Sometime during the past few centuries, one could argue that the knowledge and appreciation of art surpassed that of religion for the educated classes. Sure, people still associate and practice the many forms: Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, to name a few. But for many more, perhaps, it is art that they look upon religiously. And though commissioned public artwork has been part of our culture for centuries, it now seems more omnipresent than ever. The meaning and impact of a commissioned work can change the fabric of a street corner or city—think: Chicago’s famous Bean or New York’s iconic Knotted Gun. From the bustling streets of major U.S. cities to quieter corners of the globe in Howick, South Africa, and Las Colinas, Texas, Architectural Digest surveys 38 of the world’s most fascinating public sculptures. Each one responds to a cultural curiosity—a question that was asked by a group or city officials and answered by the artists. Show
Look Closer Where did Henry Moore get his ideas and inspiration for his sculptures? IntroductionHenry Moore created this sculpture Recumbent Figure in 1938. The sculpture is of a woman lying down. You may be able to make out knees, breasts and a head, but the forms have been simplified and the figure looks abstract. Take a look at the slideshow below to explore the sculpture more closely from different angles and viewpoints. Look at the shapes and forms of the sculpture and think about what remind you of. Also try and imagine that you are looking at the sculpture for the first time and know nothing about it. Does it look like an ancient object or a modern object?
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014
© The Henry Moore Foundation; All rights reserved DACS 2014 Henry Moore carved Recumbent Figure from a huge block of Green Hornton stone which came from a quarry in Oxfordshire. If you look closely you can see tiny fossils on its surface which help to give the sculpture its rich, rough texture. Its undulating shape makes it look a bit like a landscape. Although it was made in 1938 and is a work of modern art, Its simple, powerful form suggests an ancient object. What was he thinking?Henry Moore’s sculptures might look very different to other sculptures of people you have seen. Compare Henry Moore's sculpture of a head with a sculpture created around the same time by artist Maurice Lambert. Although Maurice Lambert has expressively moulded the delicate features of his portrait head, it is a more straight forward and realistic depiction. Henry Moore's head has been simplified so there are no obvious features and the head and shoulders melt into a single organic form. What Inspired him?This photograph shows Henry Moore's studio at his house, Hoglands in Hertfordshire, as it was left when he died in 1986. Among all the sculptures (and bits of sculpture), furniture and boxes there are some clues as to what inspired him.
Henry Moore's maquette studio at
Hoglands, Hertfordshire, as he left it on his death in 1986 Bones and skulls
If you visited Henry Moore in his studio you might have seen him examining bones and skulls (including a huge elephant skull) to get ideas for his sculptures. Take a look at the slideshow below. Can you see how the shapes of these sculptures might have been inspired by bones and skulls? Rocks, stones, shells and woodLike many of us, Henry Moore would pick up interesting stones, shells and sticks when he went for walks in the countryside. He took these back to his studio and used their shapes and textures to inspire the shapes and textures of his sculptures. He said:
The organic shapes of the sculptures in the slideshow below, look as if they have been inspired by found natural objects. Can you see one that reminds you of: Smooth pebbles you might find on a beach? A twisted stick or tree root? A broken seashell? A rough chunk of rock? Shapes in the landscape
As well as taking inspiration from the shapes of natural objects, Henry Moore was also inspired by the landscape itself. The dramatic features of Yorkshire countryside near where he lived as a child, were an early inspiration. Look at the sculpture shown above. It is another reclining figure, but the separate pieces that make up the sculpture do not look like parts of the human body. The bent knees look like a craggy cliff and the body looks a bit like a cave in a hillside. Even the head could be a tree on top of a round hill. But arranged together, they look like a figure lying down. In this way Henry Moore found a way of linking the human body with the landscape. Not only did he take inspiration from the landscape, Henry Moore made many of his sculptures for landscape settings. He felt that the natural features of the landscape would set off how his sculptures are seen. Although it is now generally seen in a gallery – at Tate Britain – Recumbent Figure 1938 was commissioned for the terrace of a modernist house in the Sussex countryside. The sculpture would be seen alongside the rolling hills of the South Downs (a large area of beautiful countryside in the South of England). The curving shape of the figure echoed the rolling shape of hills. Henry Moore said, ‘my figure looked out across a great sweep of the Downs and her gaze gathered in the horizon...it became a mediator between modern house and ageless land'. Sculptures from other times, cultures and countries
Stone mask © Trustees of the British Museum In 1921 Henry Moore moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Art. He visited the British Museum and was inspired by sculptures from Ancient Egypt, Africa and Mexico he saw there. These bold sculptures were not trying to be real depictions of people and were very different to the realistic sculptures he had studied at art school. He spent hours in the museum drawing the sculptures, and used the drawings to get ideas for his sculptures. He said: 'You can learn the history of art from the British Museum…by looking at what has been done in the past, what other people have done to point the way'.
Limestone statue of a husband and wife Drawing: From idea to finished sculpture
Artists often use drawings to develop their ideas. Henry Moore used drawing to work out how to transform the shapes of objects that inspired him into the strange and beautiful shapes for his sculptures. In this drawing you can see him transforming the shapes of rocks and stones into figures. Inside and outFrom the 1930s, Henry Moore began to make sculptures that explored both the inside and outside of objects. The sculptures are quite complicated, but by using drawing he could work out his ideas and how he could make the sculptures work, before actually creating them. This drawing of an oval form shows an outside shape and also a more complicated inside shape (which he has drawn using thick black lines). What do you think?
Viewers in Henry Moore exhibition, Tate Britain, Spring 2010 Although Henry Moore made Recumbent Figure 1938 for an outdoor location, it is now displayed inside a gallery at Tate Britain:
Have a go: Design an outdoor sculpture
Henry Moore Henry Moore made many of his sculptures for outdoor locations, intending that the natural elements and forms of nature would complement how the sculpture is seen. Have a go at designing a sculptue for an outdoor space near where you live. (This could be a park, a shopping precinct or a countryside or seaside location). Tips to help you get started:
The sculptures in the slideshow above by Henry Moore and other artists in Tate's collection, may give you some ideas. Have a go: Make a temporary sculpture inspired by landscapeHenry Moore planned his outdoor sculptures to be permanent. But some artists create temporary sculptures in landscapes. The sculptures are often made from natural materials found in the location they are created in. They are designed to reflect landscape features and also to reflect our interactions with the landscape. To make his artwork A Sculpture Left by the Tide, Richard Long used seaweed washed up by the sea to create a spiral sculpture on the beach. For Sahara Circlehe cleared broken stones from a patch of desert revealing a lighter softer surface underneath. He then used the stones to make a circle around this patch of cleared ground to create a temporary sculpture that reflects the circular forms of the stones, and the textures and colours of the landscape. Artists Andy Goldsworthy and Bruce McLean have used leaves, twigs and even ice and snow to create temporary fragile sculptures. These are soon destroyed by the elements and the only record of these sculptures are photographs taken by the artist to document them. Have a go! These tips may help:
How do you describe a sculpture?sculpture, an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator.
What type of sculptures were created by the Olmecs How did they get the materials?La Venta's large stone sculpture was made of basalt from the Tuxtla Mountains far to the north. The Olmec transported these massive basalt boulders by means of the region's meandering rivers, where they were used for thrones, altars, stelae, and colossal heads.
What were the common features included in sculptures of Buddha?What were the common features included in sculptures of Buddha throughout all time periods? Buddha is always shown as peaceful and wise, and yet with great strength and power. He always appears both human-like and divine. The Buddha almost always has stretched earloads.
Why is the sculpture considered a piece of art?Sculpture is a form of artistic expression that involves modelling, sculpting or carving stone, wood or other materials. Sculpture is considered one of the 7 arts, alongside music, painting and dance, and sculptors can use it to express themselves through the use of volume and space.
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