A synthesis of form, color, and content in relief sculpture

The successful combination of form, color, and content prior to the relief construction movement in the 1960's was usually associated with two-dimensional artwork. The problem, then was whether the artist could successfully combine form, color, and content in three-dimensional sculpture pieces.The content of the work described relates to the artist's personal experiences as an underground uranium miner through the medium of relief sculpture. The successful combination of form, color, and content conveyed the artist's mining experiences to a neophyte audience. The visual variety and motif in the work, however, will not be lost on any members of the audience who are also sculptors.The methods used by the artist included textbook research and studio experimentation to produce a series of pieces which would address the successful combination of form, color, and content. The research also included a study of other artists' use of shape and color in the relief sculpture format. The artist's findings were documented in the form of a thesis paper and also eight relief sculpture pieces which employed a combination of wood and paint. The paint was applied to the wood structure using a heavy impasto technique which completely obscures the wood and allows the artist to manipulate both form and color. The texture invites the viewer to explore the surface and shapes without consciously sorting out what materials are used in the construction of the sculpture.Department of ArtThesis (M.A.