Three-dimensional innovation - Introduction to the 2003-2004 Clip & Save Art Print

Arts & Activities, Sept, 2003 by Guy Hubbard

For as long as art has been made, artists have experimented with new materials. For thousands of years, however, the invention of art materials advanced very slowly, and artists only had a few choices unless wealthy patrons gave them costly materials to work with such as gold, silver or precious stones.

When people first made art, they drew with burnt sticks and soft rocks, and constructed works with natural materials such as shells, animal skins and feathers. Colors came from materials such as soot, colored earth, and minerals found in the ground. They also used dyes made from plants. They wove baskets from reeds and willows and cloth from plant fibers or animal hair. The discovery of pottery made from clay dug from the ground was followed by the discovery of making pots permanent by heating them to a high temperature in a fire (kiln}.

As time went by, the invention of glass made jewelry less expensive and glazes became possible that made pottery waterproof. When mixtures of metals (alloys) were discovered, they were also used by artists. Some of the more important metal alloys were gold, brass, bronze and pewter.

Artists cast and hammered metals into sculptures, and used them to make much-improved weapons as well as tools for carving wood and stone. Today, of course, other metals are available for artists to use such as stainless steel and aluminum. Several centuries ago, paints were invented that dried hard. Not only could these oil paints be used to protect houses from weather, but artists were able to paint pictures that would last a very long time. As a result, many of file very first oil paintings are still in perfect condition. These paints were immediately popular with the Indians of the Northwest Coast of America and the Maoris of New Zealand because their paint never dried hard. More recently, artists have also been able to choose among paints made with rubber and liquid plastics.

Goldsmiths eventually learned to hammer gold so thinly that they called it "gold leaf." Gold leaf was then used to enrich the surfaces of paintings, sculptures, buildings, pottery and man uscripts. The earliest beads, made of wood shells and seeds, were used to hold clothing together and also as decoration. Later, beads were made of precious metals and pottery. Even later, artists learned that they could be made of glass and iron. Today, large numbers of beads are made of plastic, and all of them now appear in the work of artists aim designers.

Perhaps the most powerful invention to affect art is photography, because nothing like it existed before. Photography altered art forever. Black-and-white photographs came first, followed by color photography. Still-photography was followed by motion pictures, which further transformed art for everyone. For example, were it not for photography, the reproductions in this magazine would not be possible.

Although over the centuries many new materials were invented that could be used in art, the greatest revolution in new materials began about 200 years ago as a result of the massive growth of all kinds of industries and technologies. This revolution enabled artists to work with materials they could not have imagined earlier.

Instead of sculptors being restricted to materials such as stone, bronze, iron, wood and clay, they are now able to use new materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, solid plastics and neon--all of which result in quite different kinds of art. These new materials can be made to take on forms that are quite unlike more traditional materials. Not least, the invention of electricity permitted lighter-weight works of art to be made to move using electric motors, while other kinds of controls could turn lights on and off or make them brighter or dimmer.

The newest technology--computers--increasingly affect everyone's lives, including the creative work of artists and designers. An artist sitting at a computer can paint pictures, design automobiles, draw advertisements or create animated movies. And, architects can now use computers to show how buildings will look--inside and out--before they are built, instead of having to rely on drawings and models. Computer calculations also make it possible for architects to bend and twist materials in ways that earlier would have been thought impossible.

To illustrate a few of the changes that have occurred as a result of unusual uses of materials by present-day artists, the Clip & Save Art Prints this year will feature 10 very different artistic works that focus on innovative uses of materials that have come about during the last center or so. This selection indicates something of the tremendous diversity that exists and will hopefully encourage students to search [or others on their own, while also experimenting with new materials in their own art.

THE CLIP & SAVE ART PRINT FORMAT

Each Art Print and related text continues to be organized, as in preceding years, so that readers will know what to expect and be able to find information that could be useful to them. As usual, the centerfold will be occupied with a large, full-color reproduction of an artwork suitable for classroom display. Because many of the more recent art materials are three-dimensional, the works reproduced in this series are all three-dimensional.