George Segal Segal was the most influential American
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George Segal "Segal was the most influential American figurative sculptor of the 20 th Century, and certainly one of the most important of the 20 th Century, period. He had a very sophisticated and deep understanding of people and expressed that through his sculpture. ” -David Janis, Segal’s agent
American Sculptor ü Began as figurative painter in late 1950 s ü Turned to sculpture to describe human figures in real space and relate them to their surroundings ü Influenced by the psychology in Edward Hopper’s paintings and his attention to the attitude and gesture of his figures in urban and rural settings
Pop Art ü Early work considered in Pop Art ü References to individual’s place in mass culture ü Examined relationship between fine art and popular art forms The Curtain, 1974
Medium ü Began casting plaster of Paris moulds from living models ü Placed figures in an environment that he constructed to lock them in time Toll Booth with Collector, 1979
Process ü Select situation ü Select a person and pose ü Cast figure, sometimes in clothing ü Soaked bandages in plaster and applied and shaped them to the body
First works ü Man Sitting at a Table (1961) ü Used only outside unpainted surface of cast ü Abstract, impressionistic, disembodied anonymous quality//depersonalized social settings
Later works The Corridor ü Parking Garage (1968): Poured industrial plaster inside cast to capture details of expression and physical form: more life-like ü The Corridor (1976): cast and painted in vivid colors as metaphors for “rosy disposition” “blue funk” and “a black mood”
New approaches ü Fragments and groups of figures in social settings ü Sound and lighting effects ü Cast still-life scenes from works by major modern artists: Picasso’s Chair (1973) Picasso’s Chair
Public monuments The Holocaust ü Late 1970 s, series that made political and ideological statements ü Gay Liberation, Steelmakers, Appalachian Farm Couple, In Memory of May 4, 1970, Kent State: Abraham and Isaac ü The Holocaust (1982): most controversial work
Mini Lesson Plan: Grades 6 -12 Segal’s project on a smaller scale… ü 1. Choose either your hand or your face to cast in plaster using plaster strips. ü 2. Cut the strips into three long smaller strips. ü 3. Apply Vaseline thoroughly to all skin that will be covered by the strips. ü 4. Wet strips and wrap them, one by one, around hand or face until the skin is completely covered ü 5. Let strips heat up and dry. ü 6. Cut slits in parts of hand or body part that get smaller (eg. wrist) ü 7. Carefully remove the hardened plaster surface ü 8. Repair slit with strips or pure wet plaster ü 9. Can paint sculpture when it dries
Works Cited ü Kristine Stiles. “Segal, George. ” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 25 Nov. 2008 Images <http: //www. oxfordartonline. com. proxy. lib. muo hio. edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T 077360> Images: ü www. metmuseum. rog/…/ 2000/images/2001. 57. L. jpg ü http: //www. artres. com