The Elements of Sculpture

Herbert George
Phaidon

The volume offers an profound foray into the alluring and often enigmatic practive of sculpture, spanning from prehistory to contemporary output, travelling from Japan to Afghanistan and America via Greece, Austria and the UK. The book draws from an array of artists to highlight the ways in which the different elements of sculpture carry and communicate meaning.

The Elements of Sculpture is unusual in that it refuses to conform to traditional approaches to analysis. Degas rubs shoulders with Gonzalez-Torres, Mount Rushmore Memorial is discussed alongside Palaeolithic artefacts, Giacometti meets Rachel Whiteread and Sol LeWitt. Resisting typical classification of the works discussed, George’s scholarship focuses instead on the different ways in which each sculptural form is analysed and manifests itself in different works.

By bringing together and juxtaposing such diverse artistic output, George illustrates, subtly and convincingly, the fundamental components that should be considered before sculpture can be understood and appreciated.

Regina Papachlimitzou