20th Century Sculpture

Writing in 1937, sculptor Naum Gabo posed the question, “What are the characteristics which make a work of art a sculpture?” Gabo’s question has a general resonance for the entirety of the twentieth century, where the medium of sculpture formed many of the significant debates within art. This lecture course is a survey of sculpture in the twentieth century. We will examine the medium through its definitions, material (metal, paper, plastic, stone, wood, etc.), methods (carving, casting, modeling, welding, etc.), practitioners, movements, theories and related practices, like architecture.