The Complexities and Risks of Mixed Media

Sculptures in the classical age were all created with stone, wood or precious metals. This signified the ability to last from generation to generation within family possessions. Today however, a popular trend defies this historical observation, the evoloution of mixed media.

Mixed media is a term that people use when refering to works of art that contain two or more substantial or structural media within their main composition. The most popular forms of mixed media art include assemblage sculptures and hybridities between sculpture and other forms of art.

The artist' ability to foresee the combinations of materials can be the reason why many mixed media works often draw a crowd's attention merely from the contrasting beauty of its substances. Combining glass and wood for example is a good start to creating a still life sculpture of a river scene. Mixed media is an opportunity for artists to break down limitations in texture, color and even physical discrepancies. It also measures how much an artist knows about his or hee media as well.

The risks in creating mixed media works can be great. First of all, artists do not often take the long years to master two or more media, it is painstakingly hard to perfect glass casting for example. On the other hand if one would wish to work with glass he may instead go for an assemblage technique and make use of existing glass pieces, bypassing the need to cast anything. The point is, using two media usually means an artist does not have a complete mastery in at least one of them. This can be allocated to risks in stability, immediate presence and environment related issues. Another thing to consider about mixed media artwork, is their consistent originality, some artists make use of combining old or antique wares or manufactured products like plastics. These would most likely have been made by external sources that could close down or disappear in the future, stripping the style of a key medium and forcing it to change consistency. These are some of the issues presented to mixed media art, however they are minor at most and do not always happen to be the case. Mixed media is still a novelty art innovation that continues to surprise our society every day with newer and bolder creations.

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Indigenous Art and The World of the Creator

When we take a look into the tribes of the remote areas in the Philippines, like the province of Ifugao for example, we will often see a culture as rich as our own, teeming with its own kind of traditional system, language and artistic preference.

When you see the work of these local craftsmen, you'll be astonished by the level of design they are capable of conjuring. During visits to the rice terraces in Banawe, Ifugao, I came across curiosities that caught my attention in the purely visual sense at first. Little sculptures carved out of local wood depicted the daily lives of these indigenous tribes. There were portraits of mothers carrying their babies while harvesting grain, hunters with their long spears, and symbolical carvings that the locals referred to as anitos. It wasn't hard to recognize that the inspiration for all of these wonderful artworks was the very essence of the tribes communal life. Many of the pieces had symbolisms as well. There was a pregnant female figurine with the traditional rounded belly in some of the households i saw. Apparently their purpose was to instill a sense of good fertility upon the couple residing in the residence.

It's quite common for us to overlook art of this kind in the marketplace or common centers, however the true roots of indigenous art come from a beauty we can only understand by living the lives of those that created them.

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Collecting Medallion-Relief Sculptures

We already know that coin sculptors have the extremely difficult task of creating relief sculptures on a very minimized canvas. These types of artists are but an example of who medallist sculptors are and what they do. To carve or cast a medallion, one would need a good sense of dexterity and a specific set of modelling tools, such as magnifying lenses and pin-type shaping instruments. Traditionally, wax or plaster models are used for the original design of cast medallions. Casting serves as the best way to mass-produce medallions to be made into a limited edition work. The usual media you can expect would be bronze, copper, silver, nickel or gold. New media such as palladium are also available as art medallions. Over time, these medallions usually become considered as antiques and are often sold in antique stores and specialty shops rather than art galleries, but their vintage value remains constant at the very least. Some rarer coins and medals can fetch up to thousands of dollars after being appraised by a certified persona or historian.

Jacques Jonghelinck was a Flemish sculptor and medallist from Brussels in the late 1500's. He was one of the more famous artists that created fine and accurate medallion portraits of the important persona at the time. His clients included Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, president of the council of state at the time.

Jean Auguste Barre was a French medallist who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a well known portrait sculptor as well. He exhibited several medallion pieces at the French Salon from 1831 to 1886 that are now part of priceless collections. Many of his famous patrons included Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, and Susan B. Anthony.

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Approach at Glance : Gas Sculpture and Its Potential for Art Interactivity

What is gas sculpture? Have you ever heard of it? Today, people are slowly but surely conceiving new and innovative ways of creating art. Sculpture however, was founded on the basis of concrete and tangible substances. It was stretched many times with the emergence of water sculpture, sound sculpture and kinetic sculpture, however these days there are even stranger discoveries that the art world has got to look out for. Gas sculpture was first proposed by Joan Miro, but has extended itself to become a worldwide question- how can one sculpt gas?

Photography by Black Squirrel

At the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, there exists a prime example of the new media. A pond is surrounded by an array of tiny nozzles that can be switched on to produce a fine, billowing fog. Considered to be a sculpture that continuously changes in shape, this artwork is supposed to be affected by the various surroundings that change as well, such as wind currents, plant life and water rushes.

There are other sculptures out there that already make use of gas as an aesthetic element, such as Jean-Paul Riopele's L Joute, which makes use of fog nozzles along with its fire jets and fountains.

There is currently a growing number of art enthusiasts who are trying to get involved with the evolution of gas sculpture. Some museums, like the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh are planning to install gas-related sculpture art for interactivity and art appreciation among the youth.

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Lladro's Journey of Sculpture

Everyone is probably familiar with the worldwide luxury sculpture brand; Lladro. The porcelain company originated from Valencia, Spain and eventually grew to become an international leader of the art industry. If you or your siblings have not heard of it, then try asking your parents or grandparents if they have. Lladro's journey did not start within this generation's timeline. Their history began over sixty years ago when three young brothers left their day jobs as tile makers at a local factory to pursue their  artistic dream.

Lladro is most famous for developing their own style, slip recipe and techniques in fine porcelain. Their sculptures often exhibit subtle blends of soft pastel tones.

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Collecting Sculptres in a Modern Philippines

I've been collecting artworks since my high school days, and I can honestly say that much of the collector population thinks of financial investment at least 60% of the time.. The world of art has been appraised and made to secondarily function as a mini-stock market sometimes, and while many artists and longtime patrons would consider themselves immune to this way of thinking, the average man isn't. When it comes to fine art, there are always other things in mind, aside from aesthetics.

Modern sculpture in the Philippines is a fairly emerging art. Despite the country being home to several thousands of visual artists, the art form of painting has always been the most popular to date. Sculpture has only seen recent re-popularization in the middle class art markets due to the emerging artists that cultivated it despite the advice from the entire community. One fascinating sculptor who's caught my eye is Michael Cacnio, who won the 2006 TOYM Award. He's a social realist and a very impressive brass sculptor in the Philippines, but doesn't come from the same generation as the traditionalist artists. His modern interpretations of Philippine society impressed an international audience with their detail and style.

Another good example would be the artists of the Artasia Fine Art Gallery in SM Megamall. Seb Chua, Noy Gepte and Kylo Chua, started sculpting a little less than a decade ago when no one else (aside from top brass) would go near it in fear of zero sales. The newly formed troupe made their way to the top of the field by garnering several prestigious awards from the Art Association of the Philippines, the Shell National Art Competition and the GSIS Competition. These artists, along with 6 or 7 other friends decided to venture out and explore the world of cast sculpture and mixed media bit by bit. They eventually set up their own gallery at the SM Megamall building A's fourth floor. Throughout the many years that this troupe has been together, I've always considered them one of the best inspirations and hopes for the future of modern sculpture in the Philippines.

Another artist, Ronald Ventura, has grown his fair share of followers over the last few years. His works are definitely deep in theme, and have made their way across international borders to exhibit with different localities around the world. He's also represented the Philippines and southeast Asia during his solo show at the Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery in New York city a few years back. Ventura is another prime example of Filipino evolving sculpture. Since his first one-man exhibit “All Souls Day” in 2001, he's set up several distinguished shows and gained the respect of the art world as a modern sculptor. 

Other Philippine sculptors that you may already know, are still very much present in the art scene. The beautiful glass creations of Ramon Orlina make themselves known at every art fair and nationwide exhibit I go to. I've always wondered about this man's curious style of portraying abstract and human beauty through his carving of glass blocks. Needless to say, his status is already that of a master when it comes to technique and form, being honed for over a decade in a craft specialized only by his own two hands. Orlina gives a a new contemporary beauty to glass sculpture, and was recognized for it during several awards around Asia. His presence as one of the leading Filipino sculptor today is definitely a positive push for the future generations of artists.

Sculpture is now being considered top investable art as well, thanks to artists that have just made their mark in a scene overpopulated by painting. Today, the Philippine collectors of the old world are still beginning to show appreciation for such an artform, but the days of the traditionalists are inevitably fading away. A contemporary movement of young and modernist sculptors are ready to set foot on Philippine creativity.

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deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum : A Haven for Young Sculptors

The sculpture park opened its doors back in 1950, but ever since then people have been returning to this wonderful venue for creative thinking.  This thirty five acre location boasts both a wide open area park that hosts more than sixty notable sculptures/artworks at every point in time. Aside from their famous outdoor exhibition, an indoor museum is also home to an array of rotating exhibits made by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists.

The museum constantly also maintains a strong relationships with many of the emerging young artists from the New England pool of sculptors and creative people. The venue hosts several interesting activities related to both sculpture and the fine arts. Talks, interactive tours, classes and other events will be common sights at this place that's open all year round. It also offers one of the largest non-degree granting studios in all of New England. They currently have around 2,000 students of the arts enrolled in classes and workshops made to hone their creative ability.

To find out more about their activities, please visit their website here.

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Coming Up... The 26th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition

Hosted by the Agora Gallery, this annual event will be juried this year by Elisabeth Sherman, assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In past competitions, entries in painting, sculpture, illustration, mixed media and print were all welcome to be viewed and judged. For a more detailed explanation of the rules, info and guidelines please visit the competition's website here

Awards for the competition are valued at $38,000. The Agora Gallery donates 25% of the proceeds from sales at the competition to the non-profit organization; Artstart. Through its innovative programs, the organization brings together artworks, artists and children in need all throughout the New York Metropolitan Area.

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An Introduction to The Kinds of Sculpture

Cast sculpture is a methodological technique that gives you more versatility in form and contour, but also creates a lasting artpiece that you can hand down from generation to generation. Here, abstract cast sculptures by sculptor Kylo Chua exhibit a flowing continuity through illusory motion. Kylo’s sculptures give an idea of what artists think when they seek to “defy a medium’s limitation”. Sculpture is something hard and solid, generally static and immovable. These examples showcase the fluidity that a concrete work of art can actually portray given the right mannerisms.

Unlike its counterpart- carved sculpture, cast sculpting requires a negative mould of the figure to be made. This is done by using plaster, silicone rubber or any other moulding agent suitable to your material. The mould is then used to cast a positive version of the design using materials such as marble, bronze, glass and precious metals.

Carved Sculpture is the traditionalist and older methodology of the artform. Artworks made by this technique are usually very dense and durable, withstanding natural weathering effects and even time itself. In the Philippines, there are many notable sculptors that make use of this method, such as Fred Baldemor who sculpts using alabaster stone gained directly from natural deposits. He carves representational figures with extraordinary attention to detail and texture that sometimes it makes you forget the hard material he used in the first place.

Carving can make use of many unique tools, from the basic chisel to the modern water-jet saw. Each tool has its own benefits and limitations as well. For the most part, a chisel will give you a great deal of accuracy in small detail, but will consume most of your working time. One traditionalist sculptor, who tried carving glass is now known for his unique process. Ramon Orlina began glass sculpture over ten years ago by utilizing  the unconventional method of carving abstractions from solid green blocks of asahi glass. Today, his glass works are in galleries all over the world.

Assemblage Sculpture is one of the newer techniques in the variety of sculpting methods. This one take the notion of a “collage” and applies it to a three dimensional idea by constructing a unified subject from several different  objects. Assemblage is usually used by younger sculptors because of its diversity in material. It has grown popular within this niche society also because of its easy cost and availability. The most common place to find such sculpture are at art shows depicting an abstract or interpretive theme. Assemblage sculptors love to modify something they see in the real world and turn it into a visual rendering by their own hands.

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Monotone White in Sculpture

Since the age of Greek artisans to the era of Victorian masterpieces, sculptures have been popularized in the classical sense of beauty and elegance. It can be seen through historical collections and museum galleries that many of the sculpted pieces during those days consisted of monotone color. Mostly white or light marble, these pieces draw their attention strictly by the composition, detail and design of their contours.

Color is a major factor in other media such as painting and illustration- so why did monotone sculptures exhibit a high popularity during the olden days?

In modern society, porcelain figurines and gold emblems are some of the descendants of this track of art appreciation. I believe that the purity in singular color is further enhanced by the contrasting background of a multi-colored surrounding. Since most of our world consists of clashing colors and vibrant spectrums, it is understandable that a piece with a striking mass of singular color be fairly more visible against such conditions. Such are the sculptures of renowned cat sculptor Kylo Chua, who practices monotone sculpture in and around the Asian regions. As a 22 year old professional, he creates a form of elegant loops and lunges within his pure white creations. Chua has also displayed at many galleries in the Philippines (the birthplace of his artistic story) and is now immersing himself into different regions of the art world.

His white sculptures suggest the monopoly of visual tenacity one would acquire from experiencing a bold sight. Drawing on a hybridity of classical elegance and modernist abstraction, Chua’s work makes use of the element of monotone color in a way that combines its impact with the gravity of contemporary contouring made plausible by modern design.

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