This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Soft Sculpture by Janet Echelman
Soft sculpture is a type of sculpture or three dimensional form that incorporates materials such as cloth, fur, foam rubber, plastic, paper, fibre or similar supple and nonrigid materials. Soft sculptures can be stuffed, sewn, draped, stapled, glued, hung, draped or woven. These materials and techniques distinguish soft sculptures from more traditional hard sculptures made from, for example, stone, bronze or wood that are then carved or modelled.[1]
Soft sculpture is an old German technique very popular in Japan with artists like Yayoi Kusama boosting the heritages of this new and innovative medium for interior designers.
Soft sculptures were popularised in the 1960s by artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Yayoi Kusama. Claes Oldenburg and other members of the Art Pop Movement are accredited with the creation of soft sculpture.[2] During this time period members of the Art Pop Movement created art with themes of the times such as pop culture, consumerism, and mass production.[2] Oldenburg specifically would take average everyday items and make them larger than life; one of his most notable works of this time is the Floor Burger.[2] The Floor Burger is primarily made out of canvas filled with rubber foam and cardboard. It contains a large hamburger patty nestled in the middle of two tan buns with a pickle for garnish on the top.[2] Yayoi Kusama also is responsible for the rise of soft sculpture in the 1960s, although she believes that Claes Oldenburg copied some of her pieces.[3] One of her most popular soft sculpture works is entitled Accumulation No. 1. Kusama hand sewed and painted projections she called "phalluses," and placed them on an armchair. After this works first exhibition, people were surprised that Kusama had sexualized an everyday object.[4]
Soft sculpture was also a key feature during the 1970s in Post-Minimalist art.[5] Artists during this time would create sculptures using materials that they had around them.[5] A key artist during this time was Eva Hesse. One of Eva's most popular works does not have a title. It is composed of latex, string, rope and wire suspended from the ceiling.[6]
The following is a list of other artists who have worked with soft sculpture:
Alisa Sokolov
Magdalena Abakanowicz
Lynda Benglis
Joseph Beuys
Louise Bourgeois
Isabelle de Borchgrave
Serena ChaCha
Jann Haworth
Eva Hesse
Mark Jenkins
Joel Jones
Dylan Jones
Charleen Kinser
Annette Messager
Robert Morris
Senga Nengudi
Susan Mohl Powers
Xavier Roberts
Faith Ringgold
Richard Serra
Marjorie Strider
Lucy Sparrow
Do-ho Suh
Martha Nelson Thomas
Megan Whitmarsh
^Gipson, Ferren (2022). Women's work: from feminine arts to feminist art. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-6465-6.
^ abcd"Soft Sculpture". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
^"Pop Art Ripoffs: The 3 Yayoi Kusama Artworks That Warhol, Oldenburg, and Samaras Copied in the '60s". Artspace. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
^"Yayoi Kusama. Accumulation No. 1. 1962 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
Softsculpture is a type of sculpture or three dimensional form that incorporates materials such as cloth, fur, foam rubber, plastic, paper, fibre or...
Marble Sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common...
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented...
ancient times. In many cases, especially in India, these sculptures were carved out of softer rocks like sandstone or volcanic tuff. However, in some cases...
The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary...
from it, and yet soft enough for portions to be scraped away with available tools. Carving, as a means for making stone or wooden sculpture, is distinct from...
– May 26, 2013) was an American folk artist, known for her work in softsculpture. Thomas was the creator of "Doll Babies," later plagiarised as Cabbage...
produced various lithographs and sculptures on the theme of soft watches late in his career. Some of these sculptures are Persistence of Memory, Nobility...
topical guide to sculpture: A sculpture – human-made three-dimensional art object. Sculpture or sculpting – activity of creating sculptures. A person who...
The Elgin Marbles (/ˈɛlɡɪn/) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed...
featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is softsculpture versions of everyday objects. Many of his works were made in collaboration...
cylinders. Form is often used when referring to physical works of art, like sculptures, as form is connected most closely with those three-dimensional works...
Byzantium wrote in De septem mundi miraculis that Chares created the sculpture in situ by casting it in horizontal courses and then placing "...a huge...
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, comics, design, crafts, and...
Printmaking Public art street art Sculpture carving relief statue tallest Site-specific art Social sculptureSoftsculpture Stained glass Artwork title Roles...
in the same exhibition was a papier-mache sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, who had not worked in softsculpture. Kusama's piece received the most attention...
Baroque sculpture is the sculpture associated with the Baroque style of the period between the early 17th and mid 18th centuries. In Baroque sculpture, groups...
Printmaking Public art street art Sculpture carving relief statue tallest Site-specific art Social sculptureSoftsculpture Stained glass Artwork title Roles...
Veiled Christ (Italian: Cristo velato) is a carved marble sculpture completed in 1753 by the Neapolitan artist Giuseppe Sanmartino. It is formed from...
is used more generally to refer to the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, architecture, film and photography), rather than literature...
The Thinker (French: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, situated atop a stone pedestal. The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic...
Printmaking Public art street art Sculpture carving relief statue tallest Site-specific art Social sculptureSoftsculpture Stained glass Artwork title Roles...
Western tradition, the three classical branches of visual art are painting, sculpture, and architecture. Theatre, dance, and other performing arts, as well...
Global Information
