UNIT 6 Evaluation

Collecting primary research from both the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Hepworth Gallery was extremely useful to my project as primary research is vital to any project and collecting images of Caro's work has enabled me to create several sketchbook pages into looking at Caro's abstract style. By visiting exhibitions rather than looking at his work through a secondary source you have a 360 degree view you can see the sculpture from all angles and see the shadows casted when the sun shines through the windows allowing you to interpret the artwork from different standpoints.

My primary research from the exhibitions turned out rather well as I photographed many different types of sculptures such as: the large scale sculptures that include perspex, the brightly coloured sculptures, industrial looking sculptures, table top sculptures and paper maquettes. The wide variety allowed me gain knowledge on the different  to explore the types of sculptures that interested me the most.


Overall my research has been successful as the research has greatly influenced my designs. My primary research of Caro's work provided me with a starting point to consider different materials, colour, scales and styles of sculpture. From the starting point I began looking at other abstract sculptors, Joan Miro and Alexander Calder, to explore different compositions and colour schemes. I also looked at the paper artwork of Peter Dahmen to explore shadows and lighting.

For my three sculpture designs I focused on shapes from the original painting such as the circular layers, windows, arches and sloping walls. These shapes combined with my research of various abstract sculptures influenced each of my designs. The first design was a suspended sculpture that was inspired by Calder's work however it has strong emphasis on the details of the windows on each layer. Caro's perspex sculptures influenced the second design which is free standing and has an element of coloured perspex. The third design is wall mounted, this design isn't as planned out as the others due to the lack of research however I wanted to create a design that was different and focused entirely on the shapes of the 'Tower of Babel' painting.

Throughout the project I have applied practical skills, understanding and knowledge to complete several tasks. The first task being producing paper maquettes, this task requires very little practical skill however I had to apply my knowledge of how pop up mechanisms work to produce successful maquettes for the photography workshop and as preparation for making my final sculpture. When producing my final sculpture I had to use my understanding and knowledge of the interlocking elements of the design to produce the sculpture in an appropriate order. Throughout production I showcased my practical skills when using various machinery, hand tools, clay, etching tools and various materials. During the production process I found I had to use problem solving skills and mathematics often to find solutions to create a successful outcome.

Problem solving was very important during the production process due to complications and errors. The first obstacle was that cutting out the windows on curved edges would be extremely difficult and the curved edges would end up losing their shape therefore I removed the windows and arches from the design. As we were required to incorporate several materials into our designs I struggled to find a place for my clay element however once I decided where to place the clay I found the component looked odd and out of place so to link it into the design better I replicated the design from the print making workshop onto the outer surface of the clay wall. In the 3D workshop I made a mistake when mark making causing me to cut out a slotting gap in the wrong place, to fix this I decided to add another smaller sloped wall to slot into the gap as a decorative element to create the illusion that the gap was supposed to be cut out all along.


My time management throughout this project hasn't been very effective as I had only completed a minimum of sketchbook pages due to last minute catching up, also all my blog work was posted in blocks rather than sporadically as continuous recordings of the project. Although it wasn't very good I managed to complete all the work eventually to a pass standard. I must learn to complete tasks as soon as possible rather than take a long time allowing tasks to build up.

My final outcome was extremely successful once fully assembled it looked how I had envisioned it to appear. My problem solving skills had been effective as everything worked well together and any mistakes appeared as though I had planned it to be there. I was really happy with the appearance of the materials used and the quality they provided. My favourite aspect of the sculpture is the industrial appearance of fixtures, bolts and exposed angled dowel joints, and the curved steel sheets that contrast with the contemporary elements of acrylic and brightly coloured perspex.