Course Overview

What we’ll cover: This course will focus on a number of key works in our sculpture park here at the Sainsbury Centre:

• Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, Draped Reclining Woman, and Two-piece Reclining Figure
• Elisabeth Frink’s Mirage I & II
• Ian Tyson’s Proximity
• Anthony Caro’s Goodwood Steps
• Antony Gormley’s 3 x Another Time
• Lawrence Edward’s Man of Stones

Using these works as case studies, we will ask a number of key questions:

• Why have post-war British sculptors  been so keen to engage with natural themes?
• Why have they been so committed to making and siting their work out of doors?
• What is it that they want us, the viewer, to experience differently?
• What do these works, and their intended outdoor sites, tell us about the social and artistic context in which they were made?
• How can we get the most from our encounters with modern sculpture in public settings?
• To what extent do they remain relevant to us today?

What you’ll gain:

• A range of close looking techniques;
• The skills to evaluate how well a sculpture is placed in its outdoor setting;
• A good familiarity with the sculptors featured in the course;
• The confidence to develop your own interpretations and responses;
• A feel for the original cultural and social context of the works;
• Greater sensitivity to the expressive power of the sculptures and how they relate to their surroundings;
• New ways of thinking about the works and the questions they pose for us today;

How long it takes: This is up to you, but as an indication, around 2-3 hours for each lesson.  If you wanted to proceed straight through the course, setting aside an afternoon or a couple of  evenings a week, 10 – 12 weeks would be comfortable.