The Different Styles of Inuit Sculptures

At first, all Inuit soapstone sculptures from the Arctic may look alike. However, there are variances in artistic styles among the different Inuit art producing communities. Although all communities produce Inuit sculptures featuring both animal and human subjects, some seem to do more animals while others do more people figures. Some communities make their subjects appear quite realistic with lots of high detail while in others, a more crude and primitive look is preferred. There are Inuit sculptures that have a highly polished finishes and some that are the complete opposite where they are left dull and unpolished.

Some areas specialize in producing small scale miniatures much like the artwork by their ancestors who first came into contact with white men. Inuit sculpture can range from quite conservative to bold or even wildly outrageous. Scenes can be playful like a piece depicting two Inuit children playing or with a sense of humor like a walrus waving. On the other end, transformation and shamanic pieces can look disturbing or even frightening to some. Hunting scenes can portray the gory realities of life and death in nature.

One thing that all Inuit sculptures have in common is that they show the fact that Inuit people have deep connections with their family life, their natural surroundings and spiritual beliefs. It is interesting to observe that even if some Inuit artists have converted to Christianity as their religion, they may still include Inuit spirituality and legends as a big part of their lives. This is portrayed in some of their Inuit sculpture and other artwork.

The differences in artistic style are partly due to the different types of stone and other materials available in each community as well as regional preferences. Of course there can be outside influences when Inuit artists travel from community to community. This is particularly the case with larger growing communities like Iqaluit which has seen an influx of Inuit from other parts of Nunavut ever since becoming its capital. One can find a variety and blending of Inuit art styles here. A longer version of this article which describes the different styles of Inuit sculptures from different Canadian Arctic regions can be found at the Free Spirit Gallery website.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

Metal Art and Steel Sculpture Overview

While marble and bronze have a historically been the preferred medium for sculptors, new techniques in the use and shaping of steel have made it one of the best mediums for the modern sculptor to use. Steel is, it goes without saying, strong. It is also easy to maintain and the gloss of its finish lasts and does not dull with age. It needs little maintenance and is able to capture delicate detailing and nuances. In the delicacy of its use, the sculptor is able to use it as precisely and the painter uses his brush.

Steel sculpture came into being at the hands of artists born at the beginning of the 20th century. These sculptors would adopt and modify European modernism in such a dramatic fashion that they developed a style of their own. These artists approached sculpture from a painte’s point of view rather than a sculptor’s and found meaning and beauty in industrial products and the use creation of geometric designs and abstract shapes. For them, steel was the material of choice. They understood that steel could replace not just the lines and planes of marble, iron and even wood, but give the finished work of art a power and presence no other material could match.

Steel sculpture opened the doors to new concepts. The size of the sculpture was now limited only be the imagination of the sculptor. And since steel was immune to effects of weather, large outdoor sculptures became common. These were not just pieces for private collections and galleries, but were made for public places. Steel sculptures could now be commissioned by municipal authorities for public plazas, parks, airports and buildings. The availability of public finds for commissioning large sculptures gave a huge fillip to the genre of steel sculpting.

Steel sculpting also ceased to be purely the work of the artist, although the artistic values were not lost. An example of this is Picasso’s 1967 creation of a huge head of a woman in steel. This was done in Chicago and the complete piece was fabricated at a steel company that was located near the city by skilled industrial steelworkers who were able to use the company’s equipment to raise, cut, weld, bend and shape enormous pieces of heavy steel together to create the final sculpture using based on the small model the artist had created for them to work with.

Although steel sculpture became popular in the years following World War II, most universities and art school did not have the expertise or equipment to teach steel sculpting. However, by the 1970s, the popularity of the art form had created such a demand that these institutions were able to not just procure the equipment needed to teach this art form but were also were able to bring in teachers with the experience and skill to assist in the birth of a new generation of sculptors who had both an understanding of steel as a material and the skill to create with it.

Today, steel is the preferred material for large outdoor and very often, government commissioned sculptures.

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Is sculpture pedestal work of art?

For many of us pedestal for sculpture is the same as a frame around a picture. Sculpture pedestals make ideal pieces for displaying a sculpture, or some other piece of art and thus become piece of art itself. The question is has pedestal serve as a functional accessory or is an integral element of the sculpture as a hole work of art? This is an issue that needs to be considered by anyone who wants to display their sculpture. I don't think there is an easy answer to this question.

Most sculpture pedestals are designed by a sculptor to display sculpture. Sometimes text is engraved on the sculpture pedestal. Sculpture pedestals are made of many various materials in a variety of colours and finishes. The Basic sculpture pedestal is stationary, meaning that it does not have the rotating feature.

For Galleries, Offices, and Homes, sculpture pedestal is a wonderful complement. Whether your taste is classical or contemporary, whether you prefer painting or sculpture, your sculpture pedestal is to help you connect with art, and find works that communicate your tastes and inspire you. Any courtyard or garden can be given a vibrant new personality with just the right handmade sculpture with pedestal.

A work of art in itself, sculpture pedestal is ideal for artwork display. Once you have found a sculpture to feature, the next thing that you need is a sculpture pedestal to display it nicely.

Sculpture pedestals are usually in the form of work of art that comes in a wide variety of different styles, sizes and materials. There are many manufactures out there offering a huge selection of decorative pedestals.

Many of these pedestals are actually replicas of shortened Greek, Roman, Egyptian and French columns. Other shapes and sizes are much more artistic in nature. Most sculpture pedestals are made of cast stone that mimic the look of marble columns, but also you can find large selection of fluted wood pedestals.

If you would like to present your favourite piece of sculpture, hand-crafted pedestal will enhance the artistic display of your sculpture. However, it is better to order simple and elegant pedestal which will complement sculpture you wish to display. The goal for most of sculpture owners is to create family heirloom. Thus, when ordering a hand-crafted sculpture pedestals, be sure that you getting high quality work of art at very competitive price cause art pedestals are designed and crafted to last for generations. In conclusion, the pedestals are of the major issues that must concern any sculpture owner, and there is no one solution for all sculptures.

For sure, the proper presentation is essential and, unless the design of the sculpture pedestal adds to the expression of the sculpture, it should be as unobtrusive as possible. If you would like more information about art of sculptures, go and grab it for free at: http://www.thebestsculpture.info