Why Sculpture?

I've recently been asking myself why make sculpture at all. As an artist, I think of myself as a sculptor, but I also make drawings and occasionally digital prints and video. Starting from scratch in my new studio feels like a good time to ask this question.

Sculpture has all kinds of practical problems: Will it stand on its own? How much will it weigh? How big will it be and where will I put it after its made? Storage is definitely a problem. I'm also worried about the amount of garbage I generate. In the past, I haven't thought much about these issues. I've made heavy objects using concrete, resulting in not easily portable, nor easily stored sculptures. I've avoided these problems by having specific locations for the objects in advance of building them. Or by destroying them after having them documented.

Now that I have my own space, these issues actually seem to be bigger problems than in the past. Yet I still feel compelled to make sculpture more than any other art form. I think part of it is that I like the process of a sculpture coming to life during its construction, since the very nature of a 3D object forces it to negotiate its existence with the real world.

Although I plan on spending most of my studio time in the upcoming weekends making drawings, I will continue to make sculpture in the future. I think my new sculptures will be very different than my past work. This will be difficult, since I feel very attached to the way I've made my work in the past. The drawings will help me generate ideas regarding what to make, but I think whatever I make should satisfy the following criteria :

- easy to transport & store
- not terribly heavy
- avoid the use of raw materials when possible

I chose these criteria based on economic, environmental & spatial considerations...as well as my aversion to heavy lifting. However, I reserve the right to break my own rules if I feel like it.

In addition, if I make anything that needs to be cast in concrete, I will only make a small model and the form for casting the concrete, along with detailed illustrated instructions. No reason to cast a big heavy object unless someone wants to buy it or exhibit it.

image: The Thinker, Rodin