Can objects perform?: agency and thingliness in contemporary sculpture and installation

In his 1967 essay, “Art and Objecthood”, Michael Fried bemoaned the theatricality of minimalist sculpture, which replaced the presentness of compositional sculpture with the staging of an experience for the viewer as performer. His argument has since been inverted by artists and art writers invested in the idea of sculptures as props forming part of an artistic experience economy. This discourse has accompanied the rise of relational aesthetics as a dominant paradigm for contemporary art. More recently, however, there has been a turn away from relationality to ‘object-oriented’ art, where objects are seen to stage their own theatrical experiences, performing themselves without requiring the activation of a viewer’s body. We trace parallels between the philosophy of Bruno Latour and the “Speculative Materialism” group and this emerging trend in sculpture. In ascribing agency to objects, Latour proposes a radical shift from philosophy’s traditional investigation of the relationship between the mind and the world. Drawn to the idea that matter can be creative, artists have embraced his thinking. However, we argue that this has lead to a generalized, universalizing humanism that disables political action. Moreover, it undermines the potential for anti-humanist critique latent in object-oriented philosophy.

Exploration of the idea of the horse in graphics and sculpture

The exploration of the idea of the horse is a very complex and open quest. Primarily it entails some conception of what the idea of the horse is. In choosing to title the project as such, I was attempting to indicate that what was of major interest to me was the representation of those qualities of the horse which are abstract and intangible as well as the physical qualities of the horse. Because of this interest, much of my work is concerned with movement, gesture, and the effects of structure, or lack thereof, on movement and gesture.

The Human Figure in Drawing and Sculpture

My project as a Senior Scholar has been the study of the human figure through drawing and sculpture. I have worked directly from the model in order to understand the form and structure of the human body. The result of this concentrated study has been a sharpened sense of vision and an increased confidence in the use of materials for both two and three-dimensional representation.

Multidisciplinary approach in the teaching of dental sculpture and anatomy

The purpose of the Dental Sculpture and Anatomy discipline is to introduce undergraduate students to the study of the anatomic and morphological characteristics of permanent and primary human dentition, through classes, books and cognitive and psychomotor activities. This discipline supports the teaching of specific knowledge necessary for a more extensive education, involving interdisciplinarity as a means of knowledge exchange among several areas of dentistry, to achieve comprehensive professional education. Students must recognize the dental morphology from samples of preserved teeth, and reproduce the morphology through three-dimensional models made of stone or wax blocks. In this article, the authors describe the process for producing teeth collars and macro dental models made of stone, their importance and benefits of utilization. The purpose of the study was to encourage the teaching of Dental Sculpture and Anatomy toundergraduate students of the Bauru School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, through activities that would associate theory, practice and the development of manual skills.

Le projet Lbc, une ressource "hybride" au service du traducteur dans le domaine artistique et culturel. Analyse de la terminologie de la sculpture dans les traductions francaises de la Vita di Michelangelo

Il presente lavoro mette in evidenza le principali difficoltà che il traduttore di testi specialistici è chiamato ad affrontare durante la pratica della traduzione. In particolar modo, il nostro studio si concentra sulla figura del traduttore che lavora in ambito artistico : oggigiorno la facilità degli spostamenti e il conseguente aumento del turismo culturale hanno reso la traduzione di dépliant, guide turistiche e cataloghi una pratica necessaria e in continua crescita. L’obiettivo prefissato è quello di verificare l’apporto che le risorse lessicografiche e terminologiche attualmente disponibili danno al traduttore di testi a contenuto artistico. Il nostro lavoro si articola in quattro capitoli. Il primo, di stampo teorico, pone l’accento sulla natura polisemica della parola terminologia (disciplina, metodologia e insieme di termini appartenenti ad un ambito specialistico) e sulla distinzione tra pratica terminologica e traduttiva gettando le basi del secondo capitolo che, partendo dall'esposizione degli ostacoli terminologici incontrati dal traduttore, descrive le lacune dei principali dizionari bilingui italiano-francese e delle basi di dati terminologiche oggi a disposizione. Il terzo capitolo, dedicato alla presentazione del progetto Lessico multilingue dei beni culturali (LBC), ne evidenzia i punti di forza e sottolinea la necessità di creare degli strumenti “ibridi”, concepiti per aiutare il traduttore in ambito artistico. Questa conclusione sarà ulteriormente ribadita nel quarto capitolo, di stampo pratico : l’analisi di una quindicina di termini dell’ambito della scultura (estratti dal corpus de La Vita di Michelangelo, appositamente creato nell'ambito del progetto LBC) mostra l’eccessivo numero di strumenti che il traduttore è costretto a consultare per risolvere adeguatamente le difficoltà incontrate, pratica che non rispecchia più il mestiere della traduzione, all'interno della società dell’informazione, sempre più influenzato dalle scadenze imposte.

Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. Un Pilier d'une Colonne de la Nef, considéré comme un Chef-d'oeuvre de Sculpture

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F08028

Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. Un pilier d'une Colonne de la Nef considéré comme un chef-d'oeuvre de sculpture, Paris

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F08031

Eduardo Chillida, arquitecto

Es sabido que tras abandonar la carrera de arquitectura Chillida marcha a Paris a comenzar su carrera como escultor. De vuelta al País Vasco el hierro es el material en el que encuentra un camino propio. Toda la obra de su primera década está muy alejada en el aspecto formal de la arquitectura. Sin embargo, las líneas de fuerza que los hierros configuran muestran un interés espacial que queda manifiesto en una obra de 1953 denominada Consejo al espacio I. A partir de aquí su obra gira en torno al vacío. Las formas cambiarán con los materiales pero no el propósito. En sus dibujos, las manos expresan, más allá de su condición figurativa, la búsqueda del espacio cóncavo que los dedos encierran. El espacio que encuentra en la palma de la mano es equivalente al que construye con dedos gigantes de madera u hormigón. Chillida observa sus obras con una mirada cuya idea de escala se distancia del concepto de dimensión. Adquieren así una posibilidad de crecer que facilita imaginar sus espacios como arquitectura. Tras el hierro, el trabajo en madera y alabastro aproxima -en el aspecto formal- la obra de Chillida a la arquitectura. Los títulos de numerosas obras hacen referencia a ella o a conceptos con ella relacionados. Elogio de la arquitectura, Homenaje a la arquitectura, Arquitectura heterodoxa, Modulación del espacio, construcción heterodoxa, Alrededor del vacío, Mesa del arquitecto o Casa de luz, son algunos de ellos. La introducción del vacío en el alabastro da comienzo a un proceso tendente a que el espacio interior tenga una importancia inversamente proporcional a su presencia en la forma exterior. Un proceso de progresivo hermetismo donde pequeños espacios interiores son expresados mediante grandes masas envolventes. El espacio interior es el principal motivo por el que vemos la obra de Eduardo Chillida como arquitectura. La condición de interior, apreciable igualmente en sus grandes obras en el espacio público, hace que estas no constituyan únicamente hitos visuales sino espacios de protección con los que cuerpo interactúa estableciendo una nueva relación con el paisaje, el horizonte o el cosmos. La búsqueda de un interior vacío tiene como consecuencia la evolución hacia la desaparición de la forma exterior. Tal evolución comienza con el diálogo entre el bolo natural de alabastro y el vacío tallado de Homenaje a Goethe, y, como muestra de la inter-escalabilidad de la obra de Chillida, concluye con la introducción de un vacío oculto en la montaña sagrada de Tindaya. El gran vacío de Tindaya nos hace mirar la obra de pequeño formato a través de su filtro de aumento. Nos permite entender que el límite entre arquitectura y escultura es difuso en la obra del escultor vasco. Que la arquitectura puede estar en el origen de su escultura. Que su escultura puede ser el germen de muchas arquitecturas. ABSTRACT It is well known that after leaving his architectural studies Chillida went to Paris in order to begin his career as a sculptor. Back again to the Basque Country, iron is the material in which he finds his own way. In terms of form, his work from the very first ten years is far away from architecture. However, the strength lines set by the iron show a spatial will that is clearly evident in a 1953 piece called Advice to space I. From there on, his work focuses on void. Different materials will set different forms but the purpose will remain the same. In his drawings, hands are expressing, beyond its figurative condition, the search of the concave space that fingers are enclosing. The space founded in the palm of the hand is equivalent to the one built with giant wood or concrete fingers. Chillida faces his work with a look where the idea of scale takes distance to the concept of dimension. His works gets then a possibility to grow that allow us to imagine his spaces as architecture. Following iron, wood and alabaster pieces, in the formal aspect, approaches Chillida´s work to architecture. The titles of many sculptures are referred to it or to the concept related to it. In praise of architecture, Homage to architecture, Heterodox architecture, Modulation of space, Heterodox construction, Around the void, Architect’s table, or House of light, are some of them. The introduction of void in alabaster begins a process leading to the interior space has a presence inversely proportional to its importance in the external form. A process of progressive secrecy where small interior spaces are expressed through large enveloping masses. The interior space is the main reason why we see the work of Eduardo Chillida as architecture. The condition of inner space, equally noticeable in his great works in public space, makes this not only constitute visual landmarks, but protection spaces that body interacts with establishing a new relationship with the landscape, the horizon or the cosmos. The search of an inner void leads to an evolution towards the disappearance of the external form. The evolution begins in the dialogue between the natural bolus of alabaster and the carved void of Homage to Goethe, and as a sign of inter-scalability of the work of Chillida, it concludes with the introduction of a hidden void in the sacred mountain of Tindaya. The great void of Tindaya makes us look at a small format work trough the filter of his increase filter. It allows us to understand that the boundary between architecture and sculpture is diffuse in the work of the Basque sculptor. That architecture can be at the origin of his sculpture. That his sculpture may be the seed of many architectures.