Writings by Bradford Graves
Introduction
The problem is having to translate into words what is totally a
visual experience. In order to fully comprehend sculpture, a
visual, three dimensional object, it has to be seen. Reading
about it isn't going to help that much and photographs are only a
slight improvement, since photos are flat images and cannot
convey the full, spatial qualityof a three dimensional object. I
can only hope that I will be able to create an interest in sculpture
that will lead the reader to a direct interaction with sculpture. If
we read a guide book to the Taj Mahal, it will tell us how to locate
the building and find items that are within, but it isn't a substitute
for the direct experience of that wonder. It's nice to know where
the marble is from, who's buried there, etc., but to experience
the art that is there is to feel the rush of space within.
For better or for worse, we have chosen to store and transmit
information through the written word, due to its accessibility, but
knowledge is stored not only in the written word but also in visual images, and sounds. I can give you
certain information on sculpture, but true knowledge can only be found in direct perception of sculpture.
Knowledge - the understanding of what is known - can only be a tool. What I am going to do in the
following pages is to help the student of sculpture develop tools, to isolate components, to define and
extract essentials to begin to appreciate what sculpture is. The utilization of these tools add up to an
intelligent way of looking at sculpture. I do not want to write about what art is, that unknown quantity and
quality, that is always one step ahead of understanding. Rather, I want to deal with what can be known,
that which is universal to all sculpture, such as how the individual parts are put together to make a total
statement. What is unique to any piece of sculpture is the way in which these components fit together
and that's why each piece of sculpture becomes a separate, emotional
experience.
These tools will be used differently by the viewer than by the sculptor. The
viewer uses these tools as a means to an end, the fullest appreciation of
sculpture. The sculptor will challenge these concepts to escape their definition,
which in fact is what tradition is, definitions from the past.
We sculptors, students, viewers, are all coming from different places,
geographically as well as psychologically, bringing with us our baggage of
unique perceptions, as well as unique hindrances. For example, the physcian
who collects Pre-Columbian art because of its graphic representation of
ancient diseases is not dealing with the abstract qualities of sculpture. His interest is turned away from
the individual art work to what his own information is bringing to the piece. There is a tendency to set up
mirrors within us so that we are always perceiving ourselves rather than a new vision.
The difficulty is in finding a balance between our world within, and outside phenomenon. Perception
should be more than soaking up the world through our immediate senses. We must bring our
sensibilities to bear, and heighten our ability to conceptualize. The viewer must put as much work into
viewing the sculpture as the sculptor did into making it. Viewing has to be more than a passive activity.
Our sense of sight is one of our neglected senses. We are conditioned early in life
to rarely use our eyes to see three dimensionally, except in times of personal
danger. For example, if I cross the street now, how long will it take the car coming
up the road to intersect my path? We use our eyes to gain information from two
dimensional materials such as books, films, television, photos, and everyday
directional signs. As a result, we perceive from left to right, but rarely from our
body centers away. It is implied that we are passive in between left and right. If we
become active, left or right ceases to have meaning, and we have entered the
realm of the third dimension. In order to perceive sculpture we will have to
become Alice - locate the looking glass, go through it, and like her, find a new
world.