Sculpture as the Union of Art and Craft
by Ellen B. Cutler
Marble sculptor Giancarlo Biagi describes the craftsperson who helps realize a final work of art in stone or metal as the “silent skill behind the artist.” Bronze sculptor Neil Estern would agree. “The craftsman and the sculptor,” he explains, “work hand in hand. It would be difficult to have one without the other.”
The fact that a sculptor requires the help of assistants is a given. As Jeff Koons remarked, “It’s a matter of time and a matter of interest [on the part of the sculptor].” Sculpture is expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming; the skills employed in creating a carving in stone, a bronze figure, or a large porcelain group are diverse and highly specialized. In sculpture—particularly, large-scale sculpture—the union of art and craft can be as uneasy as it is essential. |
