Ok, what makes good fig. sculpture?

[2catsTango]

I've read a couple of posts either regarding poor conception or poorly done figurative sculpture. If you read my previous post, you will know that I want to have a sculpture made of someone i know, and want it realistic to the person's appearence. But, I want it to be something other than a dead general statue. So, The pose, clothing (if any) and suggested activity, time period, and such would be important.

So, what do you think makes a good figurative sculpture in this vain? What makes it not good. Are there any examples of work that you can cite that are good or bad? Any sculptors that seem to repeat good work or bad?

I'm quite new to this subject, although I've been interested in other art forms, photography, music and architecture mainly. And a bit of graphic design. If I had my way, I would have be and architect, but...

Any comments would be welcome.
Thank you

[jwebb]

You've got the best on-line name I've seen in a while. In these matters you are raising, there is no accounting for taste. I would suggest you do a search on "portrait sculpture". You'll find a wide variety of artists and results, and a range of prices. Most work in bronze, though there are a few stone portraitists out there. I don't really know of anyone doing that full time, in stone. There are extremely "realistic" portraits - like you'd see at Madame Tousoud's (sp?) Wax Museum, and more "interpretive" approaches. Prices range from about $3500 to $5000 in my experience for bronzes. There are also "cold-cast bronzes", which are epoxies made the color of bronze. Some work from photos; most want at least a couple of "sittings". I like a combination of both, and am on the 6th sitting of a portrait right now and am still not satisfied with it; but that's a grand-daughter and somewhat "captive" subject. I don't know how values will hold up over time, comparatively. That depends most on how famous the subject and/or the sculptor get before they're both gone (or after). Best regards.

[JHoughton]

For me it would have to be a work that had a concern above and beyond the human form. Possibly a work that found it nessesary to utilize the human form to inform a larger issue.

Example:
Charles Ray
Martin Kippenberger
Jeff Koons
Mariko Mori
ETC......................................

[RustyBlade1964]

Member icreate has done some of the finest work I have ever seen, accurate yet most affective.

http://www.creativesculpture.com/index.html

[ALH]

There are all kinds of sculpture using the human figure but as you are interested in a portrait I'll deal with just that.

For a portrait to be 'good' it must represent it's subject. That simple, one note, goal is your guide weather commissioning or producing the work.

If that representation were required only to be on the level of physical accuracy alone it would be a simple matter. Any second year art student should be able to whip out a life cast of the subjects head in a day. A subject no longer with us could be accurately rendered in clay by one of the dozens of highly skilled artists lurking in most nations. All that is required here is time and a number of photographs, from differing angles preferably.

But simple replication lacks the very thing that we, ultimately, want to produce - that is the presence of the person being sculpted. To be successful the artwork must 'feel' like that person, giving us a real sense of their presence. You can see examples of this in any thick 'History of Sculpture' coffee table book showing work from many eras and places. People have been doing portraits that will stop me in my tracks for a long, long time.

Good luck with you search.

www.hendersonsculpture.com

[Berinje']

What makes a good figurative sculpture? I think it is flow and a natural realistic pose, expressiveness in the face, and of course if it is a portrait of an individual, the detailed likeness of the individual as well as a glimpse into their character and spirit.

A life size full-figure portrait of an adult takes about 8 to 10 months to sculpt in detail, mold, and cast in bronze (half the time for sculpting and half for the foundry work). If there is a tight deadline 6 months will usually work if the sculptor isn't already booked up.

[Berinje']

P.S. The foundry used is extremely important to the finished work as well. Many sculptors are casting in Mexico, China and Malaysia to cut costs and be more competitive. Many of these foreign foundries use "pot metal" bronze (which is actually what they do, throw old pots and pans and old radiators, etc. into the metal mix) and within a few years there are corrosion and cracking problems. So you want to make sure that the sculptor uses a reputable foundry within the United States that casts with high quality silicon bronze.

www.PaulaSlater.com

[spiriti]

I've read a couple of posts either regarding poor conception or poorly done figurative sculpture. If you read my previous post, you will know that I want to have a sculpture made of someone i know, and want it realistic to the person's appearence. But, I want it to be something other than a dead general statue. So, The pose, clothing (if any) and suggested activity, time period, and such would be important.

So, what do you think makes a good figurative sculpture in this vain? What makes it not good. Are there any examples of work that you can cite that are good or bad? Any sculptors that seem to repeat good work or bad?

I'm quite new to this subject, although I've been interested in other art forms, photography, music and architecture mainly. And a bit of graphic design. If I had my way, I would have be and architect, but...

Any comments would be welcome.
Thank you
I believe the most important aspect of figurative sculpture is what is the feeling, emotion, "Story" that you are trying to express. It goes without saying that a good foundry is necessary. I use Bronze Services of Loveland and Art Casting also of Loveland, Colorado.
My own sculpture is primarily female nudes and Moon in all her aspects is my muse. I will be exhibiting at the Loveland Invitational Sculpture Show August 11, 12 and 13. This is the largest sculpture show in the U.S. and here you will see extraordinary talent

[mountshang]

The more time you invest in looking
at what's been done -- the happier you'll probably be
with your own answer to this question

My website covers a big chunk of what's
been done over the last hundred years -- but it's only
a website -- and it's only things I like.

http://www.ilovefiguresculpture.com/masters/masters20.html


If you feel ambitious -- take a trip to Brookgreen gardens.

[Scout]

Mountshang, that was fabulous! I'm going to spend a lot of time there. Wonderful...thanks! Scout

[Merlion]

Thanks Mountshang for bringing to our attention again your big virtual museum of contemporary figure sculpture and sculptors. It is a commendable effort.

If you would allow some more feedback, as your e-museum is by now so big, it would help viewers if you could list them in some sort of sequence. This can be either alphabetic, or by continents, or both.

Now back to the thread. I agree with Mountshang that we have to keep looking at good sculpture to learn from masters. More than a decade ago, we are limited to art books, to our local art galleries and museums, and our occasional travel. Now thanks to the Internet, in particular the web and broadband, we can access so many pictures on our PC or Mac.

But one other important ingredient for creating good figure sculpture is to make regular use of life model for practice. We'll continue to know more of the human body anatomy in various postures by doing this.

I still can't afford to, nor have suitable space to engage life models when creating my figure sculpture. So I have to rely on joining regular life-model practice sessions at a local art college where I am an alumni. I mainly do charcoal life drawings.

The only limitation is that life-models do not show much emotion, if at all. For this we'll have to rely on good photography.

[mountshang]

Come to think of it -- anyone can make an online sculpture-picture collection like I've done -- and you don't even have to go to libraries : the number of pictures available on the internet has been growing exponentially.


The internet is the place where eventually the family of every dead sculptor
(good-bad-or indifferent) is going to post pictures of his or her work.
(I was happy to recently discover the website that the descendents of the great American sculptor, McCartan, finally made for his work)

Regarding a person like 2CatsTango who wishes to commission sculpture but doesn't know what he wants -- this is a person who should start making his own web gallery of favorite things -- sorting it as he sees fit -- and inviting the input of others --like on a blog.

Believe it or not -- I'm not making my webgallery for the benefit of others (which is why it will always be user-unfriendly) -- I'm making it to sharpen, grow, and exercise my own taste and knowledge of what is possible -- though I am thrilled when other people tell me that they have found my collection useful.

[GlennT]

Here are a few observations regarding good or bad portraits. The artist should be able to interpret the soul or spirit behind the person, and that interpretation should animate or bring life to the features. Good physical features, while important, only get you halfway there. ( If the artist can't even do that, then there is a real problem )
If there is too much attention placed on the clothing, it usually detracts from the piece. Obviously there are exceptions, but if you consider the clothing to be like a frame for a painting, you don't want the frame to overwhelm the picture.
The artist must love the subject, at least while working on him or her. Without love, there is not the care and concern to go the extra mile to get the features right, the expression right, and all the minutiae of detail that add up to the creation of a masterpiece. And the work should be treated by the artist as it is intended to be their masterpiece. Otherwise it is the work of a craftsman, not an artist.
The work should not rely on tricks to draw attention, but should stand on its own merits. I hesitate to elaborate for fear of offending anyone. I'll leave it at: honest approach to the subject should be sufficient, given the ingredient of love.

If you look at some of the best artists of various periods, Bernini, Augustus Saint Gaudens to name two of my favorites, you will have a very high standard with which to compare the works of contemporary artists.

Best of fortune,

Glenn Terry
http://www.glennterryart.com

[cmustard]

Mountshang.....Your web site is terrific! Thankyou

[JasonGillespie]

From my perspective the first thing a good figure sculpture must do is rise above the level of typical genre sculpture. This resides partly in the subject matter and partly in the stylistic treatment. A figurative work can even be well sculpted technically, but to my mind it still might not be a good figure sculpture.
Too many fig. sculptors today seem to sculpt in such a way that their work ends up looking too pretty/cute or it is too delineated....too wrapped up in showing superfluous details.... and these are two stylistic traits of the typical genre sculpture. A good figure sculpture will avoid these tendencies and have subtle stylistic traits as well as subject matter that isn't banal.

A transcendent sculptural idea is another characteristic that is a sign of a good fig. sculpture. Rodin, for example, used the powerful idea of incipient movement to give many of his works a dynamic quality that made many other works of the time tame and static by comparison.
Michelangelo was concerned with the internal/external integrity of his sculptural projects. He rarely had extended limbs or far flung gestures in his work. He had arms and legs reconnect at some point in the composition for a greater structural power, more dynamic plane breaks and interesting yet compact positive/negative spaces. These sort of concerns usually go beyond the simple act of just modeling and deal with profound compositional/sculptural concepts that require more than a passing effort.

Third would be the most obvious point...the figure looks right...not just anatomically, but also in terms of distribution of weight, gesture, facial expression, the draping of clothing,etc... Basically delivering the whole package...as much as is possible within the context of the idea being portrayed.

Below are two sculptures: One is a very competent, but typical genre sculpture of Thomas Jefferson by George Lundeen and the other a singular figure from Rodin's Burghers of Calais. The Jefferson has an adequate likeness, a well done surface treatment and all the details that sell such work, but is devoid of the elements that make good figure sculpture....in my opinion. Rodin's burgher, while modeled more roughly has a sense of movement, a powerfully composed gesture that creates an emotive response and a lack of meaningless superfluities that would only obscure the goal of the sculptor.

[Robert Mileha.]

It's so much a matter of taste. We can talk about pose, composition, bronze, marble etc but it boils down to what you like in the end.

However, may I say that facial expression is perhaps number one on your list and must be complimentary with pose and body language. You do not describe your subject so it is difficult gauge whether the work will be of universal appeal. You should if possible allow your chosen sculptor to meet your subject in advance.

Mountshang’s website is a brilliant place to help you decide what you like. It is worth looking properly as you will have to live with this work when your commission is completed. Then you will need to trawl vast numbers of sculptors’ web sites, galleries and exhibitions relevant to your particular taste. Ask your friends, talk to people in the art world. Word of mouth usually works well too.

Capturing a likeness is a rare gift and worth encouraging. Your commission will "live on” for generations, and if your choice is good will be much admired, valued and appreciated over the centuries. As a result, it is worth taking a little time on choosing your sculptor, but not too long.

It is important for your subject to sit for them if appropriate. Capturing a likeness includes a little more that just a good physical representation. Getting the essence, sprit, personality; that big bit more. A plaster cast may be accurate but misses all that big bit more.

The sculptor has to earn a living so be as generous as you can and keep him working on the job for you. He or she is human after all and needs to be encouraged to produce the very best work for you and to a dead line which you must be prepared to extend if necessary to achieve that "best work". Give him or her as much licence to put their own style and interpretation as possible but make sure that you both understand what you want and what you do not want. It is therefore important to see as much of the sculptor's previous work for other people as possible. Giving a young or new artist a break is worth considering especially if he or she is “hungry”. Very often an artist has several works on the go at any one time. There are lots of reasons for this and one of them is that he may not enjoy doing all the commissions he is given. He or she might be very enthusiastic initially and then get bored with it. He or she will not admit to that but it is better to find an artist who is going to really enjoy doing your subject. It is bound to be reflected in the work.