Sculpture and Installation
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Sandy Elverd in the Sculpture and Installation Studio |
The Sculpture and Installation studio specialisation in the School of Art, Architecture and Design introduces students to diverse ways of thinking about and making 3D contemporary visual art. Object-based sculpture, installation, performance art and time-based media, including sound and video, are explored by students.
- Studio philosophy
- Courses offered
- Staff and Studio facilities
- Student work
- Useful links
- News and events
Studio philosophy
The studio philosophy emphasises creative risk-taking,
experimentation, exploration, individuality and critical thinking.
Sculpture and Installation also values student qualities such as
creativity, imagination, initiative, resourcefulness, commitment,
enthusiasm, knowledge and speculation. All areas of study stress the
importance of an integrated approach to the development of
technical, expressive and conceptual skills in relation to studio
concerns, however different courses emphasise particular aspects.
One of the notable aspects of the studio philosophy is that students enjoy a large degree of creative freedom and the Sculpture and Installation Studio accommodates and encourages innovation and creative risk-taking as well as cross-disciplinary art practices. Due to the studio focus on independent and self-directed activity, many student graduates find the progression to professional art practice a natural extension of their Sculpture and Installation student experience.
Courses offered
Form and Materials in Sculpture (VSAR 2063)
Please note: Form and Materials in Sculpture is the prerequisite
for all courses in the Sculpture and Installation Studio.
This course provides students with an introduction to building processes
within Sculpture and Installation. Initially students work through a series
of material-based workshop activities to learn basic forming techniques as
well as to gain confidence in the safe use of machinery and equipment within
the workshop. The course introduces a broad range of traditional and
contemporary sculptural practices (including the use of wood, metal, fibre,
plastic) and encourages students to develop original and creative solutions
to given art projects.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
Sculpture Casting A (VSAR 2064)
Prerequisite: Form and Materials in Sculpture VSAR 2063
The challenging and exciting technical process of Lost Wax bronze
casting is the focus of this course. Students learn wax modelling techniques
as well as more experimental methods of model making, mould-making and the
techniques of preparing models for casting with bronze within a working
studio foundry. The course also introduces students to the processes
required to finish cast works and the application of patinas and surface
finishes.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
Concepts and Language in Sculpture (VSAR 2061)
Prerequisite: Form and Materials in Sculpture VSAR 2063
Concepts and Language in Sculpture allows students to extend existing
ideas or interests via the development of a proposal for a body of work by
negotiation with the course lecturer. The course supports students who wish
to further develop and resolve ideas arising from their previous sculpture
and installation studio courses or to investigate the translation of ideas
from other studio areas into sculptural form. The course develops creative
thinking, experimentation and innovative practice to allow students to
determine the most appropriate formal solutions to express their response to
concepts of personal interest. Within the course students extend their
technical expertise and conceptual skills working with a range of materials
and processes in an independent and self-directed manner with input from
lecturing staff.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
Experimental Art Processes (VSAR 2097)
Prerequisite: Form and Materials in Sculpture VSAR 2063
This course emphasises intensive experimentation with a range of
materials and processes. Students are challenged to take creative risks to
explore a variety of experimental possibilities in a wide range of media of
their choice. Experimental Art Processes seeks to encourage and support
students to find innovative and unconventional new forms via an intensive
period of open experimentation, finally leading to the development of
resolved artworks. Students within this course explore the use of
unconventional materials and processes and develop these to produce
innovative and challenging works. The course offers an intensive hands-on
experience and students undertake a large amount of this work in a
self-directed manner under the direction of lecturing staff.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
Installation Art (VSAR 2098)
Prerequisite: Form and Materials in Sculpture VSAR 2063
The Installation Art course was developed in response to current art
practise and first offered during 2006. The course provides an overview of
contemporary installation art practise and explores methods of producing
site-specific works in a variety of media to activate and utilise space as
an expressive element in the generation of artworks. Students explore
innovative application of conventional raw materials, found objects and
time-based media such as video and sound in the development of their work.
The course introduces students to concepts of space, intention, site and
intervention via experimental approaches to working with a range of
materials and processes within specific sites.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
The Sculptural Object (VSAR 2099)
Prerequisite: Form and Materials in Sculpture VSAR 2063
The Sculptural Object course was first offered during 2006 and
acknowledges the re-emergence of sculpture within contemporary art. Students
are challenged to consider how meaning is embodied in and communicated
through artefacts to develop sculptural works in response to material and
conceptual propositions. The course emphasises issues of form, scale,
surface, context and intention. Students develop further technical skills
via the use of found objects and as well as working with traditional and
innovative construction processes. Projects are set within the course
however a high degree of creativity is encouraged further developing
participants' analytical problem solving abilities.
More details (timetables, unit value and learning resources)
Staff
Continuing staff
Studio Head:
Steven Carson
Lecturer and Foundation Studies Coordinator:
Louise Haselton
Technical staff:
Peter Fraser, Technical Officer and SASA Workshop Supervisor
Part-time staff
Part-time staffing varies depending on the courses offered allowing
individual expertise to be incorporated into each of the courses within the
studio program. Since 2005 part-time lecturers in Sculpture and Installation
have included Andrew Best, Anton Hart, Linda-Lou Murphy, and Sonia Donnellan.
Studio facilities
The Sculpture and Installation studios of the School of Art, Architecture and Design offer a flexible arrangement of technical facilities and studio spaces that can support the development of student work with access to the following:
- a team of dedicated staff who are committed to innovative practice and student-centred learning. Continuing and part-time academic staff as well as technical staff in the area are practising artists whose work explores a range of creative processes and theoretical interests
- a fully equipped workshop designed for working with and machining wood
- metal working facilities including welding, cutting and folding
- dedicated wax and plaster working areas
- basic video and sound equipment.
- dedicated space for installation setup and critiques.
Useful links
DBVS Bachelor of Visual Arts (Specialisation) (UniSAnet)
Internet
resources for sculpture and performance art (UniSA Library)
Internet
resources for public art (UniSA Library):
this site contains links under headings such as databases, discussion
lists, electronic journals, artists and studios, methods and
materials, museums and more.
General Art Glossary (UniSA)
News and events
Arunkumar HG artist in residence
From 2 October-10
November 2007 the Sculpture and Installation
Studio will host an artist residency for Indian
artist Arunkumar HG.
Arunkumar HG is based in New Delhi. His current
practice involves sculpture and installation forms and has drawn
on his employment as a designer within a manufacturing company.
Previous works have included inflatable sculptures
made of canvas and latex as well as materials such as synthetic fur, rubber,
foam and fibreglass. Arunkumar is an active member of Khoj Artist
Collective, a contemporary art organisation that
facilitates international art dialogue and artist exchange.
He has completed residencies and projects in Japan
and Thailand as well exhibiting extensively throughout India.
Visit Arunkumar's
website
Students from all Helpmann Academy Visual Arts partner schools (South
Australian School of Art [now the School
of Art, Architecture and Design], Adelaide Central School of Art, Adelaide Centre
for the Arts, and Vizarts O'Halloran Hill) are
encouraged to apply to work on a collaborative master class project with
Arunkumar HG. Please direct enquiries to
Steven.Carson@unisa.edu.au
and
Louise.Haselton@unisa.edu.au
Constance Gordon-Johnson Prize for Sculpture and Installation
The Constance Gordon-Johnson Sculpture and Installation Prize was awarded for the first time in 2004. This award has been made possible by a generous donation from the estate of the late Constance Gordon-Johnson, a well known South Australian artist and arts worker. Constance Gordon-Johnson was also well known as a leader in the visual arts, specifically community arts, and this award commemorates her vision, participation and creative spirit. The award is made annually to a School of Art, Architecture and Design student from the Bachelor of Visual Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts Honours programs graduating with a specialisation in Sculpture and Installation. The $1500 cash prize is awarded by a panel of judges from the annual Constance Gordon-Johnson Prize Exhibition. Biography (RTF file)
See Student work from the exhibitions.