Statement of purpose

This sculpture created by Julius Schmidt is a very interesting sculpture. It's title is Untitled Relief which gives you much to infer about its name. The word "Relief" which is a type of sculpting where a modelled form is raised, or, in a sunken-relief, lowered, from a plane from which the main elements of the composition project. when viewing this sculpture I think you need to take this into mind, schmidt wanted you to know this was a relief sculpture. Relief sculptures are often uesed to display a scene or send a message. In this case I think Schmidt wants you to take the message anyway you feel hence the name "Untitled" giving you the power to name this sculpture anyway you please. Schmidt who is a midwest sculpter likes to create pieces with used industrial metal like he did in this work. The sculpture which is made of iron has been weathered and changed from being outside in the elements. This the sculpter would have taken into thought knowing his sculpture would be displayed outside. Then the aspect of this sculpture changing from the elements acts as nature being a sculpter of the peice. There is a medium between the original sculpter and the natural sculpter, this piece is still being sculpted as we speak. By this i mean its color and look is ever changing because of the chemical process of the water meeting the iron. This says alot about the sculpture as it is never really done changing, it is constantly changing asteticaly in color and feature. A person who viewed this sculpture right after its completion would view this sculpture completly different now. If this sculpture had been left inside it would be a totaly different sculpture asteticaly.

When looking at this sculpture you must also look into all the different shapes and designs in the sculpture. There all few places of visual hiarchy when looking at this sculpture. There are three of these spots and they all depict large circles that dont really fit with the flow of the piece. The sculpture itself almost looks like a circit board or a futureistic city. This sculpture was made in 1961 which is far of from the time of a city scape like the one this piece could be dipicting. This whole piece is boxed in then inside the work there are more boxed in frames. It as if it is many little sculptures come together and make it whole.

"Untitled Relief" is a very deciving piece of work at first glance you must look into it more indepth before judging it. One might first look at it and say its just an abstract piece of metal hanging on the wall, but its not there is much more to it. It is an ever changing creation of man and nature that is there for anyone to view. A person can take in and understand the work however they like but you must first take its context into the equation before hand or else you can misjudge the work for what it is.

History of sculpture

My sculpture Untitled Relief which was created by the artist Julius Schmidt features an iron sculpture baked with sand then cast in iron. When I originally saw this work I thought it was welded together, now I know it was cast from iron. I also found out this work had been created from used scrap metal, a favorite sculpture tecnique used by Schmidt often. The sculpture was actually carved into black sand before the iron was poured. This I would not have guessed by looking at the object. Knowing that the sculpture was created from discarded industrial material changes my feeling towards the object. The art is basically reborn material, created into a sculpture. The technical aspect of this sculpture is way different than most, generally sculptures made of metal are not pored but welded in steps. This sculpture only has two steps, which are creating the design in the sand and pouring the iron. This sculpture was created in 1961 by schmidt who taught and worked in the midwest, I think that schmidt might of taken inspiration from the midwest in creating this object. I think that this object has strong ties to this area, that is why it remains here in Nebraska. Schmidt often uses durable material in his sculpture allowing the intricate composition to be realized.

Iron which this sculpture is framed from has a historical background which develops the history of this object. "Pure iron is a metal but is rarely found in this form on the surface of the earth because it oxidizes readily in the presence of oxygen and moisture. In order to obtain metallic iron, oxygen must be removed from naturally occurring ores by chemical reduction mainly of the iron ore hematite (Fe2O3) by carbon at high temperature. The properties of iron can be modified by alloying it with various other metals" (wiki) This sculpture is made from oxidized iron, that is why it has its rusted look from the weathering and moisture it recives outside. Iron is generally a building material and is not often thought of as art. But Schmidt loves to work with this kind of material. Iron has been used as a building material quite often in the industrial revolution in the 20th century. If you look at this sculpture you will see that a the chemical process of rusting has occured in the sculpture. Iron actually changed the human way of life, in history there is a period of time called the iron era. This time changed life because of all the benifits in the strengh of the material and its durability.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age

My object Untitled Relieif which features a rectangle shaped object made of iron, that is posted on a wall like a picture. If you look at this object in the sense of what it represents I would say it recreates the idea of a picture or a painting. It brings the thought of a painting or picture into a new light. When one thinks of a painting they think of something you sit back and admire. I this case you can sit back and look at this object but also go up to it. You can feel this object and get to know it more than you would a painting. The sculpture has many different abstract designs and textures, something you cannot feel with a painting. This representation the sculpture has comes from its color and its look of a painting or picture which strays away from the norm of a sculpture. Most sculptures do not hang on a wall rather they rest on the ground and can be viewed from many different angles.

This sculpture as an art object is very unique, this because we can only see its face. Like i said above it goes against the norm of sculptures. Most sculptures are to be enjoyed as a three dimensional piece not hanging on a wall. This object is very abstract having no flow or pattern in its design. It is an intracate collaberation of many different designs which keep your eyes wandering as you examin it. To me this object looks like a circut board or a futureistic work of some sort. The object is made of iron which gives it the red rusted look the creator of the sculpture made this desision knowing it would face the elements and rust.

Then looking into this sculpture in the context of which it is in the environment sheds new light on the object. The sculpture sits in the corner of a wall next to the sheldon art museum. It is hard to recognize sitting on the wall next to a tree. I think this object being outside also goes with the statement I made about it going against the norm. This because it sits outside of the museum going against the everyday elements, which have turned it to a rusted red color. This sculpture which looks like a painting can stand against the elements unlike a painting or some sculptures you would see inside a museum. This piece being outside makes it visable to people passing by, these people which normally would not of seen the object had it been inside. I think that this sculpture being outside changes the way people view it. Other things come into play to in the winter people are less likely to be outside which can cause people to not see the sculpture.