Fall 2024 - Sculpture Class - LBC Project Description

Learning from the past:

Applying the knowledge gained from previous Sculpture classes' Northern Lights projects - including successes and failures - we will work with plywood, paint, and other approved materials, to construct large-scale non-objective sculptures. An illumination method will also have to be chosen.

In 2022, students were given only one day to conceptualize abstract sculptures using 1/16" diameter steel welding wire. These maquettes (miniature sculpture models) were nondescript abstract sculptural forms utilizing the natural properties of wire as a linear form, creating a sense of volume with the use of minimal mass. Since the finished full-scale sculptures were to utilize # 3 (3/8") steel rebar Links to an external site. which is available in 20' lengths, we started the project by using the welding wire's full length (36"). This 3' length @ 1/16" diameter was the equivalent of 18' @ 3/8" diameter... close enough to 20' to allow us to get a realistic maquette that mimicked the full scale project when using 20' rebar.  

No welds were to be used, and the wires could be cut as needed, but only held together with hot glue, fine wire, or tape, and stuck into a sheet of expanded foam to hold its form. The maquettes were evaluated in a critique setting, and the most interesting and do-able models were chosen to scale up. Over the course of two days, with the maquettes in hand, the students met at the LBC and up-scaled their sculptures using the rebar and zip ties. As necessary, ends of the rebar were embedded into the ground either by brute force, or hammering. When needed, the rebar was cut with either a hack saw or bolt cutters.

The completed sculptures were strung with a variety of LED string lights provided by the LBC.

We learned a lot on this project. The rebar was somewhat manageable, but it was heavy, hard to bend into sharp forms, brutal on the hands even with gloves, and not very self-supporting in comparison to the maquette wire. We discovered that more time was needed to develop viable maquettes. Zip ties were not the best way to join the rebar, as they were plastic and wasteful, could break at inopportune moments, and sometimes would slip their locations. The rebar would deform rather easily, not in desired ways, and was difficult to cut on location. The LED lights varied greatly in quality and aesthetics, were difficult to string along the rebar, and not fine enough in resolution to enhance the aesthetics of the forms as was desired.

2023's sculpture students (for the most part) created large, free-standing sculptures mainly out of plywood, 2x4 lumber, and screws that were then primed and painted with fluorescent paint. The process included making scaled maquettes, taking student photos to give the maquettes context, critiquing and voting on which pieces to scale up, and working in teams to complete the pieces. One group opted to work entirely in electrical conduit, aluminum wire, and surveyor's tape.

The simplest concept was to create abstract, non-objective planar sculptures that maximized the efficiency of full plywood sheets, so that if a sheet was cut, the waste could also be used in the design.

We found out how difficult it was to construct the final pieces without accurate scaled drawings, and also good, resolved methods of joinery. Projects that were not fully enclosed were more susceptible to the weather and warping. Open structures also needed twice the paint coverage as enclosed structures. It was essential that joinery was solid, as this is what defined the form's edges and a significant part of its aesthetics. For the conduit/wire sculpture all but one team member had to leave before it was completed, and left hours of finishing time to me and her.

How we scaled up to an appropriate size in 2023:

The scaling process on this project was very straightforward. In essence, the proportion of 1:12 was chosen because this is the same ratio as 1in = 1ft. One inch in the maquette would then be scaled up to one foot in the full-sized piece. For example, a 6" tall maquette would be 6' tall (72").

There are many other scales that could just as easily be used, such as 1:10, meaning the full sized object would be ten times as big as the maquette. For example, if the maquette was 6" high, the final piece would be 60" (5') high.

How long did the 2023 project take:

Students worked on maquettes for only one class period, and then we voted on which to build. The chosen designs had to broken down into accurate materials lists and measured drawings. Materials needed to be purchased before construction could begin, which meant some delay.

In teams, students worked for two to three full class periods. Plus most students also worked after class, and on off-days to complete their structures. Finally, the work was delivered by van and truck to the LBC to be installed/painted over the timeframe of two full days and several long, rainy nights. 

What we will create for 2024:

Following from what was learned in 2022/23, and in consultation with the class, you are expected to put time into conceptualizing non-objective sculptural ideas. Over the coming weekend, spend time brainstorming and sketching multiple ideas. Be playful and free, but cognizant of the limitations in:

  • material availability
  • durability when exposed to rain and wind
  • fabrication methods
  • general cost of supplies
  • structural aspects
  • a guess as to how much time you think it will take to construct the work with a team

Above all, as Alexander Calder once said, "better a good sculpture than a good motor". In other words, the artistic aspect of the work is paramount. You simply need to find a realistic way to create it. If an idea is too complex for the timeframe of the project, you will need to simplify.

A note about SIMPLIFICATION: sometimes simpler forms are the best. Many masterpieces are composed of exceedingly simple relationships of forms in space. If you can create visually strong and technically simple concepts, you are more likely to bring them to fruition. Another way to look at this is to work out any idea you have, and then see what can you eliminate from it and still carry the essence of your vision. The compositional dialog of forms includes what is not there; an empty space, a void, the perimeter, and the form's relationship to its environment. Of course, the relationship of solid forms to one-another is equally important. A feeling of tension keeps people intrigued.

By Monday 9/30, please be ready to start work on 1:12 scale maquettes of your ideas.

Research these:

Materials --- glow in the dark pigments (click this link for Gloeffex Links to an external site.) and the Canvas page on Strontium Alginate in general,  fluorescent pigments that can be used outdoors, LED strip lighting, exterior grade plywood (from local sources, such as Home Depot and Lowes, which can be done online), other materials you feel drawn to. Read up on this interesting temporary material, theoretically weatherproof paper mache Links to an external site..

Glance through all of the Canvas pages I have created related to the LBC Northern Lights Project.

Explore the simpler works of these minimalist sculptors, and suggest more for me to add to the list:

Our timeline:

Lauren Hodge Peters, Associate Director of Marketing, Data and Communications at the LBC has set these dates as markers:

Key dates
  • Main installation: Oct 14-16
  • Opening night: Sun, Nov 17

We will try to stick to the main installation dates if possible, but if necessary, We'll deliver and install - or tweak the project - no later than the class period before opening night. That will be the absolute last day to contribute to the project.