This volume is an anthology of current groundbreaking research on social practice art. Contributing scholars provide a variety of assessments of recent projects as well as earlier precedents, define approaches to art production, and provide crucial political context. The topics and art projects covered, many of which the authors have experienced firsthand, represent the work of innovative artists whose creative practice is utilized to engage audience members as active participants in effecting social and political change. Chapters are divided into four parts that cover history, specific examples, global perspectives, and critical analysis.

Stretching lengths of yarn across interior spaces, American artist Fred Sandback (1943 2003) created expansive works that underscore the physical presence of the viewer. This book, the first major study of Sandback, explores the full range of his art, which not only disrupts traditional conceptions of material presence, but also stages an ethics of interaction between object and observer. Drawing on Sandback's substantial archive, Edward A. Vazquez demonstrates that the artist's work with all its physical slightness and attentiveness to place, as well as its relationship to minimal and conceptual art of the 1960s creates a link between viewers and space that is best understood as sculptural even as it almost surpasses physical form. At the same time, the economy of Sandback's site-determined practice draws viewers' focus to their connection to space and others sharing it. As Vazquez shows, Sandback's art aims for nothing less than a total recalibration of the senses, as the spectator is caught on neither one side nor the other of an object or space, but powerfully within it.

The Baule people of the Ivory Coast are renowned for their refined sculptural work of masks and figures. This book is the first to focus exclusively on an antithetic aspect of Baule culture-rough zoomorphic sculptures representing monkeys. These awe-inspiring bowl-bearing figures evoke invisible powers and serve their communities through the mediation of diviners. Investigating the creation, forms, and usage of the sculptures, the authors shed light on the cultural and ritual contexts in which they operated. Beautifully illustrated with over 55 full-page color images of works in public and private collections, this important publication also includes many unpublished field photographs. Distributed for Mercatorfonds

This beautifully illustrated monograph presents the first overview in English of the life and work of Luisa Roldan (1652-1706), a prolific and celebrated sculptor of the Spanish Golden Age. The daughter of Pedro Roldan, a well-known sculptor from Seville, she developed her talent in her father's workshop. Early in her career she produced large polychromed wooden sculptures for churches in Seville, Cadiz, and surrounding towns. She spent the second half of her career in Madrid, where she worked in both polychromed wood and polychromed terracotta, developing new products for a domestic, devotional market. In recognition of her talent, she was awarded the title of Sculptor to the Royal Chambers of two kings of Spain, Charles II and Philip V. This book places Roldan within a wider historical and social context, exploring what life would have been like for her as a woman sculptor in early modern Spain. It considers her work alongside that of other artists of the Baroque period, including Velazquez, Murillo, and Zurbaran. Reflecting on the opportunities available to her during this time, as well as the challenges she faced, Catherine Hall-van den Elsen weaves the narrative of Roldan's story with analysis, revealing the complexities of her oeuvre. Every year, newly discovered sculptures in wood and in terracotta enter into Roldan's oeuvre. As her artistic output begins to attract greater attention from scholars and art lovers, Luisa Roldan provides invaluable insights into her artistic achievements.

In 2018 the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts will host major exhibitions of the work of Tacita Dean. Each will provide a different encounter with her art. This book brings together new and existing works from all three exhibitions - LANDSCAPE, PORTRAIT, STILL LIFE - with texts offering a unique insight into Dean's work by leading writers including Alexandra Harris, Alan Hollinghurst and Ali Smith. Published at a particularly prolific period for Dean, this book provides a new and authoritative view of a hugely influential artist who has been at the forefront of British art for over twenty years. The volume is published with three different covers.

With over 230 brilliant color photographs, paint color charts, and precise patterns, Leah Wachter provides woodcarvers with illustrated directions necessary to create from basswood incredibly detailed small animals that are big on character. Her instructions lead woodcarvers successfully through a field mouse carving project. Woodburning and painting techniques are presented with great attention to detail. Also, information and patterns for carving an armadillo, a skunk, and a raccoon are highly detailed to make the carvings terrifically animated in their appearance. A color gallery provides further inspiration with detailed looks at each creature. This book will be a joy for carvers of all levels, providing challenges for the newcomer and tips sure to fascinate more experienced artists.

As the United States struggled to recover from the Great Depression, 24 towns in Alabama would directly benefit from some of the $83 million allocated by the Federal Government for public art works under the New Deal. In the words of Harold Lloyd Hopkins, administrator of the Federal Emergency Relief Act, “artists had to eat, too,” and these funds aided people who needed employment during this difficult period in American history. This book examines so of the New Deal art-murals, reliefs, sculpture, frescoes and paintings-of Alabama and offers biographical sketches of the artists who created them. An appendix describes federal art programs and projects of the period (1933-1943).

This book is targeted at enthusiasts, both those interested as a hobby and professionally. This book provides a complete guide to the design, sculpting and marketing of pop culture action figures, statues and collectibles. It begins by tracing the history of toy making and collectibles and then shows how figurative sculpture is created by today's top professional technicians and artists using modern-day tools, techniques and applications. Each chapter progresses chronologically through the stages of creating a sculpture, providing discussion and instruction about all aspects of the process from start to finish, including concepts, sculpting, mold-making, casting, painting, manufacturing, distribution and business and legal considerations.

Award-winning chocolate artist Patrick Roger (Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier 2000) has pursued a parallel body of longer-lasting work, creating sculptures in a variety of materials, including bronze, aluminium, silicone, marble, and concrete. He begins with chocolate as a base, working this malleable material quickly with techniques he has perfected over many years, before casting it. This book, the second volume of his sculpted works (Volume 1 was published in 2018), features 177 new creations that are described in detail and beautifully photographed. Further insight into Roger’s work is found in a notebook of contemporary inspirations and a reproduction of his personal sketchbook. Text in French.

In this wide-ranging exploration of the creation and use of Buddhist art in Andhra Pradesh, India, Catherine Becker examines how material remains and visual experiences shape and reveal essential human concerns. Shifting Stones, Shaping the Past addresses the fundamental Buddhist question of how humanity progresses centuries after the passing of its teacher, the Buddha Sakyamuni. How might the Buddhas distant teachings be made immediate and accessible? Beginning with an analysis of the spectacular relief sculptures that once adorned the stupas of the region during the early centuries of the Common Era, Becker analyzes the creation of scenes of devotion and the representation of narratives. These reliefs reveal the ancient devotees faith, or optimism, in the role of visual imagery to continue the work of the Buddha by advancing the spiritual progress of visitors to Andhras stupas. Over a period of almost two millennia, many of these stupas have fallen into disrepair. While it is tempting to view these monuments as ruins, they are by no means dead. Turning to the 20th and 21st centuries, Becker analyzes examples of new Buddhist imagery, recent state-sponsored tourism campaigns, and new devotional activities at the sites in order to demonstrate that the stupas of Andhra Pradesh and their sculptural adornments continue to engage the human imagination and are even ascribed innate power and agency. Shifting Stones, Shaping the Past reveals intriguing parallels between ancient uses of imagery and the new social, political, and religious functions of these objects and spaces.

An in-depth exploration of how the iconic artist created his works over the course of his full career Among the most celebrated figures of modern art, Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) has been the subject of many exhibitions and publications, but none until now has examined in depth how the artist created his paintings and sculptures. Drawing on research using the latest scientific techniques, the authors explore the artist's reuse of materials in his early years; his pivot from artistic trends such as Cubism to engage with a stylized form of figuration; the timeline of his evocative sculptures; and the evolution of his approach from heavily worked canvases to more ethereal paintings. The richly illustrated book also looks at the role of Albert C. Barnes, an early collector of Modigliani's work, in shaping the Italian artist's critical reception in the United States. The Barnes Foundation today owns one of the most important groups of Modigliani works in the world. These, together with some forty other paintings and sculptures from public and private collections worldwide, are interpreted through the lens of new studies carried out by leading international museums. Distributed for the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Schedule: The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (October 16, 2022-January 29, 2023)

There is no soundtrack is a study of how sound and image produce meaning in contemporary experimental media art by artists ranging from Chantal Akerman to Nam June Paik to Tanya Tagaq. It contextualises these works and artists through key ideas in sound studies: voice, noise, listening, the soundscape and more. The book argues that experimental media art produces radical and new audio-visual relationships challenging the visually dominated discourses in art, media and the human sciences. In addition to directly addressing what Jonathan Sterne calls 'visual hegemony', it also explores the lack of diversity within sound studies by focusing on practitioners from transnational and diverse backgrounds. As such, it contributes to a growing interdisciplinary scholarship, building new, more complex and reverberating frameworks to collectively sonify the study of culture. -- .

St Ives has long been a centre of avante-garde art activity. This book is concerned with the artistic events which occured there during the years 1939-75, and the broader circumstances in the art world which they influenced.

Internationally known carver Pete LeClair turns his attention to the caricature bust. This classic form lends itself to wonderful interpretations, but is also a great way to learn more about caricature carving. Pete shares a great number of techniques and secrets in this volume, paying attention, as always, to the minute details that make the difference between a good carving and a great carving. Every step is illustrated with a color photograph and a clear explanation. Patterns and a gallery, showing all sides of the works, are included to help the carver even more. For those who know Pete's previous works, this will be a welcomed addition to their libraries. For those who do not it is an opportunity to learn the joys and intricacies of caricature carving from one of the best.

In this in-depth analysis, Peter Muir argues that Gordon Matta-Clark's Conical Intersect (1975) is emblematic of Henri Lefebvre's understanding of art's function in relation to urban space. By engaging with Lefebvre's theory in conjunction with the perspectives of other writers, such as Michel de Certeau, Jacques Derrida, and George Bataille, the book elicits a story that presents the artwork's significance, origins and legacies. Conical Intersect is a multi-media artwork, which involves the intersections of architecture, sculpture, film, and photography, as well as being a three-dimensional model that reflects aspects of urban, art, and architectural theory, along with a number of cultural and historiographic discourses which are still present and active. This book navigates these many complex narratives by using the central 'hole' of Conical Intersect as its focal point: this apparently vacuous circle around which the events, documents, and other historical or theoretical references surrounding Matta-Clark's project, are perpetually in circulation. Thus, Conical Intersect is imagined as an insatiable absence around which discourses continually form, dissipate and resolve. Muir argues that Conical Intersect is much more than an 'artistic hole.' Due to its location at Plateau Beaubourg in Paris, it is simultaneously an object of art and an instrument of social critique.

The carved bird decoy is the only truly American folk art - for the decoy as an aid to hunting was devised by the American Indians and has grown as a useful art since the days of the colonists. Decoy-carving was developed and refined to such a degree that now early and well-carved birds are prized by collectors. This book, full of stunning photographs, shows the best examples from both public and private collections, and gives the reader an idea of the great range, vigor, and variety of the birds. There are sandpipers, curlews, ducks, geese, swans, gulls, herons, crows, loons, and many others - (loons, being wary, were used as confidence birds). Along with the birds are explanations of the highly varied and ingenious methods of construction.

Transforming unlikely pieces of scrap metal into significant works of art - giving new life to things we throw away - is an accessible, creative and fulfilling activity. This book describes and illustrates the concerns and techniques involved in making this kind of sculpture, looking behind the work at the richness and diversity of an area of sculpture that deserves to be far better known. Topics covered include the role and purpose of sculpture, the particular qualities of sculpture made from scrap metal and the practical processes involved in its making. It also covers sources of scrap metal, identifying metals, reviewing metalworking techniques, creative approaches, different types of sculpture, and the making, finishing and installation of pieces of sculpture.

Learning to Look at Sculpture is an accessible guide to the study and understanding of three dimensional art. Sculpture is all around us: in public parks, squares, gardens and railway stations, as part of the architecture of buildings, or when used in commemoration and memorials and can even be considered in relation to furniture and industrial design. This book encourages you to consider the multiple forms and everyday guises sculpture can take.

Exploring Western sculpture with examples from antiquity through to the present day, Mary Acton shows you how to analyse and fully experience sculpture, asking you to consider questions such as What do we mean by the sculptural vision? What qualities do we look for when viewing sculpture? How important is the influence of the Classical Tradition and what changed in the modern period? What difference does the scale and context make to our visual understanding?

With chapters on different types of sculpture, such as free-standing figures, group sculpture and reliefs, and addressing how the experience of sculpture is fundamentally different due to the nature of its relationship to the space of its setting, the book also explores related themes, such as sculpture s connection with architecture, drawing and design, and what difference changing techniques can make to the tactile and physical experience of sculpture.

Richly illustrated with over 200 images, including multiple points of view of three dimensional works, examples include the Riace bronzes, Michelangelo s "David," Canova s "The Three Graces," medieval relief sculptures, war memorials and works from modern and contemporary artists, such as Henry Moore, Cornelia Parker and Richard Serra, and three-dimensional designers like Thomas Heatherwick.

A glossary of critical and technical terms, further reading and questions for students, make this the ideal companion for all those studying, or simply interested in, sculpture."

In 1813 Charles James Mason gave the public just what they needed, patenting his "ironstone china." This durable yet beautiful dinnerwarewas stronger and less expensive than the china that then dominated the market. And its white, unadorned base soon became popular as a canvas for decorations such as Flow Blue, Mulberry, and Copper Lustre, especially the Tea Leaf motif. This pictorial and collectors' guide provides an alphabetic listing of all known shapes and their makers, illustrated with more than 700 color photographs to help easily identify pieces and show the ironstone in detail never seen before. Collectors will find this cross-referencing tool invaluable. Included is also a miscellaneous chapter, which brings to new light the unusual and hard to find pieces and a section devoted entirely to children's sets. Color photographs of makers' marks are identified and dated to aid those wishing to date their pieces.

This comprehensive study combines a fantastic historical account with exciting, newly-discovered examples. Art pottery and tiles from the Weller, Roseville, J.B. Owens, and related companies were made variously from 1872 to 1967 in Zanesville, Ohio. The authors studied many private collections to find fresh designs and shapes in this highly popular collecting field. This reference provides in one volume a full account of the companies, shapes, glaze lines, and values on today's market.

Featuring photographs, this book traces the history of Chinese sculpture throughout the imperial period. By outlining the principles which underlie all forms of statuary, regardless of size and material, it aims to elucidate the extent to which sculpture in China has been adapted to serve the political, practical and spiritual needs of its rulers. Archaeological discoveries over the last fifty years have revolutionised knowledge about Chinese sculpture, revealing the length and strength of a hitherto unsuspected tradition stretching back to prehistoric times. This

Paula Murphy, the leading expert on Irish sculpture, offers an extensive survey of the history of sculpture in Ireland in the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the large public works produced during the Victorian period. The works of such major figures as Patrick MacDowell, John Henry Foley, Thomas Kirk, and Thomas Farrell are discussed -as well as works by a host of lesser-known sculptors, including John Edward Carew, Christopher Moore, James Cahill, and Joseph Robinson Kirk. Lavishly illustrated, the book covers the work of many Irish sculptors who practiced abroad, particularly in London, and the work of English sculptors, including John Flaxman, Francis Chantrey, E. H. Baily, and Richard Westmacott, who were located in Ireland. Murphy makes extensive use of contemporary documentation, much of it from newspapers, to present the sculptors and their work in the religious and political context of their time. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

"The written word is the most basic element of human culture. To touch the written word is to touch the essence of culture." - Xu Bing Book from the Sky certainly seemed to have fallen from the heavens: the text of this installation piece was written in a new language that resembled traditional Chinese. No matter who scours Xu Bing's book for 'meaning', they will only discover a semblance of it: mutated characters that resist interpretation. Carving out approximately four thousand wood blocks by hand, Xu Bing spent four years, from 1987 to 1991, making (in his own words) "something that said nothing". After creating a book no one could read, it only made sense for Xu Bing to develop his next project: a book that transcended barriers of language: Book from the Ground. Composed entirely of pictographs, Book from the Ground is a groundbreaking study into the concept of universal communication. Whether his goal is total comprehension or confusion, Xu Bing's masterful exploration of language challenges the way we think about the written word.

A new book, expanded from the 1995 first edition, describing detailed, step-by-step procedures for sculpting, molding and painting original prehistoric animals, emphasising the use of relatively inexpensive materials including oven-hardening polymer clay and wire. Additional tips are offered on how to build distinctive dino-dioramas and scenes involving one's own original sculptures that you will learn how to conceive and build. This book will appeal to - and inspire - the latest generation of prospective prehistoric animal lovers who would like to break into the industry of paleosculpture. Techniques range from the ""basic"" to ""advanced."" The authors also discuss what it means to be a ""paleoartist,"" both in the past and present.