2.4.

2 Three-Dimensional Art
Three-dimensional art goes beyond the flat surface to encompass
height, width, and depth. There are four main methods used in
producing art in three dimensions. All three-dimensional art uses one
or a combination of these four methods: carving, modeling, casting, or
assembly. A form of three-dimensional art that emerged in the
twentieth century is installation, a work in which the viewer is
surrounded within a space or moves through a space that has been
modified by the artist.
Sculpture can be either freestanding—“in the round”—or it can
be relief—sculpture that projects from a background surface. There
are two categories of relief sculpture: low relief and high relief. In low
relief, the amount of projection from the background surface is
limited. A good example of low relief sculpture would be coins, such
as these ancient Roman types dating from c. 300 BCE to c. 400 CE.
(Figure 2.19) Also, much Egyptian wall art is low relief. (Figure
2.20) High relief sculpture is when more than half of the sculpted
form projects from the background surface. This method generally
creates an effect called undercut, in which some of the projected
surface is separate from the background surface. Mythological scenes
depicted on the Parthenon, an ancient Greek temple, (Figure 2.21) and
the Corporate Wars series (Corporate Wars, Robert Longo) by Robert
Longo (b. 1953, USA) are both examples of high relief using
undercut.
Figure 2.19 | Common Roman Coins
Creator: Rasiel Suarez
Author: User “FSII”
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: GFDL
Figure 2.20 | Egyptian Relief Carving
Author: User “GDK”
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: Public Domain

Figure 2.21 | Lapith fighting a centaur

Author: User “Jastrow”
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: Public Domain
Modeling is an additive process in which easily shaped materials like
clay or plaster are built up to create a final form. Some modeled forms
begin with an armature, or rigid inner support often made of wire. An
armature allows a soft or fluid material like wet clay, which would
collapse under its own weight, to be built up. This method of sculpting
includes most classical portrait sculpture in terra cotta, or baked clay.
(Figure 2.22) Clay lends itself to modeling and is thus a popular
medium for work of this kind, although clay may also be carved and
cast.
Figure 2.22 | Bust of Maximilien Robespierre
Artist: Claude-André Deseine
Author: User “Rama”
Source: Wikimedia Commons
License: CC BY-SA 2.0