Seven Logics of Sculpture: Encountering Objects through the Senses

by Ernst van Alphen

From architectural space to narrative a brilliant new conception of sculpture’s unique modalities While discussions about installation art or other three-dimensional art forms are widespread, the discourse on sculpture seems to be stuck in historical or thematic frameworks. Drawing from literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis and architecture, Ernst van Alphen explores “seven logics” of the Logic of Inner Necessity; the Logic of Narration; the Logic of Space; the Logic of Volume; the Logic of Assemblage; the Logic of Architectural Space; and the Non-Logic of Singleness. These themes articulate the modalities specific to sculpture in a fresh and brilliant conception. Artists discussed include Carl Andre, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brâncusi, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Michelangelo, Bruce Nauman, Meret Oppenheim and Rachel Whiteread.
Ernst van Alphen (born 1958) is a cultural theorist and a professor emeritus of literary studies at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He is the author of Failed Images (Valiz, 2018) and Staging the Archive (Reaktion Books, 2014), and the editor of Shame! and Masculinity (Valiz, 2020).

Genres: Art

251 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A competent categorization of sculpture but poorly written, overly repetitive, and unfortunately tethered to 20th century ideals despite its recent release.

There is a laughable overemphasis on Dutch artists here. This isn't a huge surprise as the author is Dutch, but it becomes questionable when a number of the artists you devote entire chapters to (and base entire logics around) don't even have Wikipedia pages. Are these artists friends of the author? Does he owe them some favors?

Likely to be irrelevant in short time as sculpture continues to evolve new and unpredictable logics. How would the author categorize interactive sculpture, for instance? No mention of kinetic art even.
This work serves more as an examination of lesser known Dutch artists than as anything that will challenge or reshape your understanding of sculpture.