Screenwriter needs a crash course in contemporary sculpture
December 31, 2009 3:08 PM Subscribe
Screenwriter needs crash course in contemporary sculpture. Where do I start?
I'm starting a new screenplay and one of the characters is a successful sculptor. I know basically nothing about sculpture outside the wikipedia entry for "sculpture." Could a sculptor or art scene follower recommend some books, blogs, etc., that will give me a feel for the sculpture as it's done right now -- both from the creative and commercial standpoint? I know this will take some time but I'm looking for a jumping-off point.
I'm starting a new screenplay and one of the characters is a successful sculptor. I know basically nothing about sculpture outside the wikipedia entry for "sculpture." Could a sculptor or art scene follower recommend some books, blogs, etc., that will give me a feel for the sculpture as it's done right now -- both from the creative and commercial standpoint? I know this will take some time but I'm looking for a jumping-off point.
When I hear 'contemporary sculpture', I think of Rachel Harrison. Here are some links to reviews that will give you an overview of this kind of work: one, two, three.
posted by xo at 4:15 PM on December 31, 2009
posted by xo at 4:15 PM on December 31, 2009
I think it's most helpful to approach this from a character perspective. Why is the character a sculptor?
Sculpture could involve just about anything. After a solid grounding in 2D and 3D design, a student in a formal art program would then move on to specialize in one particular medium (or multimedia). Juried exibitions are common, particularly within a particular medium, and an artist would likely have a good knowledge of the other artists in the field through national conferences (the Furniture Society, etc.). Solo shows are probably the biggest deal; national solo shows are huge.
What does your character want to do with his/her art, and how would he/she earn a living? Does the character have a self-supporting artistic career (not super common) or teach while sneaking studio time in on the side (pretty common)? Does he/she exhibit in particular galleries or do the show circuit? Are the sculptures functional or purely decorative? In what way (wearable, furniture, touchable/breakable, kinetic)? Does your sculptor live in an area where he/she has local patrons, or does he/she have to go around the country?
The easiest way to look into this is to find a model or two and see how they live their lives. Obviously, don't copy identifying details (see the controversy over Bryony Lavery's play Frozen as an example of what not to do), but it can be helpful to see how many shows someone does each year, etc.
I just worked with a sculptor who was just in her first year of being self-supporting. She'd been working in construction/finishing until the economy tanked, doing studio stuff at odd hours whenever she could. Several six-month residencies around the country, one after another, made it possible for her to work on her art full-time while maintaining a home studio, but she wasn't able to go back and forth much during that time. But the residencies made it possible for her to be more free because (both when she was working odd hours and on her own) she felt an obligation to only produce "winners," pieces she knew would be successful and sell at shows. She was very disciplined in her time -- "today I have to make progress on this, and do three sketches for possibilities on that" -- because she knew that she had to support herself.
In residencies, on the other hand, she "could just 'make' all the time" -- she could experiment or construct a piece and THEN decide whether it was good or not, because it didn't have to be sellable and support her. And she took trips for inspiration, made tiny whimsical pieces to distract her from the big thoughtful ones, all that.
I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's probably helpful in understanding the life of a sculptor. I also have a family member who is a successful metal sculptor (large public stuff), so if you have any other questions, I might be able to help.
posted by Madamina at 4:18 PM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Sculpture could involve just about anything. After a solid grounding in 2D and 3D design, a student in a formal art program would then move on to specialize in one particular medium (or multimedia). Juried exibitions are common, particularly within a particular medium, and an artist would likely have a good knowledge of the other artists in the field through national conferences (the Furniture Society, etc.). Solo shows are probably the biggest deal; national solo shows are huge.
What does your character want to do with his/her art, and how would he/she earn a living? Does the character have a self-supporting artistic career (not super common) or teach while sneaking studio time in on the side (pretty common)? Does he/she exhibit in particular galleries or do the show circuit? Are the sculptures functional or purely decorative? In what way (wearable, furniture, touchable/breakable, kinetic)? Does your sculptor live in an area where he/she has local patrons, or does he/she have to go around the country?
The easiest way to look into this is to find a model or two and see how they live their lives. Obviously, don't copy identifying details (see the controversy over Bryony Lavery's play Frozen as an example of what not to do), but it can be helpful to see how many shows someone does each year, etc.
I just worked with a sculptor who was just in her first year of being self-supporting. She'd been working in construction/finishing until the economy tanked, doing studio stuff at odd hours whenever she could. Several six-month residencies around the country, one after another, made it possible for her to work on her art full-time while maintaining a home studio, but she wasn't able to go back and forth much during that time. But the residencies made it possible for her to be more free because (both when she was working odd hours and on her own) she felt an obligation to only produce "winners," pieces she knew would be successful and sell at shows. She was very disciplined in her time -- "today I have to make progress on this, and do three sketches for possibilities on that" -- because she knew that she had to support herself.
In residencies, on the other hand, she "could just 'make' all the time" -- she could experiment or construct a piece and THEN decide whether it was good or not, because it didn't have to be sellable and support her. And she took trips for inspiration, made tiny whimsical pieces to distract her from the big thoughtful ones, all that.
I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's probably helpful in understanding the life of a sculptor. I also have a family member who is a successful metal sculptor (large public stuff), so if you have any other questions, I might be able to help.
posted by Madamina at 4:18 PM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Yeah, the separation between sculptor, painter, and artist is pretty nonexistent nowadays unless your character is a hack.
posted by cmoj at 4:53 PM on December 31, 2009
posted by cmoj at 4:53 PM on December 31, 2009
Sculpture Magazine and the International Sculpture Center website are a good place to start.
You might be able to find the mag at your local university or newsstand.
Mrs. Zen's and my contemporary fave is Bontecou.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:49 PM on December 31, 2009
You might be able to find the mag at your local university or newsstand.
Mrs. Zen's and my contemporary fave is Bontecou.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:49 PM on December 31, 2009
The Portfolio section of the Portfolio Mag site looks promising.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:51 PM on December 31, 2009
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:51 PM on December 31, 2009
Sculpture Mag, that is.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:51 PM on December 31, 2009
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:51 PM on December 31, 2009
Off the top of my head .... dare I suggest visiting some contemporary art museums? SFMOMA is one that comes to mind, because they have a fair amount of online content, but actually going would be a good idea. Also, a lot of art schools have regular student shows. You can see what is on the cutting edge that way. Here is one, as an example: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Dave Cole is an interesting artist/sculptor with a lot of online content. Check out the Work section of his website. He shows you finished works, process shots, and also sometimes talks about his inspiration for pieces. Finally, check out Andy Goldsworthy and watch the documentary on him, called Rivers and Tides.
posted by gudrun at 5:56 PM on December 31, 2009
posted by gudrun at 5:56 PM on December 31, 2009
Yeah, the separation between sculptor, painter, and artist is pretty nonexistent nowadays unless your character is a hack.
I don't think this really holds water. There are plenty of contemporary artists who blend sculpture and painting (and often other media as well), just as there are plenty who don't; it doesn't automatically make the former geniuses and the latter hacks. Chuck Close doesn't incorporate sculpture into his painting and Andy Goldsworthy doesn't incorporate painting into his environmental sculpture, for example, but I doubt there's a good argument to be made for calling either of them hacks because of it.
Anyway, a good starting point might be A Sculpture Reader and Conversations on Sculpture (both available here) and Sculpture since 1945. I'd probably go first with Sculpture since 1945, as I tend to think that getting a sense of art in the broader postwar era will help you make sense of the art of the past 20 years or so (for example, understanding the shift from Paris to New York as the center of the art world).
That should be a good starting point into character, as Madamina suggests. The kind of work your character does can say so much about who he is -- e.g., environmental sculpture vs. high-tech light sculpture vs. multimedia sculpture -- and what he feels about making and selling art.
Also, my dad's been a successful working artist for 40+ years -- though he's a painter, not a sculptor -- and he and my mom owned an art gallery for about 15 years, so I'd be happy to share some general observations about what it's like to make your living and support a family through art. Feel free to memail me with any specific questions.
posted by scody at 6:07 PM on December 31, 2009
I don't think this really holds water. There are plenty of contemporary artists who blend sculpture and painting (and often other media as well), just as there are plenty who don't; it doesn't automatically make the former geniuses and the latter hacks. Chuck Close doesn't incorporate sculpture into his painting and Andy Goldsworthy doesn't incorporate painting into his environmental sculpture, for example, but I doubt there's a good argument to be made for calling either of them hacks because of it.
Anyway, a good starting point might be A Sculpture Reader and Conversations on Sculpture (both available here) and Sculpture since 1945. I'd probably go first with Sculpture since 1945, as I tend to think that getting a sense of art in the broader postwar era will help you make sense of the art of the past 20 years or so (for example, understanding the shift from Paris to New York as the center of the art world).
That should be a good starting point into character, as Madamina suggests. The kind of work your character does can say so much about who he is -- e.g., environmental sculpture vs. high-tech light sculpture vs. multimedia sculpture -- and what he feels about making and selling art.
Also, my dad's been a successful working artist for 40+ years -- though he's a painter, not a sculptor -- and he and my mom owned an art gallery for about 15 years, so I'd be happy to share some general observations about what it's like to make your living and support a family through art. Feel free to memail me with any specific questions.
posted by scody at 6:07 PM on December 31, 2009
Rachel Harrison's work, mentioned above, are described as, "free-standing sculptural amalgamations."
Andy Goldsworthy says of his own "sculptures" -- "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit." (By image, he means photograph. His deliverable is photography.)
You might say "modern sculpture," for a certain class of artists who produce metal lawn ornaments, or skyscraper plaza elements. As for more mainstream contemporary art, you might use the word sculpture in a sentence describing their work, but most often youmight be the gallery writing blurbs hoping to sell it, as if it was a traditional object.
One of my personal favorite contemporary sculptresses, is Jennifer Bolande, and you can in this catalogue text how they try to avoid precisely pegging her as a creator of mere "contemporary sculpture."
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:40 PM on December 31, 2009
Andy Goldsworthy says of his own "sculptures" -- "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit." (By image, he means photograph. His deliverable is photography.)
You might say "modern sculpture," for a certain class of artists who produce metal lawn ornaments, or skyscraper plaza elements. As for more mainstream contemporary art, you might use the word sculpture in a sentence describing their work, but most often youmight be the gallery writing blurbs hoping to sell it, as if it was a traditional object.
One of my personal favorite contemporary sculptresses, is Jennifer Bolande, and you can in this catalogue text how they try to avoid precisely pegging her as a creator of mere "contemporary sculpture."
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:40 PM on December 31, 2009
Surprised no one has mentioned Damien Hirst yet.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:23 AM on January 1, 2010
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:23 AM on January 1, 2010
scody has excellent suggestions above. A more generous reading of cmog's comment is that the boundaries are more often than not fuzzy between the disciplines, particularly in contemporary sculpture. Many artists who work in three dimensions now self-define as installation or performative artists, and some contemporary artists consider, for example, temporary social interactions as sculptural form.
Some artists to look at to get an idea of some of the things that could conceivably be considered sculptural work today (strictly off the top of my head):
Tara Donovan
Rebecca Horn
Urs Fischer
Rirkrit Tiravaija
Jessica Stockholder
Damian Ortega
posted by stagewhisper at 7:43 PM on January 1, 2010
Some artists to look at to get an idea of some of the things that could conceivably be considered sculptural work today (strictly off the top of my head):
Tara Donovan
Rebecca Horn
Urs Fischer
Rirkrit Tiravaija
Jessica Stockholder
Damian Ortega
posted by stagewhisper at 7:43 PM on January 1, 2010
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posted by StickyCarpet at 3:48 PM on December 31, 2009