Boundaries of Sculpture

The Boundaries of Sculpture

Chairs:

Stanley K. Abe, Duke University

Michael E. Yonan, University of California, Davis

The commonplace definition of sculpture is that it is art made in three dimensions. In this respect it contrasts with the two-dimensional arts of painting, drawing, and printmaking, and of course complex manipulations of space that are the realm of architecture. Yet complicating this commonplace definition are the many ways in which two-dimensional art evokes or abuts the sculptural, and the many ways in which architecture can function sculpturally. This panel seeks papers that interrogate the boundaries of what can be called “sculpture,” either through case studies of sculptural or quasi-sculptural objects, historiographical studies that illuminate different conceptions of sculpture in the discipline’s history, or explore how sculpture is understood in different cultural settings across the globe. Is the commonplace understanding of sculpture increasingly too limited for today’s globalized art history? Does sculpture require rethinking at this historical moment, considering art’s increasingly reliance on digital technologies? And are older art forms better understood as engaging in complex ways with sculptural form? This panel seeks to interrogate what sculpture can be and invites inquiries on how to complicate the “noble simplicity and silent greatness” traditionally associated with it.