The practice of sculpture

Sculpture as a practice in motion – in motion as it continues to evolve through history; in motion in the studio where it is explored and in the space where it takes shape; in motion with regard to its visibility and analysis.

Although its field of action focuses on volume and its spatialization, on the structure of elements and their weight, material, texture, colour and light, sculpture remains open to other key practices today.

From assemblage to installation, video to performance, not forgetting the numerous overlaps with architecture, sculpture can permeate any discipline capable of awakening our sensibilities.

While the traditional techniques of carving, modelling, moulding and casting are still very much alive and worth exploring, they are enriched by a range of materials associated with countless other practices.

It is a complex, hybrid world that forces us to, above all, move, act, build, doubt, rethink, explore angles, choose points of view, and take up a position without getting stuck to it. As much in its practice as in its reception, sculpture sharpens our view of the world and, in its finest moments, allows us to reinvent it.

An overview of the practice of the can be found on the Instagram of the course[PL1] .

Learning methodology

BACHELOR'S

The teaching method encourages experimentation, empirical research, manipulation and intuitive transformation of the materials available in the immediate studio environment. Particular attention is paid to the quality of gestures, their precise application in the creation of new forms, the careful manipulation of materials and the appreciation of their mass, weight and texture.

This experimentation is a feature of the student’s personal research, which begins in the first year, and their response to a series of specific assignments set throughout the Bachelor’s programme. The aim of this work is to develop the student’s capacity to respond to particular contexts, to discover different techniques while remaining true to their own practice, and to develop body comprehension skills, the body being the first volume with which they interact.

Active participation in the life of the studio enables students to refine their own approach while being exposed to new influences and the outside world. Creation is not a navel-gazing exercise but rather a porous space, where students can share their experiences in a non-competitive way.

Through various exchanges with the teaching team, students will gradually develop an interest in the issues underlying their work, in other fields, and establish links between their practice and a wider range of references. They will also begin to identity the different possible interpretations of their work and take advantage of these new relationships to continue their artistic research.

From the outset, each project is concerned with the spatialization of the work and with how the various devices that the student deploys are displayed.

Studio

Although the studio is the main work space where most of the meetings and exchanges take place, it is also considered a ‘base camp’ from which external projects are encouraged throughout the course, so that each student can engage with the outside world in a variety of formats and time frames.

Projet Room

The Project Room is a space in the Sculpture studio that hosts a steady stream of experiments in spatial installation.

Portfolio

Students start to build a portfolio in their second year. This portfolio is accompanied by references, study texts, and any other elements that allow a retrospective look of their work at the end of the cycle.

Assessment criteria

• visual quality

• technical quality

• quality of spatial implementation

• discourse and references

• attendance and development

MASTER’S

The Master’s programme is based on a personal research project whose foundations are laid during the Bachelor’s programme. This project determines the main lines of the two years of study.

Students are encouraged during this programme to refine their work with a view to becoming more independent and familiar with the professional world of contemporary creation.

Students therefore devote all their time to their personal research and are supported in their work through regular meetings with the teaching staff.

Studio

Although the studio is the main workspace where most of the meetings and exchanges take place, it is also seen as a ‘base camp’ from which external projects are encouraged throughout the course, so that each student can engage with the outside world in a variety of formats and time frames.

Project room

The Project Room and the Attic are spaces in the Sculpture studio that host a steady stream of experiments in spatial installation.

FINAL YEAR

Students must reflect on the context of their practice when writing their thesis, which they start at the beginning of the Master’s programme. This reflection runs parallel to their artistic work and is closely connected with it.

A member of the teaching staff will supervise the elaboration of the thesis, in which the theoretical aspects cannot be dissociated from visual concerns.

Portfolio

Keeping a portfolio is an ongoing process, enabling students to share their research with others outside the studio.

Opening up

The teaching staff is committed to opening up to various professional networks, in Belgium and abroad, so that students can benefit from their own networks and contacts.

Students are encouraged to take part in a series of meetings designed to sharpen their understanding of the professional world and in the various grants and residencies available to help them as they embark on an artistic career after graduation.

Internships

Compulsory internships with organizations or artists are proposed in line with the student’s area of artistic research.

The aim of the Master’s programme is therefore to help students commit to an artistic career after they graduate, to give them the tools to understand and navigate the ins and outs of professional life, and to enable them to make their own choices in the complex world of contemporary art.

Assessment criteria

• visual quality

• technical quality

• quality of spatialization

• discourse and references

• attendance, development, and ability to build relationships with the outside world

Pedagogical coordination

Claude Cattelain

Pedagogical staff

Teachers

Geoffroy De Volder, Philippe Le Docte

Assistant

Maxence Mathieu

Lecturers

Virginie Devillers, Erwan Mahéo, Anne-Cécile Maréchal, Juan d’Oultremont