Unlike most other art concepts, 3D is in the round. There is no hidden backside. Because of this, the underlying workmanship matters. Also, our projects must be structurally sound; three-D makers can endanger themselves and others by being careless or ignorant of physical attributes. In our class, we will only feed at the edges of the vast world of skills needed to be a proficient 3-D maker. We will glimpse at issues such as scale, structure, volume, spatial relationships, and transformation of form through time (see image at the top of this page).

All physical art forms are 3D, although they wouldn't want to admit it. A painting has thickness. (If you ever put together a stretcher you would know what I mean!). Even etchings have depth; the controlling of which determines the quality of your work.

SCALE
When working large or small, physical attributes of materials become interesting. Limitations in detail relate to the fineness of the material relative to it's scale. For example, a giant copper Liberty vs. a Lego Liberty:

The universe is made up of patterns. How do we recognize and utilize this as artists? Repetitious form on a small enough scale becomes texture; on a big enough scale becomes landscape.

STRUCTURE
How do things hold together? What are the defining elements that give it strength, surface, and mass? To "construct" is to be in the process of forming a structure. Everything has structure. For example, here are two baseball bats; one is functional and one is pure art. Claes Oldenburg created the Batcolumn sculpture in Chicago, which is significantly stronger but less useful than the "real" Louisville Slugger. The Batcolumn is fabricated of welded, open-framed steel, while the solid Slugger is constructed from wood fibers held together by natural lignin.

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Structure is informed by material characteristics, which in turn influence function and form. Of course, once material characteristics are known, function creates form and structure (such as in modern architecture).

WE KNOW A LOT ALREADY
How and why we understand physicality relates directly to our real-life experiences in space. When we touch something smooth, we react differently than when we touch something sharp or jagged. We know how to move through space so thoroughly that we often forget the huge brainpower dedicated to the task. Our eyes are stereoscopic instruments by which we determine our relationship to the 3D world using perspective and visual differences between our eyes. Our ears tell us amazing things about our volumetric space: we can hear the difference between textured and smooth surfaces; hard and soft, thick and thin! We do all this automatically. Once you become conscious of our 3D world, vast creative tools will emerge.

WE PLAY
3-D thinkers must learn how to play. They must also be curious and adventuresome. Such people take risks and never fail even when their ideas don't work. Like Thomas Edison said after finally making a working light bulb, " now I know 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb!"

WE MAKE THINGS
In our class, we make physical things. Lots of things. The variety of which may sound crazy, but this is a survey class. We are after the BIG CONCEPT and an introduction to sculptural thinking. We work with paper, clay, plaster, foamboard, cardboard, mixed media (hardware, wood, paint, metal... you know, all that other stuff out there!) -- and the tools to manipulate them.

• PAPER / FOAMBOARD / CARDBOARD
  Sometimes our materials are very thin and only describe the outer surface of a form. These evoke and require specific construction methods. Limits on material manipulation are discovered. Guess what this does? It makes you think in certain ways (pattern-making, surface, planar, curvilinear, intersecting, stresses, tensions, line, edge...) It also gives you specific challenges and goals.

• CAST PLASTER / FOAM BLOCK
  Other times we use solid materials that can only be carved and whittled down. These call for subtractive methods of working. In this case, the form (and millions of other potential forms) are already present in the material. All it takes is a skillful archaeologist to remove the chaff.

• CLAY / FLUID PLASTER
  Certain materials are amorphous and can become anything you want (within limits). They can be added to (the additive process) and, of course, subtracted from. These can and should be ever-changing. The embodiment of the evolution of thought. This is the sketching of the 3D world; the place where you solve problems cheaply (in a physical sense).

• MIXED MEDIA
  This means working with dissimilar materials. The combination of all methods of working in 3D are present in mixed media. You often assemble this stuff. Of course, you may also need to cut into it or form it (like hammering a sheet of copper into a bowl), or machine it (wood, metal, plastics) or join it (with bolts, screws, nails, other hardware, etc...) or paint, sculpt, break, fondle, spindle, mutilate... okay, okay, I'll stop!

You see, thinking and working in 3-D is pretty diverse and interesting!------Have fun.

FORMAT / GRADING

lass format: lecture/lab with some homework. Because of the nature of the classroom experience, attendance and participation are essential. There will be individual and group projects that will be critiqued, in a group setting. This is a "fundamental" class so there will be little time to perfect your craftsmanship in any given area. We will be exploring a wide variety of materials and ideas. As in any studio class, you will be doing a lot of work in the class room so be prepared and on time. Being late and leaving early will affect your grade. Excused absences will be dealt with on a personal basis.

• This class consists of many lectures so be prepared with a note pad and pen(cil).