Representation to Abstraction Triptych

Students will create three forms moving from realism to abstraction.

This unit has five parts: research and design (designing a project, measuring for materials), realism, partial abstraction, extreme abstraction, and documentation of the finished work (photos, email, reflection, and critique).

Overview Unit Goal

RESEARCH & DESIGN
  • Look at sculptures created by abstract expressionists, contemporary artists, and more to inspire your art making
  • Draw 10 ideas for your non-objective sculpture - be sure to include repetition, negative space, and asymmetry.
CREATE 
  • REPRESENTATION - Create a realistic sculpture 
  • PARTIAL ABSTRACTION - Create a sculpture that references the realistic sculpture you made, but is more abstract (simplified, distorted, stylized)
  • EXTREME ABSTRACTION - Create a sculpture that references the partial abstraction sculpture, but is much more abstract (increasingly simplified, distorted, stylizied)
  • TEXTURE - treat the surface with at least three textures (carved, smooth, impressed, etc.)
  • SURFACE - consider how to accentuate the continuity around the sculpture by adding surface treatments (flocking, sand, glitter, paint, glaze, etc.)
DOCUMENT, ANALYZE & REFLECT
  • Document your artwork using professional techniques, with solid colored background, lighting, and cropping
  • Analyze your own work
  • Reflect on the creation process
  • Identify other students' work that you appreciate and figure out why you like theirs more than others

Composition Concepts

  • Representation
  • Abstraction
  • Repetition
  • Negative Space
  • Asymmetry
  • Variety & Unity
  • In the Round

Technical Skills

  • You can choose your art medium: paper mache, plaster, ceramics, polymer clay, wood, etc.
  • Sculpting
  • Texturing
  • Finishing

Tools & Supplies

  • Paper mache (paste, paper, cardboard, scissors, tape, hot glue, joint compound)
  • Plaster Carving (Mold making materials (cardboard, scissors, Tape, Hot Glue, plastic container, plastic bag, mixing stick)
  • Ceramic (clay, clay tools, glaze)
  • Carving materials (whittling knife, rasps, rifflers, ceramic sandpaper, ceramic loops, etc.)
  • Texturing tools (carving tools, sanding handles)
  • Surfacing tools (flocking tube, flock, silicone glue brushes, glue, glitter/sand, paint)

Inspiration

Picture
PABLO PICASSO - THE BULL
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ROY LICHTENSTEIN - BULLS
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HENRI MATISSE - JEANETTE
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KATHARINA FRITSCH - HAHN
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FERNANDO BOTERO - BIRD
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WILLIAM KOLOK - LEAN

Technical Skill Videos

Order of Work

Determine Your Design
  • RESEARCH other artists who have made non-objective or abstract artworks 
  • NOTICE which works of art appeal to you over others and try to determine why you like some better than others
  • CONSIDER 3+ SUBJECTS - find photos of your three sculptural muses
  • DRAW 10+ ideas for your sculpture - the first idea is representational - the next sketches are different ways to abstract your subject - consider how combining negative space holes, repetition, and asymmetry might make your abstractions more interesting to look at
  • CIRCLE YOUR TWO FAVORITE ABSTRACTIONS - choose one that looks partially abstracted (you can still see a lot of the original idea in there) and one that looks very abstracted (it is much harder to tell what it is)
  • Your drawings might guide you, but they aren't a final decision - sometimes carving takes you to new ideas and new decisions. 
Sculpting
  • Decide which sculptural medium you want to use (paper mache, ceramics, wood, polymer, found object, etc.)
  • Your representational sculpture should have a lot of details that help make it look realistic
  • Your partially abstract sculpture should have stylized forms, some simplified parts, and some distorted parts
  • Your extreme abstraction should be very stylized and really push the exaggerated abstract qualities of your partially abstract sculpture.
Texture
  • Your sculptures should have a minimum of three district textures on the surface.
  • Consider how you can add textures to create more visual interest in an area or link different areas of the sculpture together
Surface
  • Your sculptures should have a treated surface. Depending on the materials you used to make your sculpture, you can consider different methods of adding color, flocking, glitter, sand, etc. to either connect areas of the composition together or set them apart from each other.
  • Color: Add color to your sculpture. This could be glaze, if ceramic. If not ceramic, paint your surface using acrylic paint (you can use color to add unity by using only one or two colors that bring everything together - you can use a small amount of a contrasting color to link areas of the composition together and control the eye movement over the piece)
  • Optional: Flock the surface of some parts (looks best on already painted areas since you see through the flock to the surface below) - apply a thin layer of glue using a silicone glue brush, use the flocking tube to float flock over the glue surface, catch unused flock on a piece of paper below your work and put it back with the rest of the flock - let dry for at least 30 mins before touching
  • Optional: Add sand by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the sand. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused sand to put back into the container.
  • Optional: Add glitter by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the glitter. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused glitter to put back into the container.
  • Optional: gloss some areas of your sculpture to add shine to some parts
Documenting
  • PHOTOGRAPH your project (4 photos: 3/4 of each individually , and one of all three together)
  • Fill out the REFLECTION
  • Present your work to the class during an in-class gallery presentation or Record a VIDEO of your presentation
  • EMAIL an important adult about your work

Research & Design

RESEARCH
  • Research sculptors who have made abstract, non-objective, non-representational, or free-form sculptures that you like the look of
  • Some famous sculptors you might enjoy learning about are: Henry Moore, Liz Larner, Arlene Shechet, Jean Arp, Isamu Noguchi, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brancusi, Louise Nevelson, Barbara Hepworth
SUBJECT: 3+ Ideas
  • Come up with 3+ ideas for the subject of your sculptures
  • Get photos of each one (it helps to have photos from different angles - front, 3/4, side, back, top, etc.)
DESIGN: 10+ Ideas
  • Choose your favorite of the 3+ ideas and draw 10+ sketches (fast drawings that describe the form) that start representationally and get progressively more abstract
  • If your first idea doesn't produce interesting abstractions, try your next idea, until you have an idea with some great abstractions to choose from
  • Circle your favorite partial abstraction and your favorite extreme abstraction
Picture

Sculpt: 3 Sculptures

  • Decide on the materials you want to use and create your representational sculpture first
  • Your partial abstraction and your extreme abstraction can be made out of the same material as your representational sculpture, or they can be different materials
  • Consider including at least one negative space hole, repeating visual elements that move your eye around the sculpture, and an asymmetric design to increase visual interest
  • Your sculpture should be interesting to look at from all sides - it should not have a "front" that is more interesting than the rest - if it does have a front, be sure to spend extra time on the back so that it is equally interesting.
  • Your sculpture should sit or stand on a table without falling over (consider adding a wooden base later, if you would like)
ONE REPRESENTATIONAL SCULPTURE  •  ONE PARTIAL ABSTRACTION  •  ONE EXTREME ABSTRACTION

Texture

  • You'll want to include 3+ textures to the surface of your sculptures to create visual interest
  • Depending on the materials you use, you might want to carve, impress, add, or smooth material on the surface to create visual differences
  • Textures help move the eye through the composition, so consider how you can link areas together or make areas distinct using texture

Surface

  • Your sculpture needs to have at least one color and some kind of surface treatment
  • The more time you spend on perfecting your surface, the more intentional your sculpture will look
  • Paint your surface using acrylic paint (you can use color to add unity by using only one or two colors that bring everything together - you can use a small amount of a contrasting color to link areas of the composition together and control the eye movement over the piece)
  • Optional: Flock the surface of some parts (looks best on already painted areas since you see through the flock to the surface below) - apply a thin layer of glue using a silicone glue brush, use the flocking tube to float flock over the glue surface, catch unused flock on a piece of paper below your work and put it back with the rest of the flock - let dry for at least 30 mins before touching
  • Optional: Add sand by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the sand. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused sand to put back into the container.
  • Optional: Add glitter by applying a thin layer of glue (use silicone glue brushes, not paint brushes) and then dust the glue with the glitter. Use a piece of paper underneath your work to collect unused glitter to put back into the container.
  • Optional: gloss some areas of your sculpture to add shine to some parts
  • If you used ceramics, you can glaze your sculpture. Consider how using glossy glaze in one area and a matte glaze in another will create visual connections or barriers. In addition, consider experimenting with glass or metal in combination with your clay sculpture to create visual interest.

Things to Consider

  • ​Your sculpture should be interesting from all views - consider continuing a carved line or surface around the sculpture to blur the distinction between sides or faces
  • Negatives spaces and repeated visual motifs will help connect areas of the sculpture together and make it feel more cohesive
  • Consider how color or texture work across the three sculptures. How can you create unity or variety across the grouping?

4 Photos of your Sculpture

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Consider using a contrasting color for the background to make the sculpture stand out
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from artwork only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with artwork centered
  • One 3/4 photo of each individual sculpture and one group photo of all three together
  • Four photos in total
  • Crop each photo so there is a small amount of space around the sculpture, but no sides of the photo cube are visible

Email an Image of Your Project

Grading Criteria