Puzzle Pieces: Building Found Object Sculpture

Different functions serve different purposes when creating a work of art. The process serves different needs as desired by the artist in terms of creating and the final product, which is why different people are attracted to using different mediums. The process involved in creating a work varies based on the enjoyment and feeling evoked while making, as well as the desired outcome.

Generally historically speaking, many people would think of making a sculpture as carving into something. Even larger works, that would involve layering stones to create the mass required for a needed size would still result in a carving out once the materials were piled. Consider Ancient Rome and its classic figurative statues, or Egypt and the massive limestone sculptures of gods made from blocks stacked from the quarries and carved.

The purpose of these early sculptures was to create a longstanding finished piece, without much artistic consideration to the process besides the artist's ability to do so and the cultural expectations of art at the time. Sculpture, and art in general, has progressed incredibly far since ancient times, and much of the sculpture you find created today is built out, rather than carved in. By built out, we are considering found object sculpture, or mixed media, where various pieces are put together and attached (temporarily or permanently) to serve a specific purpose that may not have been the original intended use.

You can see this defined quite clearly in the Surrealist period in the early twentieth century. Take Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel, for example. Calling it the beginning of his "artistic maturity," (mnstate.edu), it features a bicycle wheel installed upside-down into a stool. Essentially, these works remove each other's function by their placement. These works involved changing the definition and how the viewer sees the object by distorting it's orientation or manipulating it to suggest something else. Essentially, this type of sculpture becomes the epitome of the idea of "Art for Art's Sake" by sometimes taking useful objects; kitchen utensils, furniture, toys, and turning them into something generally not considered useful, but visually desirable. This idea was coined in the nineteenth century, and the term originating from the French "L'art pour l'art" (newworldencyclopedia.org).

The process of building sculpture in this fashion is very different from using mediums such as clay or stone. Michelangelo once said regarding the carving process,

"In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." (Michelangelo-gallery.com)

With mixed media sculpture, particularly with found objects, acquiring the objects is a large part of the process. One artist could have an idea and emphasize the searching part of the process in looking for media to build with. Other artists may use what they have and try to represent an idea possibly inspired from those same pieces, or completely separate. With this comes a new set of problem-solving in terms of conservation of such works. Long-term care is very important to preserve these types of works, as traditional conservation methods are not always applicable. One perfect example is Kiki Smith's work "Hand in a Jar." Featuring a latex glove floating in a jar of pond water and scum, it is important to consider the unusual issues that may arise with keeping and preserving a work of that nature.

While this modern technique of using found objects and mixing media is very popular, it also unfortunately sometimes bears the mark our modern society holds of being disposable. Many cannot withstand the test of time just because of the structure and quality of products we make and use today. This is certainly something to consider when creating your own works, and something for buyers to consider when purchasing.

Today, we can consider ourselves even lucky to live in a time when art can be anything. We have free reign over our imaginations and no limitations as to what we proclaim as artwork. Yet we should keep in mind that one day, we will be history, and this point in time and what we make with it will be what we are remembered for.

newworldencyclopedia.org

mnstate.edu

Michelangelo-gallery.com