Contemporary Sculpting

You know that phrase in this day and age ? That's exactly what the word contemporary implies. Modern. Hip. With it. Thusly, contemporary sculptures are sculptures made from non-traditional materials, such as sand, ice, snow, or multimedia. Not exotic enough for you? Well, the materials artists use have broadened in spectrum, making contemporary sculptures a very versatile category.

Virtually anything can be utilized to create a contemporary sculpture, including more unusual materials, such as automobile parts or blood. I said unusual, didn't I? Artists have been able to experiment with a variety of media thanks to advancements in technology and environmental changes.

One style of contemporary sculptures are sand sculptures. That's just a fancy way to say sand castles, which resemble miniature buildings. You may have dabbled in some sand castle building in your youth, perhaps? Made from sand and water to bond it together, they are usually found on a sandy beach, due to the abundance of materials found there. And while I'm sure your sand art was magnificent, the larger, more complex sculptures are generally made by adult artists. The artist's goal is to create an elaborate sculpture that does not appear to be constructed from sand. G. Augustine Lynas is a renowned sand and snow sculptor, and has been doing his public sculptures for over fifty years. He usually puts an emphasis on the natural environment.

Comparable to sand sculpture, snow sculptures are yet another form of contemporary sculptures. They are usually carved from a single block of densely packed snow. This block of snow is typically six to fifteen feet on each side, and can weigh up to thirty tons. That's equal to approximately 5.25 large male Asian elephants or 900 female Golden Retrievers. The materials to carve that big chunk of snow vary, but commonly include shovels, hatchets, and saws. Since 1973, snow sculpture contests have been held internationally in Winter Festivals in Canada. I went to Winterlude in Ottawa when I was a kid, and I'll tell you this: it's worth a trip to Canada to go to an annual Winterlude and celebrate winter with the locals. The magnitude and beauty of the sculptures is astounding. But remember to pack a winter jacket though, eh? Or, if you'd prefer not to travel out of the country, there are competitions in many U.S. states as well, such as Wisconsin, Colorado, and Michigan.

Yet another natural form of contemporary sculptures are ice sculptures. The ice for these sculptures must be carefully selected, ideally from pure, clean water with minimal air bubbles. Perfect water, if you will. The temperature obviously has an effect on whether or not the ice will melt, and therefore carving is usually done in a cold environment. Ice sculptures are very often found in restaurants or parties on the food table for decoration purposes. To prevent the catastrophe of melting once the sculpture is complete, dry ice is used to keep it cool.

Metal is an unusual and creative tool in many contemporary sculptures. A native Chicagoan, Vito Valenti is one sculptor who usually works with metal and mixed media. He wants his life-sized heads, busts and figures to portray a lack of concern about everyday things. His intention is for the viewer to consider alternate realities when looking at his work. Metal sculptures can range from very realistic to loosely based on reality, depending on the artistic style the artist employs.

Finally, there are kinetic sculptures. They are contemporary sculptures that are designed to move. Parents, you can send your thank you letters to Alexander Calder. He is the artist who invented the mobile hanging above the crib in your child's bedroom. It is a type of kinetic sculpture that was constructed from a number of rods upon which weighted objects hang from a string. The hanging objects balance one another out so that the rods remain horizontal. Kinetic sculptures can also include sound sculptures, which are a multimedia art form in which the sculpture produces sound.

Whatever the material, contemporary sculptures are certainly evolving every day. Sand, snow, ice, blood. Natural elements transformed into a three-dimensional artwork. What will the artists come up with next?