Reality of form : form of reality

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
John Albert Wofford (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Walter Barker

Abstract: This thesis results from an exploration of the human form and from the challenge of proposing new and different approaches in working with the figure. Using the figure, then, as a point of departure, this body of sculpture concerns itself with the alteration of reality and the ambiguity of form. The naturalistic forms, in reference to the figure, are obscured in some way or, at least, are not immediately discernible. This situation is brought about by employing several methods, which exist collectively in various combinations and, to different degrees, within each piece. Sections of the figure are separated at a point suggested by the juncture or crease resulting from where the volumes of flesh meet and fold into one another. These divided sections are rejoined at different angles, producing a rearrangement of the usual relationship of one part to another. As a result, the forms within, while remaining natural as parts, assume a new formal identity due to this modification. Some parts of the body are edited so that the customary flow of the form is abruptly halted and replaced with space. The point at which the piece is edited is determined in part with regard to the resulting silhouette of the side of the work and the relationship to its corresponding forms. This cross-sectioning provides an inside depth view producing a more concise sense of volume and mass. The deletion of part of the figure interferes with the viewer's inclination to favor complete as opposed to partial information and may disappoint certain predetermined intellectual and aesthetic ideals of wholeness. Other sections of the figure are extended, allowing a suggested flow to continue along a plane beyond its normal conclusion. Though the technique of extension is directly opposite that of deletion, the effects are much the same in that they both contradict the viewer's understanding of the unimpeded roundness and curved progression of the figure.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1974

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