Sculpture
(Full time certificate, 3 years)
Clay sculpting
Casting
Figure Drawing
The Sculpture Program provides a strong foundation in sculpture. It focuses on developing primary craft skills. In order to understand the complexities of form in space, the program's fundamental stress is on the use of visual observation and structural knowledge. Central to the program is teaching students to be self-critical. The program's emphasis is on developing a capacity for visual judgment, and not mannerism, which condones side-stepping visual accuracy.
The first two years of the program are broken down into lessons in sculpture and lessons in drawing. Drawing is considered a fundamental skill for sculptors; when students are able to achieve an accurate rendering in 2 dimensions they can apply this knowledge to the more complex task of observing and rendering a sculpture with its multiple view points.
Students therefore will spend three hours five days a week drawing the live figure in charcoal.
They will also have two hours two evenings a week when they will draw the live figure in pencil. Students learn to draw on a light background to concentrate on line and emphasize the total silhouette. Precision of this outline is crucial for accuracy, as comprehending the figure's geometry by locating and connecting the bony points will help the sculptor find and explain specific forms in clay.
Students also follow compulsory sculpture lessons, three hours five days a
week. Beginning students copy simple inanimate objects, like plaster casts
of human features (eye, nose, mouth), in clay to develop strong
observational skills and a sound procedure for eventually producing
sculpture from a live model. About the second term, they move to the human
head, working first from the skull, then from the live model to produce a
portrait. Here, they learn to use an armature. Working with the human figure
allows students to understand how to use internal structural knowledge to
confront the complexities of proportions and gesture.
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Drawing in Space by Robert Bodem
 For a PDF copy of a selection of pages from Drawing in space', the basic sculpture manual written by Robert Bodem, director of the Sculpture Program,
click on image.
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Third year students also take part in a course on foundry, learning to cast
clay projects into bronze, using the lost wax method. By the end of the
three-year program, students have gained proficiency in drawing, both on
paper and in space, and handling various technical procedures that include
clay modeling, setting up the armature, and casting techniques. Students at all stages of the program are provided with individual workspaces so that they may continue with their assignments
outside class hours. Students receive critiques on their work 4 days a week thanks to the
presence of the program teachers and their assistants. They also receive a
final assessment of their progress at the end of each trimester. Graduate students may extend their studies to additional years if they so wish in order to further concentrate on the elaboration
of personal projects in a professional and comprehending environment. Écorché An optional course in écorché is offered for students from all programs. Students meet twice weekly to study
human anatomy through the modeling in clay of the muscle groups over an aluminum armature representing the skeleton.
Students begin by constructing a skeletal armature. Then, through use of diagrams, the skeleton and the live model, students learn
about the deep and the superficial muscles of the body.
Weekly schedule:
Monday Friday, 9:00 am 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm 4:00 pm
Anatomy, Monday, 5:00 pm 7:00 pm
Evening Figure Drawing, Tuesday or Thursday, 5:00 pm 7:00 pm
Humanities (first year only), four class meetings per trimester, Thursday, 5:00 pm 6:30 pm
Art History, four class meetings per trimester, Friday, 5:00 pm 6:30 pm
Ecorchet (optional), Tuesday and Thursday, 5:00 pm 7:00 pm
For more examples of student and faculty works
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