tures are assembled; that is, they are made up of lots of different ob-
jects and materials all pieced together. Modern artists can make assem-
blage sculptures out of everything from seashells and beach driftwood
to garbage.
WHAT’S IT FOR?
Sculpture has performed a lot of functions over the years. Some early
sculptures (and sculptures today) were religious. Very early statues rep-
resented gods. People used these sculptures to aid them in appealing to
gods for help. In Christianity, sculptures of saints, the Virgin Mary, and
Jesus all helped tell biblical stories, since most early Christians couldn’t
read.
Other early sculptures were more
political
. They were created in the
image of powerful kings who thought they could achieve
immortality
.
Some sculptures were used to celebrate victories in battle.
Sculptures are often used as a tool to remember. Today, we erect lots
of sculptures to remember famous people or events. Washington, D.C.,