Seventh Grade Sculpture Unit Seventh Grade Sculpture Unit

Seventh Grade Sculpture Unit

Seventh Grade Sculpture Unit • Lesson One: Mobiles inspired by Alexander Calder • Lesson Two: Plaster Animal Sculptures • Lesson Three: Foam Robot Sculptures

Vocabulary • Kinetic- movement, motion • Mobile- type of kinetic sculpture in which an ensemble of balanced parts capable of motion are hung freely in space. • Balance- refers to the ways in which the elements of a piece arranged. May be symmetrical or assymmetrical.

Kinetic Sculpture • The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. • “Bicycle Wheel” by Marcel Duchamp is said to be the first kinetic sculpture.

Mobile • constructed to take advantage of the principle of equilibrium

Balance • Not just physical balance • Symmetry- think of your eyes in relation to either side of your nose. • Asymmetrical balance occurs when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall.

Alexander Calder 1898 -1976

Alexander Calder

Biography • Born in 1898, died 1976 • Both parents were artists- father was a sculptor and mother was a painter • Moved to Paris in 1926 and became interested in the circus • After visiting Piet Mondrian’s studio, was “shocked into abstraction”

Snow Flurry

Black White and Ten Red

The S-Shaped Vine

Works Cited • Arthistory. About. com • Calder. org • Wikipedia. com

Images • http: //www. meguimaraes. com/subrosa/arq uivo/cat_arte. html