Trophy Winning Sculptures.

Twentieth century sculptors do not always try to make a realistic copy of something. A sculptor might create a form that conveys an idea, but is nonrealistic, such as minimal geometric abstractions, machine age symbols, and found objects.

It is important for students to learn about sculptures created from a variety of materials to promote creative and critical thinking skills and develop an understanding of how symbols communicate meaning.

I presented the qualities, classifications, and methods of sculpture to my fifth grade students. We viewed sculptures by David Smith, Naum Gabo, Bernard Rosenthal, Richard Stankiewicz, Jasper Johns, Leo Castelli, and Nancy Graves. Students had access to background information on each of these artists and they became familiar with a variety of sculptors and their unique, creative styles, while learning about different types of sculptures.

Personal Expression

So that students could personally express themselves in creating modern sculptures, I asked them to look around the house for objects that could be combined with some scrap trophy tubes that a local trophy shop had given me. The trophy tubes seemed like a great material for the beginning of a sculpture form and were very motivating.

When the students saw the tubes, they immediately began digging through the boxes, picking up individual tubes, and "oohing" "aahing" about the bright colors and designs. Students began searching or items in their surroundings that could be assembled with the trophy tubes.

Sculptures with a Theme

The students had to decide on a theme or main idea. Focusing on a main idea is a skill which is taught in language arts, so this was a wonderful integrated lesson. In selecting their found objects, the young sculptors were challenged to consider the main idea and content that would be expressed. They had to dislocate items from their normal context to create sculptures with a theme.

When selections were finalized, students began combining their found objects with the trophy tubes to create their freestanding, additive sculptures. Items such as styrofoam meat trays, cardboard, and plastic pie plates were selected to serve as the base.

Achieving Balance

Students tended to arrange their objects symmetrically. I encouraged them to consider arranging their objects asymmetrically also, and then decide which balance was most pleasing. The sculptures were finished when the form was considered balanced, the desired aesthetic impact was achieved, and the objects had been glued with E-6000 adhesive.

The lesson was very successful as students met the challenge of original thinking in the use of found objects in their sculptures. As a result of problem solving, personal expression was represented in each sculpture.

Resources

Bevlin, Marjorie Elliott, Design Through Discovery (3rd ed). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1977.

Gilbert, Rita and William McCarter. Living with Art (2nd ed). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1988.

Mendelowitz, Daniel M. A History of American Art (2nd ed). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1970.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sculpture Basics

* Form, subject, and content are concepts generally applied to sculpture.

* The principle of balance is a very important consideration for the sculptor for aesthetic reasons.

* Sculpture is generally divided into two categories--free standing and relief.

* Basic methods for sculptors include modeling, assembling, carving, casting, and various combinations of these processes.

RELATED ARTICLE: NATIONAL STANDARD

Students intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of their experiences and ideas.

Berniece Patterson is an art specialist at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Denton, Texas,