Painted Sculpture

It is nearly a century since the ideals and understanding of what is Art were turned upside down. In this new century, Sculpture, the premier medium for visual arts being first on the scene, has to consider again the fundamentals.
A three dimensional work of art in a recognisable subject such as the human body, does not strive to replicate what is already there. So you may ask, is Ron Mueck’s work Art? Though very realistic and a bit spooky, it does have style, that element which tells us instantly that it is “a Mueck”, so perhaps it is Art. If it was a perfect replica of a human body it would be impossible to attribute to an individual Artist just by looking at it.
We have known for some time that some of the earliest sculpture was painted, and some even had eyes made of other materials. The Renaissance seems to have been dominated by Marble and so it continued until the 1900s that Marble and Bronze were the favoured mediums for the highest echelons of Sculptured forms.
We have become used to “form” in sculpture being its reason d’etre haven’t we? It is what puts it above the porcelain figurine, or fair ground effigies.
You can usually “spot” a Rodin, even if you haven’t seen it before. But what if it was painted? Oh horror you may say, but were the Elgin Marbles painted?
I hope this will spark some thought.
Visit ;
http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/11/dazzlers.html