The Elements of Sculpture

The Elements of Sculpture is the essential viewer's guide to experiencing sculpture. Richly illustrated with photographs of artworks both contemporary and classical and written by a sculptor and teacher with lifelong experience, it arms the reader with the tools and vocabulary with which to view a vast range of sculptures. Insightful and thought-provoking, it is accessible to the widest audience; as a primer for both students and general readers, it provides a new way of looking at, experiencing and discussing the art of crafting in three dimensions.

Compelling and jargon-free, The Elements of Sculpture discovers and isolates the attributes – from the most physical to the most ephemeral – that make up an essential three-dimensional visual language; the very elements that form the tools sculptors use to create their art: Material, Place, Surface, Edge, Texture, Colour, Scale, Mass, Centre of Gravity, Volume, Space, Movement, Light and Memory. By teaching us how to look at and experience sculpture in the same way that sculptors think about sculpture, Herbert George provides us with the tools for understanding and appreciating the three-dimensional object, demonstrating how we can begin to communicate using the language of sculpture.