Collecting and Collections Tour, Part One

During our tour last month, we explored the idea of collecting and collections.  What do you collect, and why? How do you choose what to add to your collection?

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond and Patsy Nasher loved to collect modern and contemporary sculpture.  They built the Nasher Sculpture Center so anyone can come and enjoy the Nasher collection as well as special exhibitions featuring the work of artists from around the world.

Visit 3 Vocabulary:
collection / la colección
series / la serie
biomorphic / biomorfo
abstract / abstracto
curator / el curador / la curadora

We began by looking closely at this sculpture, first by sketching and then by tracing its outline with our finger.

Torso with Buds by Jean Arp

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Jean Arp, the sculptor, is well known for sculptures with curving outlines. Sculptures like this one are described as biomorphic. In other words, this sculpture resembles the shape and forms of nature and living things.  

This sculpture is called Torso with Buds. How does this sculpture combine a torso with buds? Torso with Buds is part of a series that combines human and plant forms. When an artist creates multiple works of art that are similar – maybe the same subject, the same style, the same art material, and/or the same colors – it’s called a series.

One year, Patsy Nasher surprised her husband Raymond with this sculpture as a gift for his birthday. From then on, the sculpture enjoyed a special place in the entryway of their home.  Can you find the sculpture?

Hint: look near the back of the room

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Next, we looked at two sculptures that are part of a series by artist Alberto Giacometti.  How would you describe the texture of these sculptures?  How are they alike and different?

Venice Woman III (left) and Venice Woman IV (right) by Alberto Giacometti

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Students took turns standing like each of the figures.

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Then, students made their own abstract sculptures using pipe cleaners and aluminum foil.

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On our way to the next stop, we took a quick look at at two very small sculptures by the same artist, Alberto Giacometti.  We had just looked at Venice Woman III and Venice Woman IV, which are each almost four feet tall.  These two sculptures, Small Standing Woman and Small Standing Man, are each less than 2 inches tall!

Small Standing Woman (left) and Small Standing Man (right) by Alberto Giacometti

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