The Process of Creating Modern Contemporary Sculpture

The difference between Modern Contemporary Sculpture versus Painting is that when working in Sculpture usually one first does a sketch, transfers that sketch into a Plan and finally scales down the plan to a model. Due to the High Expense of sculpture: Materials, Labor and Handling there is is little room for mistakes. The Cost involved and the amount of Time and Labor rules out the possibility of experimentation unless of course you are talking about such works as Assemblage.

• Unlike painting which can become illusive in it's execution, which to a experienced painter or Color Field Painter the medium is viscous and easily changed when manipulated. Many painters may start with a idea or drawing but for the most part painting is a spontaneous act. Abstract Expressionism especially lends itself to to the Art of Chance. I have often been jealous of the plight of the painter. Juggling a canvas often seated in a chair and exerting oneself with the Act of Lifting a Brush. A painter can often do a painting a day or week. However often some paintings take years to complete. The sculptor is faced with physical element of the materials at hand and depending on the budget may be subjected to weeks of heavy labor. There have been many innovations available to Modern Contemporary Sculpture in the past few decades. In the early days steel was cut by hand using a Jig Saw or Band Saw. With modern technology one has several choices of cutting metal. They are all used with the Aid Of A Computer Program and consist of Plasma cutting using gases and a flame to cut the metal on a a elevated table with a horizontal beam which holds the plasma cutting flame and moves right to left or visa versa giving the computer the freedom of tracing any configuration. Water Jet is a fairly New Innovation and uses high pressure water jet to cut materials as hard as Stainless Steel up to 6 inches thick. At the top of the Tech Tools available is the Laser Cutting which is by far the most accurate and leaves the smoothest and squared result edge to the plate. In the Old days the metal usual welded with Arc Welders which leave slag and are efficient but the most difficult to achieve the perfection required for finishes such as Powder Coating which will resist bonding to any surface that contains ant contaminates such as Slag. Today the preferred welding method is Wire Feed or Tig and at the high end of the spectrum is Heli Arc which is the cleanest, most accurate and can be adapted to Bronze, Copper, Stainless and a host of additional alloys.
• Once the parts are cut to plan usually the next step is tacking the whole sculpture together. This is absolutely necessary as with the heat applied in welding parts are apt to warp or shift. Tacking a sculpture together in its entirety insures a accurate fit and little to no warpage. A 8ft plus high sculpture usually takes in the neighborhood of a month to complete. That gives the sculptor of monumental works the high end possibility of completing maybe 12 sculptures a tear. As a painter may do 2 or 3 times as as many works. One of the things I like best About Modern contemporary Sculpture is that is often displayed in Public Places to be enjoyed by all and leaving a cultural stamp on a City, while paintings often end up indoors in Museums or private collections and are not as accessible to the public.