• Introduction • Tableware and other Functional Forms • Playing on Function • Vessel Forms • Sculptural Forms • Abstract Sculptural Forms • Different Ways of Working

Discussing the works in the Ceramic Contemporaries 4 exhibition Knowledge and Understanding: Abstract sculptural forms   Sarah Bosworth Nicholas Lees Sarah Tanner Rebecca Catterall           Barnaby Barford         Before the twentieth century sculpture, like other art forms, was almost always representational. In other words, it gave the audience something they could recognise from the ‘real’ world. With the development of abstract art, the possibilities for sculptural forms increased enormously. Rather than representing some ‘real’ subject, the focus is on the ‘formal’ qualities of the work, such as: shape, space, line, tone, colour, pattern and texture. In a sense, every work of art depends on the organisation of abstract qualities by the maker. We might say that an artist has developed an intuitive sense of balance - persevering with a work until the configuration of shapes within it satisfies the eye, or produces the desired effect. Looking at abstract art can be closely allied to pupils’ study of mathematics. Their knowledge of basic geometrical shapes - the square, the circle, the triangle and so on - can be used and expanded to encourage recognition and appreciation of the various shapes that surround them in the exhibition. The differences between regular and irregular shapes can be discussed and connected to the effects they produce. Such activity, particularly for younger pupils, nurtures the ability to concentrate on looking, and all visual art depends on this. In fact, even when looking at the most abstract of works, most people experience an urge to organise what they see into coherent shapes, and if at all possible to find, or at least be reminded of, a recognisable subject. Although simplistic, this may well be as good a starting point as any for discussion.