ART 3711 SCULPTURE: Materials and Methods

Link to plaster handout from Linda Arbuckle!

Anthony Castronovo, Professor
The University of Florida
Fall Semester 2008

Meeting Times: T R 5-7 (3:00-6:00 PM)
Office: B-3 FAC
Telephone: 392-0201 ext.?
e-mail: castronovo@ufl.edu
Office Hours: T R 11-11:30 AM or by appointment

YOU MUST WEAR CLOSED TOE SHOES TO CLASS FOR THE DURATION OF THIS PROJECT. YOU MUST ALWAYS WEAR CLOSED TOE SHOES IN THE SCULPTURE SHOPS. PLEASE KEEP AN EXTRA PAIR IN YOUR LOCKER.

MEMORY, METAMORPHOSIS: THE PLASTER PROJECT

PLASTER AS A MATERIAL
CEMENT AS A MATERIAL


Plaster is a sculptural medium that has been used for millennia. It is a calcined(heat process) gypsum product and is extremely versatile. There are many grades and types of palster designed for different uses. For example, molding plaster is relatively soft, casting plaster is harder, hydrocal is a mix of plaster and cement and is harder than casting plaster. Then there is supercal, ultracal, and finally cement. Most plasters will not hold up outdoors, though hydrocal, supercal, ultracal, and cement are very durable outdoors.

Cement is a calcined mixture of clay and limestone usually mixed with water and sand or gravel to form concrete that is used as a building material. Concrete is usually cast, however, it is possible to work with it as a modeling material with limited range. Cement is similar to and totally different from plaster. It casts somewhat like plaster but is not used for mold making and rarely for direct modeling. Once it hardens it is very difficult to work the surface. Cement has mainly been used in engineering, construction, and for architectural purposes.

Plaster is about change, METAMORPHOSIS. It is a powder, a liquid, and a solid. It can take on many forms. These states are dependent on the chemical properties of the material. The process of solidification is an exothermic one, meaning it releases heat that you can feel during the hardening process. It is hot and cold, dry and wet, liquid and solid, transformation, alchemy.

In this project, in addition to making a sculpture, you must accomplish several tasks:

• Investigate the material properties of plaster through an experimental process of testing the characteristics and limits of the material. Use only USG Molding Plaster, available at Contractor's Supply in Gainesville[ 3010 NE Waldo Rd 372-6315]. How can you push the limits of plaster? How can you learn more about the plaster? What can you do with the plaster that no one has done before?

• On the basis of your experiments, design and create a plaster sculpture using any or all of the following:

direct plaster

casting

mold making

combination of techniques

• Maintain a record of your progress through the experiments and the sculpture.

•Explain your use of plaster in the project.


MAJOR ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED

Uses and qualities of plaster
Its chemistry and physics
Stretching the medium
Structural concerns
Limits of tensility, elasticity, strength
Combinations of materials
Plaster as a binder such as cement or as a mold making material, as a skin or glue
Finish and weathering
Design concerns
Conceptual concerns
Joints and points of connection
Surface and texture
Alive or dead
Gesture and action in the treatment of plaster
Additives and aggregates
Direction of flow of the materials
Colorants
Positive and negative spaces
Is the sculpture coarse, refined, smooth, or rough
What are the expressive associations of your treatment of the materials
Subtractive or additive
Plaster as a building material with structural possibilities

There should be a clear relationship between structure, form, material, process, and concept.

SOME ARTISTS TO LOOK AT
Rachel Whiteread, Doris Salcedo, Christina Iglesias, Tony Cragg, Dennis Oppenheim, Bruce Nauman, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Gober, Antony Gormley, Miroslav Balka, Joseph Beuys, Kiki Smith, George Segal, Raoul Bunschoten


Go to the library before Tuesday October 7. Explore the books on reserve.

Half Page reading response due October 7. Consider the ways plaster is used in the work.
How it is unique?



Read the assigned readings as required by due dates. Write responses as due.



READINGS:


Holmes, Hannah. (2001). The Secret Life of Dust . New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Mcevilley, Thomas. (1999). Sculpture in the Age of Doubt. New York: Allworth Press.
[Louise Bourgeois, Jana Sterbak articles]

Chaney, C., & Skee, S. (1973). Plaster mold and model making. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Mills, J. W. (1967). The technique of casting for sculpture. London: Batsford.


SCHEDULE:

Plaster Project

Sept. 30 Introduce plaster project, look at artists who have used plaster in their work. Everyone is required to purchase at least one half bag (50lb) of molding plaster, which means finding a friend to split the bag with. Talk about alginate and maybe organize an order.

Oct. 2 Critique of Passages/Wood.

Oct. 7 Half page responses due. Must have plaster in class by today to start experiments. Build objects,
cast forms, model surfaces, combine materials, create materials. Look for at least ten various solutions or examples.

Oct. 9 Discuss Bourgeois and Sterbak readings, more experiments with plaster.

Oct. 14 Proposals due, these are to be typed and drawings included, scan them and print, i want one packet turned in to me. Ten experiments.

Oct. 16 Studio day

Oct. 21 Studio day

Oct. 23 Studio day

Oct. 28 Studio day

Oct. 30 Studio day

Nov. 4  Studio day

Nov. 6  Critique.