BRITISH SCULPTURE

Student Name
Dated: 00th April 2015

Course Title
Course Code
Tutor:
University Affiliation
Department Name

SPEECH NOTES
Slide 2: Introduction to Sculpture
Sculpture is an art of representing objects in round or relief by carving wood, chiselling
stone, modelling clay or casting material (Brook, 1969).
Sculpture is a field of art in which three-dimensional structures/models are made by using the
basic techniques of carving, casting, modelling or constructing (Tate, 2015).
Sculptures are material objects, tokens or mobile items of arts which are not only simple but
also have relation with the historical and cultural context of a specific region (Brook, 1965).
Yet an interesting thing about sculptures in that they are temporal and progressive in nature.
Slide 3: British Sculpture
Unique and appealing things about British sculpture are that
1.
2.
3.
4.

British sculpture and art is greatly influenced by the British culture and history.
It transformed and developed with the passage of time.
British sculpture history has number of amazing work by artists of every era.
New trends and techniques in sculpture in twentieth century.

Slide 4: Beginning of Sculpture

The art of sculpture has its roots in Stone Age when two simple stones of The Venus of
Berekhat Ram and The Venus of Tan-Tan were developed this time period is known as
prehistoric and the sculpture objects are known as pre-sculptural forms.
Later, in Paris, new definition of arts was introduced as Sculptures when artists began to
experiment new art techniques by breaking traditional techniques of Naturalism. This
interesting movement in arts and painting shifted the concept of arts towards Modernism
Slide 5: Development of Sculpture

Initial artworks of sculptures were modelled on ivory and featured by female sculptures.
Sculpture succeeded in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece and with the passage of time it
reached the standard of perfection. A modern technique of using bronze in sculpture was
introduced by Greeks in this era. Artists of this time period used bronze metal to carve
sculptures by achieving high mark of sophistication and complexity (Tate, n.d.).
Slide 6: Beginning of British Sculpture
Developments of Modern art were introduced in Britain in early twentieth century when
Roger Fry criticised the traditional arts through his series of exhibitions in London (Tate,
n.d). At this point of time, the era of Impressionism was transforming into PostImpressionism.
Impressionism involved entire art work of paintings and natural realism while PostImpressionism involved experimentation of new techniques in plastic art thus introducing
new ways of making artworks.
Slide 7: Advancement of Sculpture Art
In twentieth century, arts of sculpture was further developed by Picasso in 1907 by
introducing the movement of Cubist which is known as Cubist Movement. This term is
named so because Louis Vauxcelles criticised this movement by stating that every thing is
reduced to geometric shapes of cubes.
Sculptures of this era were still-life objects made from scrap joined together to form a
statue/figure.
Later on, this style was further developed into era of modern art which involved
constructivism, assemblage and environments. Additionally, this style involved improved
techniques of using metals and moulding them.

Slide 8: New Generation Sculpture

New generation sculpture was the group of young British artists who introduced new
techniques in sculptures. These groups experimented by working with different materials,
colours and new styles so as to eliminate the traditional ways of making sculptures and styles.
The term New Generation was given to the work of young artists when exhibition of their
paintings and sculptures was held in London during early 1960s. Later, a survey in 1965
named as New Generation Sculpture when students of Sir Anthony Caro exhibited their
work at School of Art in London. In 1960, Caro introduced another technique of abstract
sculpture which used metal beams, sheets and other supportive materials along with bright
colours. Thus, new generation sculpture became important occurrence in history of British art
during period of 1960s.
Slide 9: New British Sculpture
New British Sculpture applied to the artwork developed by young British artists during era of
1980s. This movement of sculpture making was introduced as a result of reaction to abstract
or conceptual art. This style of British sculpture tried to adopt traditional approach towards
using different art techniques and styles.
New British Sculpture made a significant return to the old techniques of using fabrics,
traditional materials and styles like using carvings on stones and marbles.
Major artists associated with this era were Stephen Cox, Barry Flanagan, Antony
Gormley, Richard Deacon, Anish Kapoor and Bill Woodrow.
Slide 10: Amazing Work by British Artists
In every era, British sculptors have shown their amazing interest and creativity in art of
making sculptures. Very famous and most recognized sculptors of modernism are Henry

Moore, Jacob Epstein and Barbara Hepworth along with Anthony Caro, Anish Kapoor, Eric
Gill and Eduardo Paolozzi (BBC, 2014).
Slide 11: Interesting Things about British Sculpture
Although British Sculptors presented unique artwork of sculptures in every era but the artists of
twentieth century have presented exclusive sculptures having strong level of perfection and
sophistication. Work by these sculptors gained international recognition and appreciation.
Another interesting feature of British sculpture is that throughout the period of development, these
artworks were fundamental, innovative and effective in their style and three-dimensional foundation.
Additionally, temporal advancements in sculptures during each era is strongly influenced by the
ancient art but still it was created by new techniques and approaches of modern time.

Slide 12: Conclusion

To conclude, it is observed that sculpture was introduced as an art when artists of Naturalism
era started to think out-of-the-box and used innovative methods to present their artwork.
Since then, the style, techniques and methods of making sculptures and presenting them with
context of imagination and real world has flourished a lot.
Specifically British sculptors and their work is strongly influenced by their culture and
history but still their work reflects modern trends and development of 21st century.

Slide 13: References

Tate, (2015). Sculpture [Online]. Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/ [Accessed 9 April
2015].

Tate, (n.d.), Roger Fry 18661934 [Online] Available at:

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/roger-fry-1129 [Accessed 9 April 2015].

Brook, D., (1969). Perception and the Appraisal of Sculpture [Online] Available at:
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/428678?
sid=21105942451571&uid=2&uid=60&uid=3&uid=380191743 [Accessed 9 April 2015].
Brook, D., (1965). The Criticism of Sculpture [Pdf] Available at:
https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/13157/1/Brook%20Thesis%201965.pdf
[Accessed 9 April 2015].
Graham-Dixon, A. (1999). A History of British Art [Online] Available at:
https://books.google.com.pk/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=GBE2HPCN_1IC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=history+of+british+sculpture&ots=
obmYmdWPLM&sig=CKux0wD3xy6VmwWajbjY5kSQM4o#v=onepage&q=history%20of
%20british%20sculpture&f=false [Accessed 9 April 2015].
BBC, 2014. British Sculptors: Artists in stone, metal and wood [Online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/sculptors/ [Accessed 10 April 2015].
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/british-modern.htm#history
http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/n/new-british-sculpture