SCULPTURE II: Memory, Metamorphosis: The Plaster Project

Link to plaster handout from Linda Arbuckle!

PLASTER AS A MATERIAL
CEMENT AS A MATERIAL

Plaster is a sculptural medium that has been used for millennia. It is a calcined(heat process) gypsum product and is extremely versatile. There are many grades and types of palster designed for different uses. For example, molding plaster is relatively soft, casting plaster is harder, hydrocal is a mix of plaster and cement and is harder than casting plaster. Then there is supercal, ultracal, and finally cement. Most plasters will not hold up outdoors, though hydrocal, supercal, ultracal, and cement are very durable outdoors.

Cement is a calcined mixture of clay and limestone usually mixed with water and sand or gravel to form concrete that is used as a building material. Concrete is usually cast, however, it is possible to work with it as a modeling material with limited range. Cement is similar to and totally different from plaster. It casts somewhat like plaster but is not used for mold making and rarely for direct modeling. Once it hardens it is very difficult to work the surface. Cement has mainly been used in engineering, construction, and for architectural purposes.

Plaster is about change, METAMORPHOSIS. It is a powder, a liquid, and a solid. It can take on many forms. These states are dependent on the chemical properties of the material. The process of solidification is an exothermic one, meaning it releases heat that you can feel during the hardening process. It is hot and cold, dry and wet, liquid and solid, transformation, alchemy.

In this project, in addition to making a sculpture, you must accomplish several tasks:

• Investigate the material properties of plaster through an experimental process of testing the characteristics and limits of the material. Use only USG Molding Plaster, available at Contractor's Supply in Gainesville[ 3010 NE Waldo Rd 372-6315]. How can you push the limits of plaster? How can you learn more about the plaster? What can you do with the plaster that no one has done before?
• On the basis of your experiments, design and create a plaster sculpture using any or all of the following:
  
  direct plaster
  
  casting
  
  mold making
  
  combination of techniques
  
  
• Maintain a record of your progress through the experiments and the sculpture.
  
• Explain your use of plaster in the project.
  

MAJOR ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED:

Uses and qualities of plaster
Its chemistry and physics
Stretching the medium
Structural concerns
Limits of tensility, elasticity, strength
Combinations of materials
Plaster as a binder such as cement or as a mold making material, as a skin or glue
Finish and weathering
Design concerns
Conceptual concerns
Joints and points of connection
Surface and texture
Alive or dead
Gesture and action in the treatment of plaster
Additives and aggregates
Direction of flow of the materials
Colorants
Positive and negative spaces
Is the sculpture coarse, refined, smooth, or rough
What are the expressive associations of your treatment of the materials
Subtractive or additive
Plaster as a building material with structural possibilities

There should be a clear relationship between structure, form, material, process, and concept.

SOME ARTISTS TO LOOK AT:

Rachel Whiteread, Doris Salcedo, Christina Iglesias, Tony Cragg, Dennis Oppenheim, Bruce Nauman, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Gober, Antony Gormley, Miroslaw Balka, Joseph Beuys, Kiki Smith, George Segal, Raoul Bunschoten

Go to the library and research artists working with plaster or cement in ways that are compelling to you.

Write a half-page response after researching an artist who uses plaster in their work. Start with the artists listed but explore other artists' work as well. Due Oct. 13.

Read the assigned readings as required by due dates.

READINGS:

1. Holmes, Hannah. (2001). The Secret Life of Dust .New York: John Wiley & Sons.
2. Mcevilley, Thomas. (1999). Sculpture in the Age of Doubt. New York: Allworth Press.[Louise Bourgeois]
3. Chaney, C., & Skee, S. (1973). Plaster mold and model making. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
4. Mills, J. W. (1967). The technique of casting for sculpture. London: Batsford.
5. Cragg, Tony, Jon Wood, Christoph Brockhaus, Robert Kudielka, and Christian Schneegass. 2006. Tony Cragg: in and out of material. Koln: Konig.

SCHEDULE:

Plaster Project

Oct. 1 Introduce plaster project, look at artists who have used plaster in their work. Everyone is required to purchase at least one half bag (50lb) of molding plaster, which means finding a friend to split the bag with. Talk about alginate and maybe organize an order. Final Work Day before critique. Readings for Thursday: Tony Cragg, Secret Life of Dust, Louis Bourgeois

Oct. 6 Critique of Passages/Wood.

Oct. 8 Discussion of readings. Must have plaster in class by today to start experiments. Build objects, cast forms, model surfaces, combine materials, create materials. Methods of forming include: casting, working direct, carving, forming with armature, mold-making, etc. Create 10 various experimental solutions or examples.

Oct. 13 Half-page artist responses due. Proposals due, these are to be typed and drawings included, scan them and print, i want one packet turned in to me.

Oct. 15 Studio day

Oct. 20 Studio day

Oct. 22 Studio day. Mid project review at beginning of class.

Oct. 27 Studio day

Oct. 29 Studio day

Nov. 3 Critique.