MFA Sculpture and Three-Dimensional Art

Question 1

Which sculptural technique involves building up a form by adding material, such as clay or wax, to create a positive shape?

Accepted Answer

Additive modeling

Answer

Additive modeling involves adding material (clay, wax, plaster) to build up a form, contrasted with subtractive methods like carving.

Question 2

In lost-wax casting (cire-perdue), what happens to the wax model during the casting process?

Accepted Answer

It is melted and replaced by molten metal

Answer

In lost-wax casting, molten metal is poured into a mold and the wax original melts away ('is lost'), leaving a metal replica.

Question 3

Which artist is most closely associated with the development of the readymade as a sculptural concept?

Accepted Answer

Marcel Duchamp

Answer

Marcel Duchamp introduced the readymade with works like 'Fountain' (1917), challenging definitions of art by designating ordinary manufactured objects as sculpture.

Question 4

What distinguishes a relief sculpture from a sculpture in the round?

Accepted Answer

Relief sculpture projects from a flat background and is viewed from one side

Answer

Relief sculpture projects from a flat or curved background and is intended to be viewed from the front, unlike sculpture in the round which is freestanding.

Question 5

Alexander Calder's hanging, motor-driven or air-powered sculptures are called:

Accepted Answer

Mobiles

Answer

Calder coined the term 'mobile' for his kinetic sculptures that move in response to air currents or motors, while his stationary abstract works are called stabiles.

MFA - Master of Fine Arts Practice Test

MFA - Master of Fine Arts Practice Test

MFA Sculpture and Three-Dimensional Art