Sculpture

FAQs

• What are some of the career paths for someone who majors in Sculpture?

  Most BFA sculpture graduates will need to find employment to support their studio life independently of their sculpture production until they achieve sufficient recognition to sustain their studio practice by selling work. As the art market is unpredictable based on the fickle nature of the economy, public taste and popular style, most artists/sculptors need to be diverse in their approach to employment. Most take part time jobs to free their time to work in the studio. Some go on to graduate school and earn a Master of Fine Arts degree which gives them more time to refine and polish their skills. Generally MFA graduates find work in teaching. Depending on kind of sculpture background, expertise could result in many diverse career paths or studio support. Some examples: performance/video artists do video production, set design, and costume design. Sculptors who make objects find technical work in foundries, welding shops, wood shops, mold-making studio, fabrication studio, assisting other artists, and stage and exhibition craft. Some sculptors have shops and become tradesmen/women. With interpersonal skills and love of sharing, some become teachers in the public school, private school, or college levels. Some sculptors work in community rehab, public engagement through community arts events. Sculptors with interests in site as a medium, interventions and installation art, often assist architects, work in landscape design as designers and laborers. Sculptors who can earn by their studio do sculpture, exhibit work, and create commissioned work.

• How do you prepare your students for the real world?

  We teach material and technical skills, train students in critical awareness, and encourage clear speaking and writing. We go to sculpture exhibitions, attend lectures on the field, and visit with professional practicing artists in their studios.

• What are the prerequisites to major in Sculpture?

  Completing the foundation program, plus two semesters in a sculpture elective.

• Will I be able to incorporate other media or interests with my work as a Sculpture major?

  Yes, contemporary sculpture can and most often is interdisciplinary; bringing together diverse interests.

• What are some of the classes that are offered in your department?

  In addition to material skill based studio electives like Welding, Metal Casting, Wood Sculpture, and Stone Sculpture, the Sculpture Department offers theme based courses like Performance Art, Public Art, Figure Sculpture, and conceptually driven courses like Form and Content, Defining Gravity, and Temporal Structures: Time-Based Installation. Elective courses are offered on a rotational basis over the course of two to three year cycles. The Sculpture Major III and IV is comprised of two semesters of advanced study/self-directed work, with advisement in the third year and two semesters in the senior year. An Introduction to the Sculpture Discipline course provides an in-depth look into the history and evolution of sculpture ideas through all time and is taken once during the two majoring years.

• What are some of the unique aspects of this program?

  Sculpture is a time-based discipline that is couched in an investigation of concepts through material, form, and spatial engagements. While it can be many things from making objects, designing sites and installations, performance art or producing video; work is made in-the-round. It is a three dimensional art form that is dimensionless in height, width, and depth. The individual artist chooses the formal means to advance their concepts.

• What are your facilities like?

  Sculpture has four studios: Majors Studio, Welding/Foundry Studio, Elective Studio, and Plaster and Mold Making Studio. Elective students use all the facilities, except for the Majors space, which is reserved for advanced students. The Elective studio is designed to support all kinds of materials and is equipped with a selection of stationary power tools and hand tools. There is a complete selection of wood and stone working tools. Plaster, clay modeling, and diverse materials are supported as well. The Metal Studio is equipped with stationary and hand power tools for working metal. This includes electric MIG, Arc and TIG welding, also Oxy-Acetylene gas torch welding, two coal forges, a furnace, melting capacity of 200 Lbs bronze metal, and a gas kiln for burning out molds for lost wax casting. The plaster/mold making studio has sink/tubs for water, is ventilated for dusts and served with counters and tables for working plasters, cements, and investment materials. Because of its location and ability to be darkened it doubles as a projection room for viewing digital and slide projections. The Majors studio has benches for each Major, is designed with open work spaces, and includes flat partitions for making and viewing flat work in support of sculpture.

• What are some examples of internships your students have done in the past?

  Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, Ember Grove LLC: Lighting Production, New England Sculpture Services, and Nelson Metal Fabrication Studio Space Gallery

• How many students (juniors and seniors) do you typically have in your major?

  It fluctuates. We currently have 7 seniors and 7 Juniors. The average is 9 Juniors and 9 Seniors.

• Can you give me some examples of Artists at Work in your department?

  Two are working in the ICA as either receptionists or exhibition preparators. One is finishing a sculpture commission for a private funerary monument, and two are doing commissioned sculptures for NAMI a regional branch of a national mental health organizations.